A man from Mobile, Alabama, tried to wait out the pandemic on a private island, and it ended with handcuffs. According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Richard, 42, was arrested for trespassing after he was found camping on Walt Disney World’s abandoned Discovery Island while Disney’s parks were closed because of COVID 19.
Authorities said Richard arrived on the island earlier in the week and was spotted by Disney security on Thursday. Deputies tried to reach him through the park’s loudspeaker system. When that did not work, they searched the area by boat, by helicopter and on foot before locating him.
Richard reportedly told authorities he never heard the loudspeakers because he was sleeping. He also said he did not realize he was trespassing, even though the property has posted no trespassing signs. According to Newsweek, he planned to camp for about a week and described the spot as a “tropical paradise.”
Discovery Island operated as a wildlife attraction for roughly 25 years before closing in 1999. It has sat abandoned on Disney owned land ever since, and authorities believe Richard stayed in some of the old buildings that remain there.
Disney shut its Florida parks on March 16. Variety reported this week that a state task force gave the company guidelines for reopening in phases, starting at 50 percent capacity. No reopening date has been announced.
Richard was charged with trespassing and has been banned from returning to Disney World property. A quarantine plan with a view is one thing, but this one did not work out.
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