Dan Rivera, paranormal investigator linked to The Conjuring’s Annabelle doll, dies in Gettysburg

Dan Rivera is a name that people might not be familiar with. He was a paranormal investigator and was linked to the infamous Annabelle doll, which was featured in the The Conjuring films. On Sunday, July 13, 2025, River passed away at the age of 54 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

He was a United States Army veteran and New England Society for Psychic Research. Rivera was the main face of the popular Devils on the Run Tour, for which he and the organization brought the Annabelle doll. So let us find out more about his tragic demise and his overall life.

Dan Rivera passed away at 54

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On Sunday, July 13, 2025, Dan Rivera passed away while he was travelling with the allegedly haunted doll Annabelle, which has featured in The Conjuring universe. On the day of his death, Rivera was seen guiding the viewers with the doll as part of the national tour.

Medical personnel and firefighters were called to a hotel at around 8 pm in Gettysburg. They were asked to look into a male patient with CPR. The real cause of Rivera's death is unclear. His final autopsy report would take several months.

The police department of Pennsylvania and the office of the coroner have ruled out a suspicious death as Rivera's dead body was found lying in an empty hotel room.

Rivera was a part of the Devils on the Run Tour, where they toured across the country with the doll. The last leg of the tour took place at the Soldiers' National Orphanage, which concluded on Sunday. It reportedly sold more than 1,260 tickets over the three-day tour. In recent years, Rivera and Ryan Daniel Buell started putting out the touring videos on TikTok, which garnered millions of views.

In recent months, the tour received major media attention and backlash from certain sections of the public. Rivera was guiding the attendees during the tour on the day of his demise. Right after the news of his death broke out, several people took to social media to pay their final tribute to Rivera. Most of them were from the paranormal community. One user wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"I’m in shock! These posts are about Dan Rivera from NESPR. He was part of the “Devil’s On The Run Tour” w/ the #AnnabelleDoll. He took photos of us with Annabelle & appears in a video I shared. He seemed fine when we spoke with him."

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His friend Ryan Buell took to TikTok to pay a tribute to his fellow paranormal investigator. He wrote,

"I have so many amazing memories with this guy. Just as recently as two months ago, we traveled around the country and introduced a whole new generation to Ed and Lorraine Warren's legacy."

Ryan was referring to the popular Warren couple who worked as paranormal investigators and have inspired The Conjuring universe. Rivera had popularized the Warrens' and the Annabelle doll through the tours across the United States.