Dan Rivera, longtime senior lead investigator for the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), unfortunately, has passed away suddenly. His death was confirmed by NESPR in a Facebook post on July 14. At the time of his death, Rivera was deep into the Devil on the Run Tour. This tour featured, at the time of his death, the supposedly haunted Raggedy Ann doll, “Annabelle.” The three-day tour took place July 11-13 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
From there, Rivera traveled with the doll. NESPR says it is home to the malevolent spirit of a young girl named Annabelle. His commitment to exploring the paranormal extended beyond mere investigation. He was passionate about educating others and sharing his experiences with the mysterious and unexplainable.
Her colleagues and friends have shared messages of disbelief and sorrow at Rivera’s sudden passing. Ryan Buell, a well-known figure in the paranormal community and host of “Paranormal State,” shared his grief on social media. He looked back on their friendship since 2001 and said Rivera’s unyielding support in the darkest of times stood out above all else.
“When I got clean and entered recovery and decided to show my face again, hardly anyone wanted anything to do with me. But Dan believed in me,” – Ryan Buell
Buell shared that Rivera had pressed him to “come back home.” This cast Rivera’s deep hopes for Buell to come back to NESPR and rejoin its tight, vibrant community in a revealing light. Buell’s sentiments were shared by Chris Gilloren, another NESPR investigator.
“It’s with deep sadness that investigator Tony Holmes, investigator Wade Kirby, and I share the sudden passing of our close friend and partner, Dan Rivera,” – Chris Gilloren
Rivera’s commitment to his field of paranormal investigation was strong, from the start of his career to the end. He was a big force in inspiring and leading investigations, public events and more, and he worked very closely with Gilloren and others at NESPR. To his colleagues, he will always be missed as a world-class investigator, but most of all remembered as a loyal, devoted, and loving friend.
