Two tourists abducted, robbed after leaving Downtown Disney

[PhotoDave219]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...y0610,0,5284631.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
Two tourists abducted, robbed after leaving Downtown Disney

Couple taken at gunpoint, was left near Osceola landfill after struggle.

Etan Horowitz
Sentinel Staff Writer

June 10, 2007, 10:20 AM EDT

Two Connecticut tourists were abducted and robbed at gunpoint early this morning after leaving Downtown Disney, the Orange County Sheriffs Office said.

Just after midnight, the man and the woman were walking back to their hotel when a man sitting in a Volkswagen Jetta asked them a question. As they were answering the question, the two were forced into the car at gunpoint.

The couple was then driven to a gas station where the male, Justin Stetzer, 20, of Branford, Conn., was forced to make a withdrawal. After making another stop at an unknown location, the couple was taken to a remote location near an Osceola County landfill.

At the landfill, the suspects allegedly battered the couple, who began to fight back. During the fight, a handgun went off and caused the suspects to panic and flee.

The couple was able to walk to nearby home in Kissimmee and call authorities.

The couple suffered some bumps and bruises but were not seriously injured.

The three suspects fled with money from the ATM as well as items the couple bought at Downtown Disney.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

 

[wickedwitchware]

How awful..truly sad

 

[wannabeBelle]

Wow that is pretty awful. Thanks for the info though!! Belle

 

[tigsmom]

Its getting that you cannot be out after nightfall in that area. :shrug:

 

[Shaman]

Wow. Never would imagine something like this could happen at WDW.

Its getting that you cannot be out after nightfall in that area. :shrug:

Not exactly music to Disney exec's ears.

 

[wannabeBelle]

I wonder if this will bring about even more security at DTD at night to put tourists at ease? Belle

 

[Thelazer]

It was only a matter of time before this happened. I've watched more gangs and thugs in DTD after dark for the last 4 years now. Seems to get worse each summer. I doubt more security is going to do much. Hell, even a bunch of the employee’s are scared to walk to their cars by themselves after work! No kidding!!! I’m still waiting for someone to start a shoot out in front of motion some night.

What's needed is more than just an "Illusion" of Security. Hire some real club bouncers and let them handle the thugs and losers that are causing trouble. Not some guy whom just yells "please, stop, or I'll ask you to stop again.. And then I'll call OC and when they show up, if your still around then, maybe someone will really do something"

Maybe put the gates back up and enforce some basic rules such as no one under 18 after 12:30pm allowed without a parent.

 

[MickeyJman06]

disney should've kicked the gunpointer out of WDW
sad

 

[fizzle75]

That's horrible, I hate to hear it happened but I must say that,for some reason, my wife and I just don't feel comfortable at Downtown Disney after dark, especially Westside. I can't really give you any " concrete" reasons, it's just a feeling we get. Between that and all of the horrible cigarette smoke it has gotten to the point where we don't even care to go to Downtown Disney on our trips. I still like to go and at least spend a few hours at World of Disney, Once Upon A Christmas and the Art Of Disney Store but beyond that we have no desire to go there. I have to beg my wife just to go to World Of Disney for a few hours. I'm just glad to hear the couple are OK. Anyone else feel the way we do about Downtown Disney or are we just a couple of freaks? :shrug:

 

[HoW]

I wonder if this will bring about even more security at DTD at night to put tourists at ease? Belle

That'd be a wonderful idea. Whether they were in uniform or plain clothes, I think it would do a lot for peace of mind.

 

[Champion]

Interesting.

I guess I'm more used to news like this then people saying they don't feel safe, because it doesn't really bother me at all.

 

[macsmom]

That's horrible, I hate to hear it happened but I must say that,for some reason, my wife and I just don't feel comfortable at Downtown Disney after dark, especially Westside. I can't really give you any " concrete" reasons, it's just a feeling we get. Between that and all of the horrible cigarette smoke it has gotten to the point where we don't even care to go to Downtown Disney on our trips. I still like to go and at least spend a few hours at World of Disney, Once Upon A Christmas and the Art Of Disney Store but beyond that we have no desire to go there. I have to beg my wife just to go to World Of Disney for a few hours. I'm just glad to hear the couple are OK. Anyone else feel the way we do about Downtown Disney or are we just a couple of freaks? :shrug:

Not just you. There were three of us (all female) together in October and we felt alot safer during the day than the evening. We didn't hang around too long though it was a nice night.

danna

 

[mdisney]

I hope that they did not make this up to get an easy buck out of disney, but if it did happen i hope they get back what they bought.

 

[tigsmom]

Champion, you edited your post....yes it was early this morning, as in "shortly after midnight".

Updated story...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...y0610,0,5284631.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

 

[tigsmom]

They were walking to the hotels that are next to DTD. So not really Disney. Also how do we know its not some made up thing, because everyone is trying to make a quick buck from Disney.

Before people saying that I have no heart I will say if it did happen then I do feel sorry for them.

Well they would be foolish to make up a story like this (and who beat them up and dropped them at the landfill?) because you get punished for falsely reporting a crime. They dealt with the OC Sheriff, not WDW security.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

I was at PI drinking last weekend, and I have to say we saw ALOT of security, plainclothes, Disney Security, and OCSD in uniform. I am not terribly uncomfortable at DTD after dark, not like I was when we used to go to Manhattan. There is plenty of security, even in the parking lots. They have the Security things that go up in the air to sruvey the whole parking lot. They also have Security on bikes.

Also, remember that the article states that the couple was walking back to their hotel. They were not locals, they were tourists. They were probably walking back to either SSR or one of the DTD Hotel Blvd. hotels. Seeming as how they were approached by a car, I would guess one of the DTD Hotel Blvd. hotels, which run right along Buena Vista Blvd. There is a huge probability that this actually happened off DTD property, which means the problem isn't with Disney Security or security at the clubs or security at DTD. It's a problem with there being NO security or police presence on BVB down by all the hotels.

I used to work at PI/WS every night until early morning hours, by myself (not in a store or with a group of people). I was more worried about the drunks hitting on me and following me around than I was scared of walking back across BVB to get to cast parking.

 

[miles1]

I hope that they did not make this up to get an easy buck out of disney, but if it did happen i hope they get back what they bought.

You know, I was kind of thinking the same thing. Is it possible to fit five adults into a Jetta without at least one of the victims being next to a door that they could have easily escaped from?

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

You know, I was kind of thinking the same thing. Is it possible to fit five adults into a Jetta without at least one of the victims being next to a door that they could have easily escaped from?

My bro has a Jetta that he regularly puts five adults in. But, would you roll from a car that was moving, possibly at a high rate of speed? It's commonly known that when you do what a robber is asking you to, they usually will not harm you. They're not out to kill people, they want money and valuables. Also, people being held at gunpoint tend not to be thinking quite as clearly as you or I are right now. I find it kind of harsh how quick people are to jump t conclusions like this... they were found at a house in Kissimmee. Kissimmee is big, would you have beat yourself/your significant other up and then walked around for miles in the dark until you 'found' a house to use to report a 'crime', just to get some free Disney gear? Because that is the most that will happen, Disney MIGHT replace some of the items they claim they bought.

If they were forced to withdraw money, there will be surveillance tapes from those ATMs. Hopefully that will help corraborate their story.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

If the event occurred off Disney property, which seems to be the consensus, it wouldn't make sense for these people to make any claim against Disney.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

How far away from Disney were they when it happened ??

How far was their intended walk ??