Man Breaks Into Disney Island For Camping Amid COVID-19 Restrictions, Arrested

A man who sneaked into an island in Walt Disney World, Florida, disregarding the COVID-19 closure, was arrested Thursday (April 30). Dismissing the claims that he was trespassing, the man said the property appeared to him like a “tropical paradise.”

The man, identified as Richard McGuire, 42, from Mobile, Alabama, was camping in World's Discovery Island since Monday or Tuesday, according to a report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. He was banned from all Disney-owned properties on top of a misdemeanor charge for trespassing.

"Richard stated that he had made entry to the island to go camping on Monday or Tuesday and had planned on staying on the island for approximately one week," the statement read.

Walt Disney World and Disneyland parks have been closed through mid-March in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.

According to reports, a security guard saw McGuire on the island and alerted the deputies. The Orange County deputies were able to track him down sleeping in one of the island’s buildings following a search by foot, boat, and helicopter.

Officers used a public address system to tell McGuire he wasn’t allowed to be in the property. McGuire told police he was “unaware” he was trespassing even though he would have already crossed “no trespassing” signs and two closed gates, the report stated. He was arrested without incident and sent to jail.

McGuire posted an unspecified bail bond on Friday and was scheduled for a court hearing in June.

Discovery Island was closed to the public in 1999. It was a zoological park prior to that and was called Treasure Island.

In late April, a teen was cited for breaking into a closed Disney amusement park which was closed as part of the governor’s executive order to halt the spread of the coronavirus. The 18-year-old was found huddled inside a construction area in the southeast section of the park. Police said he ventured to steal equipment from the site.