Teen Drowns At Disneyland
Bogden Delaurot tried to carry his brother across Rivers of America.
On June 22, 1973, 18-year-old Bogden and his 10-year-old brother Dorian Delaurot were visiting Disneyland. They had traveled from Brooklyn, New York, to Anaheim, California, with their family.
As Tom Sawyer’s Island was getting ready to close for the day, the brothers decided they wanted to stay on the island. While staff escorted visitors onto the boats to return to the park, Bogden and Dorian jumped a fence and hid in the woods behind the Burning Settler’s Cabin.
Around 9:30 PM, the brothers decided to leave the island and go to the main park. Because they didn’t want to get into trouble, they thought it would be best to swim across the Rivers of America, rather than call someone for help.
However, Dorian did not know how to swim so Bogden carried him on his back. Halfway through the river, Bogden slipped and drowned. Dorian was able to “doggy paddle” until a staff boat spotted him.
Disneyland security officers and Anaheim police and firefighters spent the next eight hours searching for Bogden. His body was found the next morning between some fake rocks near the island.
Not shockingly, Disney is very secretive about its lawsuits. It is not known much about what happened after, however, the Delaurot family did try to sue Disneyland. They claimed that the Tom and Huck attraction had enticed the brothers into becoming mischievous. It is understood that Disney was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Bogden Delaurot is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
