Unsolved Mysteries investigator reveals theory Rey Rivera was “dropped from a helicopter”

In a new clip, investigators from the Netflix series delve into the theory – and explain its biggest problem.

unsolved mysteries Rey Rivera

How exactly did Rey Rivera die? That’s the question haunting amateur sleuths across the internet after the launch of Netflix‘s true-crime series Unsolved Mysteries.


Found in an abandoned room in a Baltimore hotel, the finance journalist’s decomposing body was discovered under a hole in the ceiling.

Although ruled a probable suicide by local police, several alternative explanations about what happened to Rey Rivera, have emerged, including the theory the scene was staged.

However, a newly-released clip which didn’t make it into the series presents a more speculative theory: Rivera was dropped from a helicopter.

“I know it sounds crazy, but this is the kind of case that makes you look at more strange theories,” says Stephen Janis, investigative journalist. “You’ve got no real evidence. Given the hole and given that nobody saw him enter the building – he had to come from somewhere else.”

Gary Shivers, who previously worked at the Belvedere (the hotel where Rivera was found), agrees. “That’s the only possible thing I can think of.”

However, wouldn’t people have seen or heard this helicopter? Police detective Michael Baier offers an explanation to this.

Delving into the theory, he said. “Airspace issues? People hearing the helicopter? You’re not going to hover down in a helicopter that low. If he would have been dropped at an altitude higher than the building, who knows where he could have went.”

As Shivers adds, helicopters were known to fly over the area several blocks away.

However, Baier has himself ruled out the theory after posing one question.

“If you have a man already in a helicopter and you want to dispose of the body, the harbour is a 30-second ride down. Why drop the body through the [hotel roof]?” he said.

Since the series was dropped on Netflix at the start of July, The Chicago Sun Times reports producers have received 20 credible tips surrounding the cases looked at in the show.

All eyes have been on Rey Rivera’s note, which seems to have huge significance, mainly because it’s impossible to decode.


Unsolved Mysteries is available to stream on Netflix. Check out our lists of the best Netflix series and the best Netflix movies, or see what else is on with our TV Guide.