Paranormal investigator working with infamous 'cursed' Annabelle doll dies suddenly

A paranormal investigator who was helping with a US tour of a supposedly haunted Annabelle doll has suddenly died, the company has said.

Dan Rivera worked with the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), which is currently on a national tour of the US, taking the infamous Annabelle doll across the country.

Rivera died suddenly on Sunday, while the company was in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the NESPR said in a post to Facebook.

READ MORE: Mystery bidder pays $8 million for this rock

"With heavy hearts we share the sudden and heartbreaking loss of our dear friend and colleague Dan Rivera," the statement reads.

"MESPR is devastated by his passing and is still coming to terms with this profound loss."

Rivera was the lead paranormal investigator and a US Army Veteran, and often worked at events with the company like "An Evening with Annabelle" experience.

The Annabelle doll was made famous through the horror movie The Conjuring, which was inspired by the real-life rag doll that was purchased from a 1970 hobby store by a mother, who gave it to her daughter, who was a nurse.

Annabelle was reported to move on its own and leave notes and "psychic slashes" on her victims.

She was handed over to the late paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who kept the doll in their occult museum in Connecticut.

The doll was said to cause disasters whenever she was moved to another city for touring.

It is the most infamous allegedly haunted/cursed doll among paranormal believers.

NESPR said while Rivera's work "inspired fascination and curiosity," above all, he was a "father, devoted husband and loyal friend".

His cause of death has not yet been determined.

The company said it is trying to figure out a path forward to continue Annabelle's tour of the US without Rivera.