The most perfectly tanned corpse has just been recovered from a tanning bed in Planet Fitness after being in there for three days. Somehow, unnoticed by staff or gym goers, the man had died and remained for almost half a week.
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You would think that the tanning bed should have been cleaned out by Planet Fitness staff at least once in three days. But, for some reason, this particular one was left untouched. The man had died while using the bed, undiscovered until his smell became an issue.
Derek Sink, 39, was found, braised and slow-roasted, at around 9 am on a Monday. He had climbed into the tanning bed in the Planet Fitness on the Friday evening. Presumably, Sink had died shortly after. He remained in there, during the two full 12-hour days of weekend opening hours, until Monday.
A gymgoer complained of a foul smell emanating from one of the tanning beds. On opening up the UV coffin, they discovered his body. He was quickly identified thanks to a missing persons report and his ankle monitor.
Planet Fitness Tanning Bed Death Not Suspicious
It appears that Derek Sink may have been using drugs before he decided to top up his last tan. A needle was found in the room alongside his corpse. His family told a local station that the man had suffered from drug problems. It looks like this death may be due to an overdose rather than a final destination-style tanning bed horror story.
It was actually Sink's ankle monitor that helped the authorities locate the man. His family had already filed a missing persons report. However, how he was originally found would be enough to put me off Planet Fitness for life.
The foul smell from the dead man in the Planet Fitness tanning bed was noticeable throughout the building. Somehow, I doubt it smelled like good Texas BBQ. Also, I am concerned as to why he was not found for three days. Does Planet Fitness not regularly clean out their beds?
In a statement to WHTR, Planet Fitness reassured its users. "At Planet Fitness, we have robust operational brand protocols in place, as the safety and well-being of our members is our top priority. We are working closely with our local franchisee to ensure they are upholding those brand protocols." I think they need to start checking their gym equipment for corpses more often. Dead bodies almost always throw me off my rep count.