‘Naked and Afraid’ Survivalist Sarah Danser Dies at 34; Dan Link Remembers Her ‘Untamed, Free Spirit’
Sarah Danser, a multi-time Naked and Afraid survivalist, has died at 34.
Danser died on Oct. 22, according to a report from Hawaii News Now, two days after she was involved in a car crash in Honolulu. Danser was a passenger in a car being driven by a 59-year-old male. He lost control of the vehicle and collided with a parked car.
After the accident, Danser was hospitalized in critical condition. The driver and a person who was in the parked car were both in serious condition.
Sarah Danser appeared in multiple ‘Naked and Afraid’ episodes
Danser worked as a boat captain and had appeared on multiple episodes of Discovery Channel’s survival reality series Naked and Afraid. She was later a cast member on Naked and Afraid XL. In 2023, she appeared in the CW/Roku Channel competition series Fight to Survive. Danser was also a two-time breast cancer survivor.
“Magical is the way to describe her. Sarah had this positive energy about her that just really filled the environment that she was in,” her brother Jake Danser told Hawaii News now.
‘Naked and Afraid’ alum pays tribute to late survivalist
In an Instagram post, fellow Naked and Afraid survivalist Dan Link paid tribute to Danser.
“Rest easy my friend,” Link wrote. “You always ran towards the weird, the extreme, the uncomfortable, and the novel like your life depended on it. Through the highs and the lows and everything in between you did everything you could to live a full and fascinating life – a quality that so few people hold – and every day you did just that. I hope you are proud of the life you lived and those you impacted along the way.”
Link also credited Danser for inspiring him to sign up for the show. He’s since gone on to complete multiple challenges, including winning Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing Season 2.
“It was your untamed, free spirit that led me to jump into the Naked world to begin with, after I (then a stranger) cold called you when I was thinking of doing my first challenge,” he recalled. “We met up that same day and the stories you told of the lives you’ve lived immediately inspired me. You changed the course of my life and for that I am eternally grateful.”
Rylie Parlett, who appeared on Naked and Afraid: XL Season 7 with Danser, remembered her as “one of the most genuine people I have ever met.”
“She lived her life fully, vibrantly, and unapologetically Sarah,” Parlett wrote on Instagram. “She danced, sang, laughed and adventured her way through life. She cared for others, and was known to check in on other survivalists when social media and the public were unkind- myself included. She will forever sail the open seas and live in the hearts of those that knew her.”
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