A tragic incident has unfolded involving a young woman who lost her life after a fall from an abandoned building in Atlanta, known for its role as Hawkins Lab in the Netflix hit series, Stranger Things.

DeKalb County Police reported that they were called to the scene around 12:49 a.m. on December 19, following reports of a fall at a site located on the 1200 block of Briarcliff Road. This information was relayed to Oxygen by the police department.

The victim, identified as 19-year-old Leah Palmirotto, was part of a group exploring the derelict, five-story structure when the accident occurred. Local news outlets, including FOX5 Atlanta and WSB-TV, reported details of the incident provided by the police.

A GoFundMe campaign established in Palmirotto’s memory confirmed the tragic accident that claimed her life early that morning. A family friend expressed on the fundraising page that what began as a typical adventure for someone her age ended in heartbreak, stating, “Just doing stuff that normal 19-year-old kids do ended up in pure devastation.”

The friend also highlighted Palmirotto’s passion for photography, noting her love for exploring and capturing images of abandoned buildings. Her untimely death has left a profound impact on those who knew her, marking a sorrowful chapter in a place that once served as a backdrop for a beloved TV series.

The friend added that Palmirotto had an affinity for photography and “loved exploring and photographing abandoned buildings.”

Investigators believe Palmirotto and her group entered the fenced-off property by climbing over a chain-link fence, according to FOX5 Atlanta.

Palmirotto’s father said he believes his daughter visited the property prior to the night of her death.

“Going to these places are dangerous,” he told FOX5 Atlanta, adding that he was “blown away” when police informed him of her death.

The Emory Police Department is handling the investigation into Palmirotto’s death, and Oxygen has reached out to the department and the university for comment.

Emory University said that they’re “enhancing security” at the fenced-off site, which was in the process of being demolished to make room for a senior living community.

“There are signs on the property advising people not to enter,”  the school told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “and warning them not to trespass.”

Emory’s Briarcliff Building A––the site of Palmirotto’s fall––was known to fans of Stranger Things as the filming location for Hawkins National Laboratory, a key setting in the sci-fi series. It was once home to the Georgia Mental Health Institute before being purchased by Emory in the 1990s.

The building had previously been listed on the university’s website as a filming location, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first noted.