‘Devastated’ Arizona TV anchor breaks down announcing shocking death of colleague Ana Orsini at just 28-years-old
A “devastated” newscaster in Arizona tearfully announced the sudden death of her “beloved” colleague live on the air Monday.
Ana Orsini, the morning anchor for the Tucson-based CBS affiliate 13 News, passed away last week at just 28 years old after suffering from a brain aneurysm, according to KOLD-TV.
The broadcaster’s co-workers, Tyler Butler and Carsyn Currier, announced her passing during an emotional newscast on Monday.
“Ana had been here at 13 News since June of 2023 and we are devastated by this loss,” Currier shared with a shaky voice and tears in her eyes.
Butler gently touched Currier’s hand to comfort her as she continued to tell viewers that they were both wearing pink on Monday to honor Orsini, an apparent favorite of their deceased colleague.
While helping a distraught Currier, Butler added his own touching tribute to Orsini.
“We had the opportunity to work with every day and we do want you to know that what you saw with her on-air, the funny, crazy person she was – she was just like that off camera and more so,” he said.
After the heartbreaking news was revealed to the public, the station aired a highlight reel of Orsini’s short but “special” time at the station.
The reel showed clips of Orsini’s first time on the anchor desk, her love for dogs and how she playfully interacted with co-hosts on air and during live reports.
The morning co-anchors who worked with her daily also shared personal tributes on their social media pages.
“Waking up in the middle of the night to go to work is always challenging, but knowing I was going to work with Ana made it that much easier,” Currier wrote on her Instagram page. “Whether she was dancing around the set or making us all laugh, everyday with Ana was an adventure.”
“She was too young, but we can remember her always,” Butler wrote on his Facebook page.
On-air talent from other shifts remembered her on their social media pages, too.
“A shooting star. A glowing soul. A firecracker,” evening anchor Brooke Wagner wrote on Facebook.
“My heart goes out to the Orsini family and the rest of my KOLD News 13 family. Rest easy Ana,” weekend anchor Sean Mahoney wrote on his Facebook page.
“She was a peanut-butter-M&M-loving, platform-Ugg-wearing, pink-or-purple-Stanley-toting ray of sunshine, even at 4:00 in the morning,” according to a statement on KOLD-TV’s website.
Colleagues also shared how rescue animals were her “passion” and she was always trying to find a new home for a pet in need,
The Colorado native attended the University of Arizona before transferring to Texas A&M where she graduated in 2018 with a degree in journalism and double minor in communications and sports management.
Orsini’s first job in television was in Lubbock, Texas, as an anchor and reporter, then she spent three years as a morning and midday anchor in Medford, Oregon before she came to KOLD-TV in June of last year.
“Ana’s friends and coworkers remember her as someone with bottomless empathy who always stood up for ‘the little guy,’” the statement from News 13 continued. “She was a smiling face most especially for all her newest and youngest coworkers, and she is known in all the newsrooms where she worked for taking them under her wing and being a strong mentor for both work and life.”
