What’s going on with the Dominican Republic deaths? Why are so many people becoming ill from a strange gastric ailment as if they’ve been poisoned? Why are some people traveling to the popular tourist destination and dying without ever returning home?
After an ordeal I experienced following my own trip to the Dominican Republic, I am asking all of these same questions today.
Current Events
Two years ago, I traveled to the Dominican Republic for a 5-day getaway. I was fortunate to travel First Class on the return trip, so I consumed a “bon voyage DR” beverage and headed to the airport. Almost immediately after takeoff, I became horrifically ill on the plane (as if I had been poisoned) and was totally unable to enjoy the upgrade. Upon landing back in the US, I was so ill I needed a wheelchair to disembark from the aircraft. For a healthy man like me who works out 3 times a week and takes great care of himself, being in a wheelchair and unable to walk on his own was a shocking experience.
The airline gathered my luggage and helped me into a waiting Uber. I knew I was too sick to go home, so I instructed the driver to take me directly to the New York Presbyterian Hospital Emergency Room. They admitted me as a patient and over the next 3 days, some of the best doctors in the city visited my room, ran test after test, and gave me every medicine for every ailment known to man. Strangely, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me and, because I was feeling better, they sent me home.
Fast-forward to 2019 and now, otherwise healthy people are traveling to the Dominican Republic only to never return home. Was my strange illness totally unrelated, or was I one of the lucky ones?
As of today, at least 8 Americans have died after traveling to the Dominican Republic, while a half dozen others say they endured a strange illness that came out of nowhere and they’re lucky to have lived to tell about it.
Leyla Cox, 53, an MRI technician from Staten Island, NY is the latest victim to die after celebrating her birthday last Tuesday.
“I tried to warn my mother about the recent string of deaths on the island, but she left before I had a chance,” her son, Will Cox said.
Jerry Curran, 78, checked into the Dreams resort in Punta Cana on January 22nd and never checked out.
“He went to the Dominican Republic healthy and he just never came back,” his daughter, Kellie Brown said.
In May, engaged couple Nathaniel Edward Holmes and Cynthia Ann Day, as well as Miranda Schaup-Werner, died over a 5-day period at the Bahia Principe resort in Punta Canta. Holmes and Day were found dead in their room. Schaup-Werner’s husband fell ill but survived.
Mark Hurlbut Sr., died last June in Punta Cana after he and his wife became violently ill the night before he died.
“She woke up, and he didn’t,” said Mark Jr. “She told me that as she found him that he had something green coming from his mouth. It was something that came way out of left field. It was not something that any of us thought was going to happen.”
Robert Bell Wallace died April 14th, 3 days after he had a drink from a minibar and fell sick at Punta Cana’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
In June 2018, Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, died in her sleep after consuming a Dominican beverage.
In April of this year, a group of 47 die-hard Jimmy Buffet from Oklahoma all became inexplicably ill after traveling to the DR to see their favorite musical artist.
“I can’t even explain how sick I was,” traveler Dana Flowers said. “Lost 14 pounds during that time and was really sick.” Flowers added that she and her companions were too sick to even leave their hotel rooms.
“We have 2.7 million Americans who come to the country and the statistics is that this is a very … unique event. They come to visit the beautiful beaches and enjoy the great culture. Unfortunately sometimes those things happen to people.” – Robin Bernstein, US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic
According to the Dominican government, all the deaths have been attributed to pulmonary edema. However, the families say their loved ones did not suffer from respiratory disease and are pointing out it’s beyond strange for so many otherwise healthy people to die under the same circumstances in such a short period of time — particularly considering the couple who died while laying next to each other in their sleep.
So, what’s behind these strange Dominican Republic deaths? Some in the US are speculating bleach may have been in the minibar drinks several of the victims consumed. Some are saying cheap, bootleg liquor containing dangerous chemicals may have been the culprit. Others are suggesting a pesticide used on the grounds of the resorts might have seeped into the air conditioning ventilation systems and caused ingested poisoning.
To date, no one knows for sure what caused so many tourists to rapidly become ill then suddenly die.
Are all these deaths linked or just a strange coincidence? Could my own sudden illness after visiting the Dominican Republic be related? Could there be others out there who, like me, got sick out of nowhere, didn’t know why and simply forgot about it until now?
Thankfully, I’m alive to talk about it. Regrettably, at least 8 others are not.
Whoa!!! DJ, what an absolute frighting ordeal you suffered through!
And yes, I’d say you are one of the fortunate ones. You lived to talk about it.
And thankfully so!