Dominican Republic - American tourists found dead in resorts, same cause of death, 2018/2019

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  • #821
And, another. :(

"A 'vibrant;Queens mom of four is the latest fatality to be reported at a Dominican Republic resort — where she died within hours of coming down with a mystery stomach illness.

Donette Edge Cannon, 38, visited the embattled tourist destination on a family trip last month to Sunscape Bávaro Beach Punta Cana to celebrate her brother-in-law’s birthday."


https://nypost.com/2019/06/21/queens-mom-latest-fatality-reported-at-dominican-republic-resort/

Again, not unusual to have stomach illness on vacation, but it IS unusual to die from it.

jmo

Edited to add: This victim did have diabetes/kidney issues. That should be noted when we make our lists. Perhaps she was vulnerable to stomach bug....IDK that much about diabetes to know for sure.
 
  • #822
  • #823
  • #824
DBM
 
  • #825

From the same article 6/11:

“Unfortunately, the unrelated incidents coincided in timing,” said André Van Der Horst, tourism adviser to the Dominican Republic government.

“With social media today, we are exposed and require an immediate response to the current public relations dynamic, a new reality worldwide,” he said. “We are not used to this type of viral communicational outburst and are working with crisis management specialists to establish reaction protocols.”“



Of course the “tourism advisor” is going to say this, moo.
 
  • #826

Noting from this above article dated 6/11 , BBM:

“...slew of recent deaths in the Dominican Republic have forced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI to slew of recent deaths in the Dominican Republic have forced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI to team up with experts from several international agencies to assist Dominican authorities in investigating the resort. to assist Dominican authorities in investigating the resort.”

—-
(ETA)

another report of an assault.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/instagram-influencer-regrets-not-being-honest-about-her-dominican-republic-travels/ar-AACIEWV?ocid=st

"You feel this obligation to be honest, but a fear of rejection if you are," Smith told INSIDER of being a social media influencer. "I didn't tell my story, and I think it's out of fear."

She said she wanted to tell her story after Tammy Lawrence-Daley, 51, claimed in a Facebook post that she was attacked the all-inclusive Majestic Elegance resort in Punta Cana while she was vacationing her her husband and friends in January.

"It's not a safe country, and it's not just the five-star resorts," Smith said. "I feel like I can't sit here and listen to the prime minister and say 'Our country is safe,' because it's not safe."

Dominican Republic national police chief spokesman Col. Frank Durán told CBS News that officials are still investigating her claims, and say they have found inconsistencies.

The Dominican Republic is also facing scrutiny after several American tourists died while staying at resorts around the country. Other tourists have come forward claiming they were poisoned at resorts.

more at link

This article states she didn’t report it to authorities, as some cops had just previously threatened to throw her husband in jail and take their money if he didn’t give them his wallet. She also recalls her talk more about her time in the DR andbher account of being sexually assaulted.
 
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  • #827
From the same article 6/11:

“Unfortunately, the unrelated incidents coincided in timing,” said André Van Der Horst, tourism adviser to the Dominican Republic government.

“With social media today, we are exposed and require an immediate response to the current public relations dynamic, a new reality worldwide,” he said. “We are not used to this type of viral communicational outburst and are working with crisis management specialists to establish reaction protocols.”“



Of course the “tourism advisor” is going to say this, moo.
Well, they should have a reaction protocol! Yes, that should be in place. Get going.

jmo
 
  • #828
FBI is now investigating SIX mysterious American deaths at
two hotels in the Dominican Republic - all within the past year


    • Robert Bell Wallace, 67, of California died on April 14 after drinking alcohol from his in-room minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana
    • Across the island, Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, collapsed and died inside her room on May 25 also after drinking something from the minibar at Bahia Principe
    • Engaged Maryland couple Cynthia Day, 49, and Nathaniel Holmes, 63, were discovered dead inside a room at the same resort in La Romana on May 30
    • One year ago, Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, also died after drinking from the minibar at that resort, Sport's family members said
    • In July of 2018, David Harrison of Maryland died while staying at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana, which his widow now questions
    • On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention joined other international agencies in conducting tests at the Bahia Principe properties
    • It was not immediately clear whether other Dominican resorts, like the Hard Rock in Punta Cana, were also inspected
    • The FBI confirmed it was assisting local authorities in investigating the deaths

upload_2019-6-21_13-44-6.jpeg
 
  • #829
Over 1,000 people reported falling ill while staying in the Dominican Republic on a popular food-safety site as reports of mysterious tourist deaths and rampant sickness plague the Caribbean island

The sickness came at Melissa Goldberg like a tidal wave.

She hadn't felt quite right since her stay at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana, a bastion of resorts in the Dominican Republic. But during her first night back in the US, she awoke feeling severely nauseated.

"I couldn't even text anybody in my house to say, 'I'm sick. Come help me,'" Goldberg told Business Insider.
 
  • #830
Exactly.
It is very sad to me the reaction from the DR officials.
More than sad, its the totally wrong way to handle it.

You are so right that if handled better, it could actually help people get confidence in going there. Instead all their responses to-date are just making more people never want to ever go there now.

People are not stupid and they are insulting the public's intelligence with their responses. It is very apparant they are trying to just "explain things away" and to try to sweep things under the rug.

Its sad because people are generally forgiving and we can understand anything that could have happened so long as they take actions to correct it. Even if they find out a maid or someone else like a manager was swapping liquor then so long as the problems are corrected then people understand that type of thing could happen anywhere.

But their responses to-date have been nothing but awful "excuses" without any basis with how they proved what they are saying.

Their reactions and public statements need to be used as a guide for "How not to handle bad events at your resort".

Im just sad about the whole thing because their responses and actions did not have to go this way.

This is a major scandal. The poor handling of the situation allows us to see everything happening for what it is, IMO. They are exposed.

My heart lies with the families of the loved ones that have died unexpectedly in the DR.
Not only are they shocked and under duress that their loved one passed, they have been coerced, bullied, and pressured by the DR in various ways but namely to cremate their loved one(s) to remove evidence and liability. Thankfully the FBI and CDC are involved in a hand full of those cases, at this point.

My sympathies go out to the hundreds of others that have found themselves sick under the care of the DR medical system. It sounds shoddy and scary at best.
Although, it must be a nicely oiled wheel with all the illne$$ and admi$$ion$ that have come to light.

The DR has swept major issues under the rug for a long time, IMO.

They have slandered some of the deceased by stating erroneous health and medical records to the public as fact to try to sway blame.

It is disgusting.

I could care less about their reputation, their millions of tourist dollars, or their reaction protocol to the numerous suspicious deaths or illnesses.

We want the truth. We want accountability. We want cooperation.

I question if we will even get to the bottom of all the issues because they aren't interested in cooperating. They are corrupt and are only concerned about dollar signs.
They don't even pretend to care.

MOO
 
  • #831
more people coming forward:

Vanessa McNelley-Neal and her husband, James Neal, stayed last November at the Bahia Principe hotels, where they both became violently ill.

They remained sick for three weeks after returning home and underwent several tests — but never got to the bottom of what caused the illness.

https://nypost.com/2019/06/13/atlanta-couple-struck-by-mystery-illness-on-dominican-republic-trip/

I’m noting here the similarity to the Colorado couple (possibly organophosphates) re: the intense cramping ; I recall in their video the husband saying the same thing:

“We had a good couple of days and then started feeling ill, started having really bad abdominal cramps,” McNelley-Neal told the news station.

McNelley-Neal — who has come down with food poisoning before — said the symptoms were like nothing she’d ever experienced.

“I had food poisoning years ago in Tahiti, so I know what that feels like, and it did not feel like that,” she said. “The stomach cramping was very different. It was very intense. It was not the normal stomach pains.”“


I’m also reading to see if there’s been any discussion in what would specifically cause green foam to come from the mouth, mentioned in a case upstream.
 
  • #832
This was actually last year, they've fixed it now. May 2018.

Cannon, who owned a catering business, arrived at the all-inclusive resort on May 14, 2018. She spent the next four days in the sun and taking pictures — even partaking on a dune buggy excursion.



And, another. :(

"A 'vibrant;Queens mom of four is the latest fatality to be reported at a Dominican Republic resort — where she died within hours of coming down with a mystery stomach illness.

Donette Edge Cannon, 38, visited the embattled tourist destination on a family trip last month to Sunscape Bávaro Beach Punta Cana to celebrate her brother-in-law’s birthday."


https://nypost.com/2019/06/21/queens-mom-latest-fatality-reported-at-dominican-republic-resort/

Again, not unusual to have stomach illness on vacation, but it IS unusual to die from it.

jmo

Edited to add: This victim did have diabetes/kidney issues. That should be noted when we make our lists. Perhaps she was vulnerable to stomach bug....IDK that much about diabetes to know for sure.
 
  • #833
Finally there is a report from someone other than an American!

Brit couple ‘poisoned by air con’ in Dominican Republic 'death' resort

ETA I hope they are in contact with the MD couple’s family because this sounds like this could have been exactly what caused their deaths in the same hotel.

BBM:
“Sara Taylor, 53, from Poole, Dorset, and her family were forced to move rooms at the Grand Bahia Principe resort on May 29 when they began choking on the toxic air in their suite.”

Iirc, the check in date was May 25 for the other three that died.

—-

More from the above article:

““The doctors believe the symptoms I was having were the result of me breathing in these chemicals – whatever they were – in our room.”

On the evening her family were moved suite, Sara went back to the apartment block, named Villa 25, and photographed the room doors which were sealed with “thick sellotape.”

She says that 11 of the 16 rooms were sealed and had ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs on them – yet the hotel still allowed her family to live in the building for the first week of their holiday.”

—-

I’m still catching up here, wondering what room numbers of the affected persons has been released, if any.
 
  • #834
And, another. :(

"A 'vibrant;Queens mom of four is the latest fatality to be reported at a Dominican Republic resort — where she died within hours of coming down with a mystery stomach illness.

Donette Edge Cannon, 38, visited the embattled tourist destination on a family trip last month to Sunscape Bávaro Beach Punta Cana to celebrate her brother-in-law’s birthday."


https://nypost.com/2019/06/21/queens-mom-latest-fatality-reported-at-dominican-republic-resort/

Again, not unusual to have stomach illness on vacation, but it IS unusual to die from it.

jmo

Edited to add: This victim did have diabetes/kidney issues. That should be noted when we make our lists. Perhaps she was vulnerable to stomach bug....IDK that much about diabetes to know for sure.

Re: the kidney failure, I was reading upstream about how dialysis would be one possible treatment method for removing toxicity, can’t remember the specific details... So noting the kidney connection and wondering if kidney failure was mentioned in any other cases. I do realize she had preexisting kidney issues.
 
  • #835
This was actually last year, they've fixed it now. May 2018.

Cannon, who owned a catering business, arrived at the all-inclusive resort on May 14, 2018. She spent the next four days in the sun and taking pictures — even partaking on a dune buggy excursion.
Good to make the correction! Thanks for pointing it out.

jmo
 
  • #836
Re: the kidney failure, I was reading upstream about how dialysis would be one possible treatment method for removing toxicity, can’t remember the specific details... So noting the kidney connection and wondering if kidney failure was mentioned in any other cases. I do realize she had preexisting kidney issues.
I also noted how the hospital was not equipped to help someone with issues, which aren't that uncommon.

I think one issue is that the local hospitals see many cases of regular stomach issues from tourists and they patch 'em up enough to send 'em home. Everything falls under "over doing it on vacation."

jmo
 
  • #837
BBM:
“Sara Taylor, 53, from Poole, Dorset, and her family were forced to move rooms at the Grand Bahia Principe resort on May 29 when they began choking on the toxic air in their suite.”

Iirc, the check in date was May 25 for the other three that died.

—-

More from the above article:

““The doctors believe the symptoms I was having were the result of me breathing in these chemicals – whatever they were – in our room.”

On the evening her family were moved suite, Sara went back to the apartment block, named Villa 25, and photographed the room doors which were sealed with “thick sellotape.”

She says that 11 of the 16 rooms were sealed and had ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs on them – yet the hotel still allowed her family to live in the building for the first week of their holiday.”

—-

I’m still catching up here, wondering what room numbers of the affected persons has been released, if any.

Since the motel staff put celephane around the door seals I have to wonder if rooms were sprayed for Bed Bugs with some sort of "fogger" type bug poison spray.

The only time I ever got sick on pesticides was when I once "bombed" the place I was staying with those "foggers".
Even though we followed the directions and opened all the windows after the fogging, and we stayed away for hours, when we came back we got sick from the spraying. It wasnt anything like these people experienced but we were sick. We got headaches and nauseaus and it took weeks before we started to feel the place getting back to normal. Never used another fogger since.

I have to wonder if they had a Bed Bug issue in some rooms and decided to use some strong fogging type sprays that contaminated the rooms.
 
  • #838
Dominican Republic Health Official Claims Cynthia Day Died from the 'Shock' of Seeing Fiancé Dead (with clip)

June 20, 2019

"....As the investigations continue, Suero is slamming the media reports as “fake news” and claimed that these deaths could have happened anywhere.

“People die all over the world,” Suero told Fox News. “Unfortunately, very unfortunately for us, these tourists have died here. We had about 14 deaths last year here of U.S. tourists, and no one said a word. Now everyone is making a big deal of these.”

“They were a special case as far as U.S. tourists,” he added. “They were a special medical case.”"

Dominican Republic Health Official Claims Cynthia Day Died from the 'Shock' of Seeing Fiancé Dead
 
  • #839
And, another. :(

"A 'vibrant;Queens mom of four is the latest fatality to be reported at a Dominican Republic resort — where she died within hours of coming down with a mystery stomach illness.

Donette Edge Cannon, 38, visited the embattled tourist destination on a family trip last month to Sunscape Bávaro Beach Punta Cana to celebrate her brother-in-law’s birthday."


https://nypost.com/2019/06/21/queens-mom-latest-fatality-reported-at-dominican-republic-resort/

Again, not unusual to have stomach illness on vacation, but it IS unusual to die from it.

jmo

Edited to add: This victim did have diabetes/kidney issues. That should be noted when we make our lists. Perhaps she was vulnerable to stomach bug....IDK that much about diabetes to know for sure.

Donette's diabetes and renal failure was so severe, she was on dialysis.
Simply, Dialysis filters their blood and helps in maintaining BP.
Usually individuals receive dialysis 3X a week in order to prevent toxins from building up in their blood/body.
If a patient misses dialysis even once their electrolytes can get out of wack, toxins build up, and they can get sick quickly on a cellular level which shows physically ( lethargy, chest pain, build up of fluid, mental changes, SOB)
This is individual, some can compensate and manage it better then others depending on their health and renal function.
IMO, she was definitely a more vulnerable individual with comorbidities where she may not compensate as easily as healthy individuals and would have needed to be monitored closely if ill. MOO

Per the article she was there 4 days "throughout the trip, we kept using the bathroom,”

The final night of the trip,Cannon woke up with a stomach ache, began vomiting and having diarrhea. When she didn’t get better by morning, the family decided to call a doctor.“My cousin said, ‘It’s getting worse. I’m going to have the medics come and check her out,'” Johnson said. “Once they got to the room, she fell unconscious and they took her to the hospital.”

“Their conclusion was renal failure, but it never addressed what initially got her sick in the first place,” Johnson told The Post.
 
  • #840
I also noted how the hospital was not equipped to help someone with issues, which aren't that uncommon.

I think one issue is that the local hospitals see many cases of regular stomach issues from tourists and they patch 'em up enough to send 'em home. Everything falls under "over doing it on vacation."

jmo

At quick glance, there are available locations for dialysis and hospitals that offer it which is what I would expect due to the abundance of need, IMO Nearest Dialysis Center to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - Punta Cana Forum - TripAdvisor

Cruise ships have dialysis machines and staffing Dialysis at Sea
 
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