The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has kicked off investigations on the strange and shocking deaths of tourists traveling in the Dominican Republic. The probe commenced following what could be the ninth bizarre death of a tourist in the Caribbean nation.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the FBI is working with local authorities to investigate the occurrences that took place before the deaths were reported to the government and police.
The FBI's intervention came after at least nine deaths were recorded in the island nation since within the last few months. The latest was the death of Joseph Allen, who reportedly told friends that his body was overheating and had to go back to his hotel room to shower and rest.
Family members of the deceased told the press that Allen was healthy. Local authorities have alluded that the deaths were not related. However, some relatives of the tourists said some of the tourists who died appear to have been drinking at their hotels' minibar before feeling sick.
The other tourists who died in the Dominican Republic this year, as compiled by BBC News, are as follows: Leyla Cox, Robert Bell Wallace who felt sick in April at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, John Corcoran who was found dead in his hotel room, Miranda Schaup-Werner who reportedly died after having some drinks at the hotel's minibar, and Edward Nathaniel Holmes, and Cynthia Ann Day.
Last year, David Harrison died at the same hotel where Wallace was found dead. Also in 2018, Yvette Monique Sport's death was reported to the authorities. The occurrences leading to Sport's passing were similar to that of Schaup-Werner's.
Other groups of tourists who went to the Hotel Riu Palace Macao and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino said many of them felt sick after either swimming in the pool, drinking in minibars, or eating food at hotel restaurants.
Santo Domingo U.S. embassy authorities said no evidence at this point suggests that the deaths from last year and the succeeding deaths recorded to date are connected to each other.
A separate compilation report by CBS News revealed that a tourist from New York said she felt ill after drinking soda from Grand Bahia Principe Resort's minibar. A couple from Colorado has also filed a lawsuit against the same hotel after falling ill.
Another American traveler from Florida said he swam in the Caribe Club Princess Beach Resort and Spa's pool and felt "severely sick with stomach pain."
Despite the claims, toxicology results and probe findings from the FBI have yet to be revealed. No other details about the potential links in the recent deaths have been announced just yet.
