Fourth American reported dead at Dominican Republic resort in past two months
A fourth American tourist has been reported dead at a Dominican Republic resort in the past two months, according to Fox News.
Robert Wallace of Turlock, Calif., arrived at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana with his wife on April 10 to attend his stepson's wedding but fell ill almost immediately the day after. The 67-year-old, who owned a construction business, had reportedly taken a scotch from the room's minibar before he became nauseous.
"He started feeling very sick," Wallace's niece Chloe Arnold told Fox. "He had blood in his urine and stool right afterward."
Arnold said a hotel doctor later checked on Wallace and determined on April 13 that he needed to go to the hospital. Wallace eventually died the next day, on April 14. The family has yet to learn what his cause of death is, his niece said.
"We have so many questions," Arnold said. "We don't want this to happen to anyone else."
In a separate interview, Wallace's son-in-law Tommy Tickenoff told KTXL that the hospital was slow to notify his family of Wallace's death.
"We didn't find out until the next morning that he had passed, which is another weird thing," he said. "My mom and brother had been in touch with the hospital and they didn't reach out and tell us any answers until the next morning."
Tickenoff added that Dominican authorities told the family that they would receive Wallace's toxicology reports by the end of this month — around the same time they plan on holding a private memorial for him.
Last year, David Harrison, 45, of Maryland, suddenly died at the same hotel that Wallace stayed at. At the time, Harrison was on vacation with his wife and 12-year-old son to celebrate his wedding anniversary. His death was later ruled a result of pulmonary edema.
The news surrounding Wallace's passing comes following reports of other mysterious deaths at resorts on the island.
On May 25, 41-year-old psychotherapist Miranda Schaup-Werner was staying at the all-inclusive Bahia Principe Hotel in La Romana when she collapsed after having a drink. Authorities claimed that she too died of pulmonary edema and respiratory failure, although a family spokesman said that police did a "very cursory [look] into determining the cause of death."
Five days later, Edward Nathaniel Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Day, 49, of Prince George's County, Md., were found dead in their room at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville, a nearby hotel, after they failed to check out. Law enforcement said the couple died of the same illness that led to Wallace's and Schaup-Werner's deaths.
Other visitors to the island have since come forward with their own disturbing experiences.
Last week, Kaylynn Knull of Chicago claimed that she and her boyfriend were "poisoned" at the Bahia Principe Hotel in La Romana in June 2018. That same week, Awilda Montes of New York told the New York Daily News that she once took a sip from what she thought was 7Up during her stay at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville and unexpectedly vomited blood.
In response to the troubling incidents, the FBI told Fox News that it is currently assisting Dominican authorities in their investigation into the most recent deaths.