Pennsylvania woman died at Dominican Republic hotel chain days before Maryland couple found dead
Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the location of one of the guest’s deaths.
Five days before a Maryland couple vacationing in the Dominican Republic was found dead in their hotel room, a woman from Pennsylvania died at a hotel in the same area. Both hotels are owned by Bahia Principe.
Miranda Schaup-Werner collapsed on May 25 after consuming a drink from the minibar at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville, according to Fox News and Pennsylvania TV station WFMZ. The U.S. State Department confirmed her death to USA TODAY.
Schaup-Werner, 41, was celebrating her ninth wedding anniversary with husband Dan Werner, family spokesperson Jay McDonald, her brother-in-law, told multiple news outlets.
"At one point, she was sitting there happily smiling and taking pictures and the next moment she was in acute pain and called out for Dan and she collapsed," McDonald told WFMZ. "He was understandably in shock but the whole thing was just so stunning."
Previously: Maryland couple found dead in their hotel room in the Dominican Republic
And: Delaware woman recounts attack at Dominican Republic resort in viral post
Edward Nathaniel Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Ann Day, 49, arrived at the Grand Bahia Principe Hotel in La Romana May 25, hotel complex director Francisco Romero told local media. After they missed their scheduled checkout time on Thursday, hotel staff entered the room and found both bodies unresponsive but no signs of violence, according to a statement from the hotel.
“We are deeply saddened by the incident at one of our hotels in La Romana, Dominican Republic, and want to express our deepest condolences to their family and friends,” the statement read. “The staff immediately contacted the relevant local authorities which have initiated an investigation.”
A spokesman for the Dominican Republic National Police told CNN blood pressure medication was also found in the room.
The bodies were transported to the Dominican National Institute of Forensic Sciences for an exam. An autopsy found they died of respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, which is caused by excess fluid in the lungs according to CNN.
Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg
A closer look: Incidents involving American tourists raise safety concerns about Dominican Republic
Related: Couple dies of mysterious illness during vacation in Fiji, family says
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pennsylvania woman died at Dominican Republic hotel chain days before Maryland couple found dead
