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American Couple’s Death in Dominican Republic Not From Poisoned Alcohol, F.B.I. Says

The Caribbean country was thrown into a crisis this year by a spate of tourist deaths. The F.B.I. finding has bolstered Dominican authorities’ claim that the deaths were natural.

By Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

The F.B.I. ruled out poisoned alcohol as the cause of two American tourists’ deaths in the Dominican Republic in May, bolstering the country’s findings that a spate of tourist deaths this year were not the result of foul play, a State Department spokesperson said on Friday.

The Dominican Republic’s economy relies in part on drawing visitors to its beach resorts, and the country became engulfed in a crisis this summer when the families of multiple American tourists said their loved ones had died under suspicious circumstances. Several had sipped alcohol before their deaths, leading to one theory that tainted drinks were to blame.

The revelation Friday seemed to lend some support to what the Dominican authorities, despite a flood of negative news coverage, had argued: that the deaths, while tragic, were not occurring at an unusual rate. Tourists die on vacation every year, and the State Department has maintained that there has not been an uptick in reported deaths.

F.B.I. investigators did not give their own assessment of the cause of the deaths. They assisted the Dominican Republic National Police by conducting toxicology tests for three cases, including what to many seemed the most suspicious deaths: a couple from Maryland, Nathaniel E. Holmes and Cynthia A. Day, who died overnight in the same hotel room in La Romana.

The F.B.I. ruled out methanol poisoning from alcohol for the deaths, the State Department spokesperson said.

The Dominican authorities had earlier found no evidence of foul play or violence and said the cause of the deaths was respiratory failure brought on by fluid in the lungs, known as pulmonary edema.

Steven E. Bullock, a lawyer for the couple’s family, said in response to the F.B.I. results that his clients’ deaths still warranted further review.

“You had a couple that died of the same ailment at the same time, and they want to say that it’s natural causes,” Mr. Bullock said with a scoff. “I think there’s something for us to continue to look into.”

A relative of Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, of Allentown, Pa., whose death in La Romana the F.B.I. also assisted with investigating, referred questions to a lawyer who did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

More than 2.7 million Americans visit the Dominican Republic each year.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on national news. He is from upstate New York and previously reported in Baltimore, Albany, and Isla Vista, Calif. More about Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

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FBI Probing Why Some U.S. Tourists Have Died Mysteriously In The Dominican Republic

Bobby Allyn

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is a popular vacation spot among American tourists. Federal investigators are now probing why a spate of people have died suddenly over the past year while visiting the island country. ullstein bild via Getty Images hide caption

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is a popular vacation spot among American tourists. Federal investigators are now probing why a spate of people have died suddenly over the past year while visiting the island country.

Updated at 10:10 p.m. ET

The FBI is now helping local authorities in the Dominican Republic examine the mysterious deaths of three Americans who were staying at resorts in the island country in recent weeks, an FBI official has confirmed to NPR.

Since news of the deaths has spread, relatives of four additional Americans who died there over the past year have raised concerns.

Although there are similarities in the seven deaths — most are described as happening suddenly, and several after an alcoholic drink — federal officials have not determined whether there is any connection between any of the deaths.

Relatives of those who have died are demanding answers, just as tourism officials in the country are calling the incidents unrelated and isolated.

Robin Bernstein, the U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic, said the FBI is conducting toxicology analyses, a process that could take up to a month to complete.

"The safety and security of U.S. citizens that live in, work in, and visit the Dominican Republic remains our highest priority," Bernstein said. "These incidents are tragic and we offer our deepest condolences to those personally impacted."

Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, of Pennsylvania died suddenly on May 25 after checking in to a resort with her husband to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Her lungs became filled with fluid, which led to respiratory failure, not long after consuming a drink from a minibar in the couple's hotel room, according to authorities in the Dominican Republic.

Just five days later at a resort owned by the same company, a Maryland couple, Nathaniel Edward Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Ann Day, 49, were discovered dead in their resort hotel room of the same cause, investigators said.

Both establishments are owned by Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts, which issued a statement saying that its employees followed all of its security protocols.

David Ortiz Shooting, Tourist Deaths Deal Blow To Dominican Republic's Image

"To date, there are no indications of any correlation between these two unfortunate incidents," according to the hotel's statement .

Since then, family members of other Americans who have died under similar circumstances over the past year have gone public.

Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Pennsylvania died last June at a Bahia Principe hotel after she drank a beverage from the hotel's minibar, her family told NBC10.

David Harrison, 45, of Maryland, died last July at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino while visiting the Caribbean country, and The Washington Post reported that autopsy results show that Harrison's cause of death was a heart attack.

Another American died after drinking at the same Hard Rock Resort, his family told CBS. He was in the Dominican Republic vacationing, according to his obituary , which said he died "unexpectedly."

On Wednesday, Barbara Corcoran, real estate investor and judge on the TV show Shark Tank, said her brother John was also found dead in his hotel room of an apparent heart attack while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. According to public records, Corcoran was 65 years old. A Facebook post from a community group in Edgewater, N.J., where Corcoran lived, confirmed he died on April 21.

Bernstein, the U.S. ambassador, said federal officials are aware of the other families who have voiced concern about loved ones abruptly dying while on vacation in the Dominican Republic.

"At this time, we have no indication of any connection between those tragic losses and the cases currently under investigation," Bernstein said.

More than 6 million people visit the Dominican Republic every year, according to the country's tourism officials . Nearly half of the millions who visit come from the United States.

The Dominican Republic's minister of tourism, Francisco Javier García, cautioned against speculating over the cause of deaths for the Americans who have recently died.

"We are confident that we can provide a definitive answer as soon as possible," said García. "You can also be sure that the necessary measures will be taken to make the country even safer for all visitors."

• Nation & World

Dominican tourist deaths were from natural causes, not tainted alcohol, FBI says

• Josh Fiallo Former Times Reporter

News of American tourists dying in the Dominican Republic swept the United States earlier this year, with family members of victims alleging that foul play was potentially a factor.

News of the deaths went viral, along with the sense that “poisoned” or “counterfeit” alcohol served at resort bars was to blame. That belief is not true in three cases, however, according to the FBI, which determined Monday that three of the investigated deaths were simply from natural causes.

“Methanol poisoning from tainted alcohol was ruled out by the FBI in these cases during the toxicology screening, and it was not the finding in any other cases of U.S. citizen deaths investigated by Dominican authorities," a State Department spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.

The Dominican Republic’s tourism minister said in June that the deaths were a statistically normal phenomenon that was being lumped together by the U.S. media. The numbers back up his statement.

According to the State Department’s website, 17 Americans died while traveling to the Dominican Republic in 2017. In 2018, there were 13 deaths reported. Between January and June of this year, 10 people died.

While the FBI’s report backs up local authorities’ original findings that there was no foul play involved, the damage inflicted by reports surrounding the deaths on the island republic’s tourism industry has already taken its toll.

ForwardKeys, which analyzes more than 17 million flight bookings a day, released a report in June that showed summer bookings to the Dominican from the United States fell by 74.3 percent compared to the same period in 2018.

“My deepest sympathies go out to the families of the American tourists who have passed away," Olivier Ponti, vice president of insights at ForwardKeys, said in a statement. "Their recent and tragic deaths appear to have had a dramatic impact on travel to the Dominican Republic. Our analysis of leisure travel shows a striking correlation.”

The deaths also prompted Delta Airlines in June to allow travelers to reschedule their flights to Punta Cana “due to recent events.” The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana also announced it would be removing the liquor dispensers from all rooms because of “guest feedback.”

Former Times Reporter

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11 U.S. Tourists Have Died in the Dominican Republic in 2019. Should You Cancel Your Trip?

T he State Department confirmed to TIME that 46-year-old Denver resident, Khalid Adkins, died in the Dominican Republic on June 25, raising the number of U.S. tourist deaths in the Caribbean country in 2019 to 11.

Amid the headlines about tourist deaths, Delta Airlines announced it would allow passengers with tickets to Punta Cana, where at least three U.S. tourists have died––to cancel or reschedule their flights “due to recent events.”

Delta passengers who purchased tickets to Punta Cana airport before June 21 have until Aug. 15 to reschedule their flights to any date on or before Nov. 20, without being charged a change fee.

Passengers who choose to cancel their flights entirely have a year from the booking date to use the credits.

Last week, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino announced it would be removing liquor dispensers from all guest rooms at the Punta Cana location, along with other safety measures. In a statement, the hotel clarified that it was doing this based on “guest feedback” and to “enhance safety moving forward,” not due to reports that some U.S. tourist deaths may have been caused by tainted alcohol. Neither U.S. nor Dominican officials have confirmed reports that authorities were investigating tainted alcohol.

According to Hard Rock, in addition to removing the liquor dispensers, all alcohol on the property will be brand-name and sourced from the U.S. except speciality drinks from the Dominican Republic, including Presidente beer.

Additionally, Hard Rock’s Punta Cana location will hire a U.S.-based healthcare facility and will contract a U.S.-based 3rd party testing lab to inspect and test all food and beverages.

The headlines about American tourists dying and have fueled speculation among travelers that the Caribbean country is an unsafe destination for travelers.

Safety concerns began to arise in May, when three seemingly healthy American tourists suddenly died in the same resort within the same week. The FBI has confirmed that it is assisting Dominican police with the investigations. The State Department said there has been no evidence of foul play and no sign that the deaths are connected.

Despite the tragic headlines, safety experts are cautioning travelers not to rush to conclusions. The connections, they say, are not immediately apparent and safety experts in particular say that the country is no more dangerous than it was before. “It’s not an overly dangerous place,” Matthew Bradley, a former CIA agent and current Regional Security Director of International SOS, a travel security company, tells TIME. “I would still consider the Dominican Republic a safe place to go.”

According to the State Department, last year 13 U.S. citizens died while traveling to the Dominican Republic. The number was 17 in 2017. More than 2.7 million U.S. tourists visited the island in 2017, making the island the fourth most popular travel destination for Americans.

In a statement, a State Department spokesperson tells TIME that there has not been an increase in the reported deaths of American tourist in the Dominican Republic.

“We have not seen an uptick in the number of U.S. citizen deaths reported to the Department,” the statement said.

But for those millions of travelers with trips booked, police and resort officials are asking the public to wait for conclusions from investigations before making assumptions — and denying there is anything nefarious at play.

11 American tourists have died in the Dominican Republic this year

This year there have been multiple high-profile cases involving American tourists dying while staying in the Dominican Republic. Seven deaths have been attributed to tourists becoming ill and dying of health related issues.

Khalid Adkins

According to the GoFundMe page started by his sister-in-law, Marla Strick, Adkins traveled to the Dominican Republic with his daughter last week when he suddenly became sick. During his flight back to Colorado on Sunday, Adkins became ill on the plane, vomiting, and was forced to go to a hospital in Santo Domingo.

Strick confirmed Adkins died on Tuesday and his family is raising funds to cover cost for him to return home. As of Thursday, the fundraiser has raised $21,903 out of it’s $20,000 goal.

“We need to get his body home anything helps please!!,” Strick posted. “We really want to know what happened! We just want to get his body home to hopefully get some answers.”

Jerry Curan

Curran, 78, died on Jan . 26 just days after traveling to the DR with his wife, according to NBC affiliate WKYC .

The family is suspicious about the death after Curran threw up and was unresponsive shortly after he and his wife had dinner the night they arrived, WKYC reports.

He was staying at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana.

“We want to find out what happened and why did he die,” Kellie Brown told WKYC.

Jerry Curran’s death certificate says he died Saturday January 26, but his family isn’t sure. https://t.co/qSYajovW0m — First Coast News (@FCN2go) June 14, 2019

Orlando Moore and Portia Ravenelle

In April, the bodies of New York City couple Orlando Moore, 40, and Portia Ravenelle, 52, were found after being reported missing for weeks. Dominican authorities confirmed that the couple died in a car accident in Santo Domingo.

Orlando Moore and his girlfriend, Portia Ravenelle, were supposed to return from the Dominican Republic on March 27. Police confirmed the couple checked out of their hotel, but family members say neither made it on the flight back home. https://t.co/S4UTw47xsw — NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) April 9, 2019

Robert Wallace

Relatives of Wallace, 67, told Fox News that he had died after visiting the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Resort in Punta Cana. His niece Chloe Arnold told Fox that on April 11, Wallace fell ill after having a Scotch from his hotel room’s mini bar. After being checked by a hotel doctor on April 13, Wallace was sent to the hospital where he died on April 14.

Arnold described her uncle as an avid traveler in good health. His obituary says he passed “unexpectedly while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.”

Arnold told Fox that Dominican authorities have not yet confirmed her uncle’s cause of death.

“We have so many questions,” she said. “We don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

Robert Wallace died three days after falling ill at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in April. https://t.co/zA1s0azGZw — Gage Goulding - KPRC 2 (@GageGoulding) June 11, 2019

Miranda Schaup-Werner

Schaup-Werner, 41, was found unresponsive by hotel staff in her Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville resort hotel room on May 25. According to the hotel, which is located in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican authorities concluded she had suffered a heart attack. In a statement, Bahia Principe said her husband, who Schaup-Werner was traveling with, confirmed she had a history of heart conditions.

Miranda Schaup-Werner, the first of three American tourists to die mysteriously within a week at a Dominican Republic resort, succumbed to a heart attack, the Caribbean island's attorney general said.​ https://t.co/zQa1Knttnl — WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) June 11, 2019

Cynthia Day and Nathaniel Holmes

Five days after the death of Schaup-Werner, Day, 49, and Holmes, 63, a couple from Maryland were found in their hotel rooms, unresponsive. They were staying at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana, which is less than a mile away from sister resort Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville where Schaup-Werner was staying. The case is still under investigation and there were no signs of violence in the case, according to the resort.

In response to the information that has been circulating in different media outlets regarding the two unfortunate events in the Dominican Republic, Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts would like to clarify the following: pic.twitter.com/Pg8QFmaq1L — BahiaPrincipeHotels (@BahiaPrincipe) June 5, 2019

Leyla Cox, 53, was found dead in her hotel room on June 11 while staying at the Excellence Resort in Punta Cana.

“I am overwhelmed and confused and in shock,” William Cox, 25, Leyla’s son told the Staten Island Advance . “Her birthday was June 9 and she passed away on June 10.”

Leyla Cox, 53, died Tuesday, and another family has reported that their loved one died in the Dominican Republic in January. https://t.co/x7jxoGRtMp — NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) June 14, 2019

Joseph Allen

Allen, a New Jersey native, died while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, a State Department spokesperson confirms to TIME. Allen was found dead in his hotel room at Terra Linda Sosua on June 13, according to WABC in New York .

Jamie Reed, his sister, told WABC that her brother was celebrating a friend’s birthday and regularly visited the area.

“We didn’t think anything of it, because he does this all the time,” she told WABC.

It was really heartbreaking speaking to the family of Joseph Allen just a day after he was found dead. The 8th confirmed American tourist death in the Dominican Republic in the last year. Here's what Joseph's sister Jamie had to say: https://t.co/X5irvKaFzB — Stephanie Wash (@WashNews) June 17, 2019

Vittorio Caruso

Caruso, 56, died on June 17 after staying at the Boca Chica Resort in Santo Domingo.

His family told Fox News that he had been traveling by himself and he was in good health.

His sister-in-law, Lisa Maria Caruso, said Caruso was taken to a hospital in respiratory distress after “drinking something.”

The family is still awaiting autopsy reports but said they have been told “conflicting stories from different people” about the circumstances surrounding Caruso’s death.

Dominican Republic Tourist Deaths: Long Island Community Shocked Over Loss Of Former Pizzeria Owner https://t.co/QG4Zh1B7RB — CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) June 24, 2019

Other high-profile incidents

David Ortiz , the former Red Sox slugger, was ambushed on June 9 while sitting outside a lounge bar in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic’s capital and largest city. Surveillance footage of the attack shows a motorist approaching Ortiz and opening fire, striking the retired baseball star and others in his group.

Dominican authorities on June 17 identified the man they believe paid hit men to try and kill Ortiz, adding that they were closing in on the mastermind and motive behind the shooting, the Associated Press reported. Authorities have 10 people in custody related to the shooting and are looking for at least two others.

Dozens of members of the Central Oklahoma Parrothead Association , a group for fans of Jimmy Buffet and trop rock, say they fell “seriously ill” days into their stay at the Hotel Riu Palace Macao in Punta Cana in April.

Dana Flowers, a member and the travel agent, tells TIME that 47 of the 114 members traveling with the group got sick almost immediately, including him.

“It was as bad as it gets,” he says.”Three days in we started noticing people did not make it to concerts and events, it was then we realized they were all sick. It all happened pretty quickly and in pretty good numbers, it was obvious that something is not right. We all thought it was food poisoning and so we went with that, you know this kind of thing happens occasionally, but then the numbers grew and we knew it was a serious issue.”

Flowers says a few members of the group visited the resort’s doctor who gave patients medication for parasites.

RIU Hotels & Resorts, where the group, stayed tells TIME that doctors at the hotel treated three patients for gastroenteritis and were not able to determine the source of their stomach flu.

How safe is the Dominican Republic?

State Department issued a level two (out of four) safety warning for the Dominican Republic in April 2019. The warning advises travelers exercise increased caution due to violent crime in the country, which include armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault. The State Department says that resort areas tend to be better policed and safer that urban areas for travelers.

Bradley, the International SOS analyst, says there is likely a reasonable explanation for the spate of tourist deaths.

“It’s the mystery around the deaths that is driving the speculation,” he tells TIME. “American tourists pass away frequently around the world, several in a day, it’s not unusual. But it is unusual hearing about Americans passing away abroad without it being something like a terrorist attack. We usually don’t hear about tourists dying of heart attacks or in their sleep, but that happens everyday with tourist traveling abroad, it is nothing unique to the Dominican Republic.”

He says prospective travelers who are concerned about the recent deaths, should make sure they have a plan for what to do if they get ill. Bradley suggests travelers should have the phone number for the best nearby hospitals and should check with their insurance providers to make sure they will be covered while traveling. He says travelers can ask hotels whether they offer on-site medical assistance. Travelers can also make arrangements to get immediate medical care back home if they have to leave unexpectedly.

“I don’t think people should distrust Dominican officials,” he adds. “They’re working with what they have. Like they said, 2 million Americans visit DR (Dominican Republic) every year and only a handful have died.”

Bradley says he would advise anyone worried about traveling to the Dominican Republic to take the same precautions they would when going anywhere else.

“These incidents, while recent, in my mind don’t indicate Dominican Republic is any less safe than it was before,” Bradley says. “I would tell people to continue with trips.”

Considering the level two safety ranking from the State Department, Bradley advises travelers not to go anywhere alone, especially at night. And if you do wander on your own, Bradley says , let a companion know when you plan on returning so they can be aware something is amiss if you do not return. “Travel has risk,” Bradley says. “People should be aware before they travel where they are going and plan accordingly, if they do, they usually travel safely.”

Dr. Robert Quigley, Senior Vice President and Regional Medical Director of International SOS says travelers should take extra precaution with their health when away from home.

He advises travelers to visit a doctor prior to embarking on their trip, especially if they might have a chronic medical condition or cardiovascular disease. Quigley says sleep deprivation and stress can “exacerbate underlying, and sometimes asymptomatic, serious cardiovascular diseases.”

He also advised travelers to pack extra medication in case their trip home is delayed.

Will tourism in the Dominican Republic be affected?

As the stories continue to emerge, some travelers have taken to social media to voice concerns about traveling to the Caribbean country. While officials at the Dominican Ministry of Tourism told TIME they were not able to elaborate on the situation because of the ongoing investigation, Francisco Javier García, the Minister of Tourism for Dominican Republic said that the investigations are not affecting the number of tourist visiting the country.

“These cases are very regrettable, but isolated.” he said at a press conference in June. “Investigation into them is a top priority for us and for the National Police. We are asking them to deploy all resources to help provide answers as quickly as possible.”

He called the Dominican Republic a “tranquil, peaceful destination and the safest in the region,” and said tourists can “be assured that the authorities are working hard to clarify these incidents.”

Despite the reassurance, some travelers are saying the incidents have cast doubt on the safety of the country and are refusing to take a chance.

Until the Dominican Republic can pinpoint what is happening to tourist in their country, please stay out of the DR. If you have a hotel, cancel it. We cannot support a country that is not handling this with the utmost confidence that they will find the person/persons. RT — Macrö (@hayxteci) June 18, 2019

Been contemplating canceling my vacation to the Dominican Republic, but David Ortiz getting shot is the last straw. — Hank Mardukas (@HankMardukas93) June 10, 2019

Correction June 27

The original version of this story misstated the Dominican Republic’s largest city. It is Santo Domingo, not Punta Cana

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FBI testing shows no tainted alcohol in Dominican Republic tourist deaths

The FBI has released toxicology test results related to the deaths of three U.S. tourists in the Dominican Republic, according to the U.S. Department of State.

The results of the toxicology testing to date have been "consistent with the findings of local authorities ," who have said there was no indication of foul play or physical violence in either case, a spokesperson for the State Department told USA TODAY.

The toxicology reports were for cases involving  Miranda Schaup-Werner , who died May 25 in her hotel room, and  Cynthia Day and Nathaniel Holmes , who died on May 30 at a sister resort.

Early reports indicated Schaup-Werner, 41, of Pennsylvania, collapsed after consuming a drink from the minibar at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville. Dominican authorities later said she died of a heart attack.

Holmes, 63, and Day, 49, a couple from Maryland, were found dead in their hotel room at the Playa Nueva Romana resort. Preliminary autopsy results released by Dominican authorities indicated the couple died of respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, a condition caused by excess fluid in the lungs, according to CNN and CBS News .

The test results have been provided to the Dominican government and to the families of the deceased.

The tests conducted ruled out several potential causes of death for Day and Holmes, including methanol poisoning from tainted alcohol, the spokesperson said.

At least 10 U.S. tourists have died  in the Dominican Republic since March. CNN  reported in June the FBI was assisting with toxicology analysis in three of the deaths. 

USA TODAY has asked the State Department about additional cases. 

After some of the deaths led to questions about hotel room minibars, the Hard Rock Casino took the precaution of  removing liquor dispensers from guest rooms there as well as at its Mexican properties. 

In August, a  resort temporarily closed  after thousands of visitors canceled following a woman's report she had been beaten at the property.

In the wake of the reported deaths, the country began elevating safety regulations and enforcing food and drink inspections. 

In September , the Dominican Republic Minister of Tourism Francisco Javier García held a briefing to discuss the ministry's commitment to tourist safety, announcing a National Committee of Tourism Security.

"Dominican Republic is a country that tries to safeguard the lives of tourists," said García.

Contributing: Julia Thompson

Report: US-to-Dominican Republic flight bookings rebounding after tourist deaths

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Family attorney: Mexican resort served ‘tainted’ alcohol to 20-year-old American tourist before she drowned

Family of young American woman sues Mexican resort after vacation takes deadly turn

Abbey Conner's family claims the Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar in Playa del Carmen served 'poisonous' alcohol to her before she drowned; insight from attorney Gary Davidson.

The attorney for the family of 20-year-old tourist Abbey Conner, who drowned after drinking alcohol at a Mexican resort, said Thursday that the alcohol was “tainted” and her parents are now filing a new lawsuit against the resort.

Attorney Gary Davidson, who is representing Conner's family, made the comments on “ America’s Newsroom, ” acknowledging that her family thinks her drowning death more than two years ago could have been avoided.

The lawsuit comes as another popular vacation spot, the Dominican Republic , is making worldwide headlines because of a rash of deaths of U.S. tourists – many of whom became suddenly and critically ill at their hotels.

WHEN DREAM VACATIONS TURN INTO TRAGEDIES: MANY DEATHS AT POPULAR RESORTS REMAIN MYSTERIES 

“It was a very sad situation,” Davidson said referencing Conner’s death after she visited the resort in Mexico.

“Abbey's a 20-year-old who goes with her family down to the resort and what happens next is she’s served alcohol along with her older brother in a swimming pool that has a swim-up bar and the next thing we know is that there’s an emergency call placed to security as a result of another tourist finding Abbey in the swimming pool drowning and her brother fighting for his life, also injured,” Davidson said.

“That's what this case is all about.”

Abbey Conner's family is still searching for answers about how she died. (Facebook)

In January 2017, Bill Conner and Virginia McGowan made plans to take a family vacation with their kids, Abbey and Austin, in Mexico and chose the Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar in the popular hot spot Playa del Carmen.

Hours after arriving at the hotel, Abbey and Austin, who had been served a drink by the pool, were drowning. Abbey was found face-down in the pool, and her brother was in the shallow end. Abbey died and her brother survived.

“Abbey was ultimately flown from Mexico after being in two different hospitals there. She was flown from Mexico to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she was evaluated. Two days after flying, being flown into Florida, she passed away,” Davidson said.

Abbey Conner had only been at Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar for a few hours when her family says hotel staff served her and her older brother Austin “tainted” alcohol at a hotel pool.

CALIFORNIA MAN DIED IN APRIL AT DOMINICAN REPUBLIC RESORT AFTER DRINK IN HOTEL MINIBAR, FAMILY SAYS

“We have alleged that the hotel knew that tainted alcohol was being processed through the hotel, through the bar areas, and we believe that and we've asserted that in the lawsuit,” Davidson said.

“The lawsuit has just begun. We look forward to taking depositions of various people who are on staff to establish those facts.”

After the tragedy, and local news reports that many other tourists had fallen critically and suddenly ill at Mexican all-inclusive resorts, Mexican authorities raided 31 establishments.

They seized almost 100 gallons of alcohol that violated health and safety regulations. And they found that much of the alcohol contained methanol, which is often used in windshield washer fluid. Abbey Conner's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that the resort allowed alcoholic drinks that were "tainted, substandard, poisonous," and "unfit for human consumption" to be served.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “What we know is that there is -- there was and perhaps still is going on, we don't know, a pandemic of service of tainted alcohol throughout the Mexican resorts, specifically in the Riviera Maya area, although other areas may have been affected,” Davidson said.

“Those raids, we think, were the tip of the iceberg and we strongly believe that this problem was known to Mexican authorities, was known to hotels and resorts.”

Davidson added that he thinks the hotels and resorts “either turned a blind eye or intentionally encouraged this sort of behavior” in an effort to save money.

Davidson said, “At an all-inclusive resort of course alcohol, unlimited alcohol, is available to guests. What better way to save money, conserve resources, than to serve non-first quality alcohol?”

Fox News’ Elizabeth Llorente and The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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Is Counterfeit Alcohol Behind the Dominican Republic Deaths?

By Ej Dickson

Over the past few months, a string of mysterious U.S. tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic has caught the attention of tourists all over the world. To date, there have been at least 10 tourist deaths connected to the Dominican Republic in the last year alone, with the latest  tourist, L ouisiana woman Susan Simoneaux , dying a week after returning from her honeymoon in Punta Cana. Although an autopsy report is currently pending, like many of the other tourists who died after visiting the island, Simoneaux was reported to have had fluid in her lungs at the time of her death — and while Dominican Republic officials are insisting that the deaths are unrelated and that the island is still safe to visit, many are wondering just what the hell is going on.

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To date, the most widely reported theory regarding the U.S. tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic is that they may have been linked to counterfeit alcohol , or bootleg liquor. This theory primarily stems from the fact that several of the deceased tourists, such as Pennsylvania women Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, who died of a heart attack on May 25th; Yvette Monique Short, 51, who died in June 2018; and Robert Bell Wallace, 67, who died in April, all had drinks from the minibar prior to falling ill, albeit at two different resorts and on three separate occasions. (Schaup-Werner was staying at the Grand Bahia Principe Bouganville Hotel, while Wallace was staying at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana; Sport was staying at the Bahia Principe in Punta Cana.)

On May 30th, a Maryland couple, Edward Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Day, 49, was also found dead in their rooms at the Bahia Principe Hotel in La Romana. Although it is unclear whether Holmes and Day also drank from the minibar prior to their deaths, Holmes, Day, and Schaup-Werner were all found to have fluid in their lungs at the time of their deaths, a condition known as pulmonary edema.

According to the New York Post , FBI investigators are looking into the counterfeit alcohol theory by comparing alcohol samples from at least one of the resorts, the Bahia Principe Hotel in La Romana, to blood samples from the victims. The FBI is reportedly trying to determine what type of liquor the tourists drank before their deaths, as well as whether the liquor was counterfeit or tainted with any dangerous chemicals.

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But how, exactly, does counterfeit liquor end up in hotels, resorts, or restaurants — and what kinds of chemicals could be linked to such mysterious deaths? Here’s what we know about the counterfeit alcohol theory, and what we don’t.

What is counterfeit alcohol, and why is it dangerous? Counterfeit alcohol is essentially bootleg liquor, produced outside the context of regulated alcohol production. “It is often cheaply produced and always unregulated but can appear to look and smell like alcohol produced by a licensed supplier,” Michael Bilello, the senior vice president of communications and marketing for the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), tells Rolling Stone . The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) differentiates counterfeit alcohol from other forms of bootleg alcohol, in that it is defined as a “fraudulent imitations of legitimate branded products.”

Counterfeit alcohol can sometimes be made or laced with substances such as embalming fluid, battery acid, or methanol, a synthetic chemical that is used in antifreeze and windshield wiper fluid. Even small amounts of methanol can be toxic, if not lethal, to humans, says Bilello. “It can cause a variety of symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blindness, and even death,” he said. Sometimes, this can happen after just one drink.

Where have there been reports of counterfeit alcohol being sold? There have been reports of deaths related to toxic bootleg alcohol all over the world, from Iran to Indonesia to Mexico. Earlier this year, there were at least 150 deaths linked to methyl alcohol poisoning in the state of Assam in India, which officials attributed to the sale of bootleg “country-made liquor” containing methanol. While not unheard of, there are relatively few counterfeit alcohol-related deaths in the United States, in large part due to a more rigorously regulated alcohol sales and distribution system than in other countries.

In the Dominican Republic specifically, “we’re unaware of regulators monitoring counterfeit alcohol,” Bilello says. But according to a 2018 IARD report , nearly 29% of total alcohol sales on the island are from illegal alcohol sales, according to a 2018 IARD report ; though that number encompasses all unregulated alcohol sales and does not refer to counterfeit alcohol sales alone.

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What is the evidence that counterfeit alcohol is linked to the deaths in the Dominican Republic? As of now, there is none: it’s just a working theory, and Dominican Republic officials and resort owners have continued to maintain that the recent spate of tourist deaths is little more than a coincidence. The Bahia Principe has issued a statement on social media reassuring guests of the safety of the island and disputing the veracity of many of the media reports on the tourist deaths; one of the hotel chains linked to the recent tourist deaths, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana, reassured guests that it is in the process of removing liquor dispensers from all guests’ rooms and is contracting a U.S.-based third party testing lab “to provide inspections and laboratory testing of all food and beverage products and public spaces,”  according to a statement sent to  Rolling Stone .  

In an interview with the Cut , however, Lawrence Kobilinsky, a forensic science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, did note that the effects of methanol poisoning are consistent with what was reported from some of the publicly released details from the tourists’ autopsies, such as fluid in the lungs and heart and respiratory failure.

“The heart will pump faster, blood pressure will increase, and the victim will breathe more rapidly, trying to acquire more oxygen into their lungs,” he told the Cut. “There are neurological effects as well, and the toxicity will also affect contractility of the heart muscle, causing heart failure. This can result in pulmonary edema and acute respiratory distress.”

How can you avoid drinking counterfeit alcohol? While traveling, Bilello says, it’s best to look for the “four Ps”: place, product, price, and packaging. You should only purchase alcohol from licensed bars, restaurants, and retailers, rather than buying booze from a remote location or drinking anything offered to you by a stranger. It’s also a good idea to stick to drinking only brands you recognize. Even so, it’s important to check the label on the bottle for “misspelled words,” says Bilello; it’s also crucial to check the glue on the label to make sure it is firmly secured, as well as the seal on the bottle to ensure it hasn’t been tampered with.

To ensure you’re not ingesting any liquid that has been packaged under poor or unhygienic conditions, turn the bottle upside down and see how the bubbles rise. You should never drink any beverage that contains unidentified particles or sediment.

And as tempting as it may be to purchase a bottle of whiskey from a local store at an extremely low price, Bilello advises against it.

“If the price seems too cheap to be true, it probably is,” he says. “Be mindful of cheap, discount products.”

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The (Last) Vacation of a Lifetime: Why Are So Many Tourists Dying at Dominican Republic Resorts?

Suspicion is growing that pesticides used to fumigate rooms in this tropical paradise may be responsible for several of the deaths—but not all of them.

Dana Kennedy

About 2,000 miles away from the Dominican Republic, in a little town in New Mexico, one of the world’s authorities on criminal poisoning is following the mysterious deaths and illnesses of Americans on that Caribbean island—and he, like others, is alarmed.

Six apparently healthy, middle-aged tourists from the United States have abruptly dropped dead in hotel rooms on their dream vacations in the D.R. since June 2018. Others have fallen seriously ill—all from what could be deadly pesticides.

More people are coming forward to say their loved ones died in the D.R. under strange circumstances in the past year, including real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran , who said on Wednesday her otherwise healthy brother passed away at a resort there in April, supposedly of a heart attack.

Confusing the issue are a recent series of apparently random acts of violence in the D.R. that aren’t connected to the hotel room deaths.

Mexico, Jamaica and the Seychelles have made headlines in recent years after tourists said they were assaulted and/or robbed, often after being drugged with tainted alcohol. But the Dominican Republic, almost overnight, has gone them one better with chilling accounts that could be out of a Stephen King novel or an Agatha Christie mystery.

“I’ve been watching these incidences and they’re very odd,” says John Trestrail, a forensic and clinical toxicologist who headed a major hospital poison center for 32 years, was an FBI consultant, and now runs the Center for the Study of Criminal Poisoning in Los Lunos, New Mexico. Among the many cases about which he has been consulted in the past: the poisoning of Kim Jong Un’s half-brother at the Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017.

Speaking of the Dominican Republic incidents, Trestrail told The Daily Beast, “The tough part is trying to figure it out from so far away. What’s most troubling are the people who die together at the same time from the same symptoms. You first think carbon monoxide poisoning, but this doesn’t fit that. I keep hearing that the victims’ lungs were filled with fluids. So I think, OK, how about organophosphate pesticides?

Organophosphates and phosphine from aluminum phosphide are lethal chemicals used for, among other things, hotel room fumigation. They’re not always regulated in developing countries and accidental poisonings involving humans are thought to be a serious, although underreported problem, especially on the Indian subcontinent. They’ve been mentioned only rarely in connection with suspicious deaths of tourists and others around the world in recent years, but it is troubling that there is little transparency, awareness or accountability about their use.

The U.S. has controlled pesticides more stringently than many other countries for decades. But last spring Dow Chemical, which contributed $1 million to President Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities, asked the government to dismiss a study indicating that three organophosphates used in the U.S. were harmful to every endangered species studied. Obama-era regulators were poised to issue new limits on how organophosphate pesticides could be used. But that’s on hold now that Trump has asked for a two-year delay to review the study and determine whether to set new limits or not.

Organophosphates were first developed before World War II and later developed by the Nazis for use as possible chemical weapons.  They come in a variety of insecticides, herbicides, nerve agents (like VX) and flame retardants.  Weevil-Cide, which contains aluminum phosphide, was believed the cause of an apparent accidental poisoning that left four children dead in Amarillo, Texas, in 2017.

Initial autopsy reports from the Dominican Republic showed some of the victims died of pulmonary edema and respiratory failure, which apparently rules out carbon monoxide poisoning or the presence of methanol in any alcohol they drank—but could indicate these pesticides.

A 2014 film made in Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the country’s International Medical Center called simply Phosphine , with English subtitles, has racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube. The producers wanted to make the Saudi public aware that the pesticide is often distributed illegally and in places where you would not expect it.

A 2014 investigation by Canadian journalists found that there were at least a dozen suspicious deaths of tourists in Thailand hotels between 2009 and 2013 and the majority, if not all of them, were caused by aluminum phosphide, an insecticide that can kill you within a couple of hours if you’re in a room that was recently fumigated or next to one.

“Using organophosphates or phosphine to kill bedbugs, like some commercial exterminators do, is like using a Sherman tank to kill an ant,” says Cynthia Aaron , medical director of the Michigan Regional Poison Control Center at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and a former longtime colleague of Trestrail.

“The hotels deny, deny, deny. Maybe they know what’s really going on, maybe they don’t. Remember your autopsy is only as good as what you’re looking for, particularly in toxicology.”

Dominican police, politicians and hotel operators are taking a stance familiar to those who have fallen victim to crimes in resorts in developing countries around the world. The cops and hotels say they are investigating the deaths and have asked the FBI for additional toxicological analysis. But they’re also downplaying the incidents and in some cases blaming the media for sensationalizing what they say are just an unfortunate series of coincidences.

Dominican Tourism Minister Francisco Javier García said at a news conference last week that 30 million people have visited the Dominican Republic and these deaths are “regrettable” but “isolated incidents.”

“The hotels and everyone involved seems to be backpedaling something fierce,” says Trestrail. “This is just going to backfire, on everyone. If they want to preserve their image, they need to step up immediately and get to the bottom of this. Guests have a right to know. If nothing else, guests have the right to ask if their rooms have been fumigated recently and get a truthful answer.”

Miranda Schaup-Warner, 41, from Pennsylvania, fell ill and died two hours after checking into the Grand Bahia Principe luxury resort on the Dominican Republic’s south coast with her husband on May 25. A Maryland couple, Cynthia Ann Day, 49 and Nathaniel Edward Holmes, 63, were found dead in their hotel room in an adjacent hotel five days later.

After the initial autopsies that showed fluid in the lungs and respiratory failure, Dominican police later said Schaup-Warner died of a heart attack. The cause of death for Day and Holmes, pending further toxicological investigation, remains pulmonary edema and respiratory failure.

The death of Day and Holmes together is reminiscent of the widely-publicized deaths of the otherwise healthy, thirtysomething Korkki sisters , both bankers from the Midwest who were found unresponsive in their beds at the Maia Luxury Resort and Spa in the Seychelles in September 2016. The initial cause of death for both was said to be acute pulmonary edema. Seychelles officials later said they determined that the women died of acute pulmonary and cerebral edema from a drug combination of codeine, morphine, and alcohol, but controversy has always surrounded the case.

Last week, after hearing about the cases in the Dominican Republic, a Colorado couple said they experienced such terrifying and debilitating symptoms —drooling, sweating, eyes watering, when they stayed at the same resort in June 2018 that they booked an immediate flight home.

Kaylynn Krull said she suffered from cramping so bad that “it felt like a chainsaw going through my gut.” A doctor examined her and her boyfriend, Tom Schwander, and diagnosed them with organophosphate poisoning. The couple sued the resort for $1 million when they said it refused to tell them what kind of chemicals might have been used in their room or even offer them a refund.

Pesticide poisoning is the the most rational theory for some of the recent deaths and illnesses.

But it doesn’t account for the recent case of a Brooklyn woman who said she took a can of 7-Up from the minibar after her arrival at the Bahia Principe in October 2018 and drank something resembling bleach that made her spew blood .

“I was cautious when I took a gulp of it,” said Montes. “I immediately felt it burn me, burn my mouth, burn my tongue. My mouth was on fire,” she told CBS New York . “When I spit it out in bathroom sink it was blood. I was just irrigating my mouth.”

Nor do pesticides necessarily explain the death of 67-year-old Robert Wallace in April whose niece said he got sick right after drinking a bottle of scotch from the minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in the D.R. and died three days later.

The family of Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, says Sport died suddenly at the Bahia Principe in June 2018 after just arriving at the hotel. She took a drink from the minibar inside her hotel room, went to sleep and never woke up, her sister Felecia Nieves told the media . Her death was listed as a heart attack.

"She was 51 years of age, relatively healthy, no reason for her to go on vacation and die so suddenly," Nieves said after hearing about the recent deaths. Nieves said the family asked for a toxicology report a year ago but still has received nothing. “It makes me question at this point is this cause of death even true,” Nieves said.

Dawn McCoy is also questioning the death of her husband, David Harrison, in July 2018 at a Dominican resort. McCoy said her husband complained of not feeling well and woke up one morning with difficulty breathing and died shortly thereafter. Dominican officials gave his cause of death as pulmonary edema and referenced a heart attack as well.

“When it came up that they died from the same exact thing as my husband I thought ‘No, no, there’s no way two people could die of the same exact thing,’” McCoy told Fox News in Philadelphia.

More confusingly, there have been recent incidents of seemingly random and apparently unrelated violence on the D.R. that don’t seem to have anything to do with tainted cocktails or pesticides.

Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who now lives in Boston, was shot in the back Sunday at a bar in his native Santo Domingo. A Delaware woman said she was severely beaten by an attacker wearing a hotel uniform who dragged her down to the basement of a Punta Cana resort and left her for dead in January.

A New York couple who went missing after they left in their rental car on March 27 to drive from their hotel to catch an early morning flight back to the U.S. later were said by police to have died in a very shady-sounding car crash. The car somehow wound up in the Caribbean and was just recently recovered.

The body of Portia Ravenelle, 51, was found near the alleged crash scene without identification and she died in a local hospital April 4 without regaining consciousness. The body of her boyfriend, Orlando Moore, 41, washed ashore on March 31, 13 miles from the alleged crash site. No witnesses have come forth to explain how the car crashed into the sea and yet Ravenelle was found badly injured on the roadside.

One thing is certain: Whatever has caused the many tourist deaths in the D.R. over the last year, whether the victims have been fumigated, liquidated, or died coincidentally of natural causes, the accumulation of mortal incidents is poisoning the Dominican Republic’s reputation.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast  here .

READ THIS LIST

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 Dominican Republic has seen a spate of widely publicized tourist deaths and illnesses.
• The website IWasPoisoned.com has also experienced an unprecedented wave of reports from people saying they fell ill in the Dominican Republic.
• The website has been flooded with about 1,600 reports concerning the Dominican Republic in 2019 — up from 10 in 2018.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

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. "That's how bad it was. Vomit was just everywhere. I slept in it. I just accepted my fate."

Business Insider spoke with five Americans who said they fell ill while visiting the Dominican Republic recently. They all reported their experience on IWasPoisoned.com after an explosion in media coverage of tourist deaths and illnesses in the Dominican Republic . 

And they're not alone. 

Patrick Quade, the founder of IWasPoisoned.com, said he has seen an unprecedented spike in "highly unusual data" concerning Punta Cana resorts this year.

At this point, IWasPoisoned.com has received 1,600 reports of suspected poisonings in the Dominican Republic in 2019. That's up from 10 reports in 2018.

About 100 of those reports detail tales of illness from 2018 and earlier. The reviewer Rose Chambers told Business Insider that she fell ill at Secrets Cap Cana at the end of a four-day trip in October 2018.

She said that despite the fact she and her three traveling companions all ate the same food, she was the only one to become sick. 

"The flight attendant recommended that I be taken off the plane in a wheel chair because I was so sick," she told Business Insider.

But the majority of IWasPoisoned.com reviewers described incidents that occurred in 2019. More than 700 specifically mention the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana. 

IWasPoisoned.com functions a bit like a Yelp for bouts of food poisoning, so these reports are largely unverified. But Quade said the volume of the reports is striking, especially considering the fact that some reviewers were citing cases in which multiple members of their party fell ill.

"Based on the volume and content of reports, we are highly confident this should be viewed as a serious problem," he told Business Insider.

Lee-Ann Jaykus, a microbiologist and professor of food science at North Carolina State University who reviewed the data collected by IWasPoisoned.com, agreed.

"It's a huge outbreak if you have more than 250 people sick," Jaykus told Business Insider.

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Jaykus added that many of the reports include details that don't jibe with typical cases of foodborne disease, which typically doesn't see victims experiencing severe vomiting and diarrhea for an extended period of time. She said this prompted her to consider that the Dominican Republic might not be experiencing a "typical" outbreak of foodborne illness.

Authorities haven't yet released anything about the cause of these illnesses and deaths.

"We are closely monitoring ongoing investigations by Dominican authorities into several recent deaths of U.S. citizens in the Dominican Republic," a spokesperson for the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic told Business Insider in a statement. "We offer our sincerest condolences to the families for their losses, and continue to provide all appropriate consular services. Our Embassy in Santo Domingo has been actively engaging with Dominican authorities to ensure thorough and timely investigations."

Business Insider reached out to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said that it is not involved in the investigations and has not received a request for help from authorities in the Dominican Republic. The FBI did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

"At the request of Dominican authorities, the FBI continues to assist with the ongoing local investigation, to include support with toxicology as well as the arrival of a small team of FBI personnel in the Dominican Republic," a FBI spokesperson told Business Insider, echoing an early statement from the US Embassy.

The spokesperson said that they "have not seen an uptick in the number of U.S. citizen deaths reported to the Department," despite the increased media scrutiny. They added that the US Travel Advisory for the country "remains at a Level 2 and advises U.S. citizens to exercise increased caution in the Dominican Republic due to crime."

"We have no higher priority than the safety and welfare of U.S. citizens abroad," the US Embassy spokesperson said in a statmeent. "Millions of Americans travel to the Dominican Republic every year.  While the overwhelming majority travel without incident, we want to assure all Americans that we continue to work actively with the Dominican authorities at the very highest levels to ensure that U.S. citizens are safe and feel safe while in the Dominican Republic." 

Secrets Cap Cana did not immediately respond for comment. A Bahia Principe spokesperson released a statement to Business Insider, noting that: "To date, there are no indications of any correlation between" the deaths of two tourists at its resorts.

"Today, June 21, 2019, The Ministry of Public Health in the Dominican Republic has released further information on the American tourists who passed away in 2019, including autopsy findings that reveal these deaths were unrelated and from natural causes and pre-existing conditions," a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. "We are deeply saddened by these unfortunate incidents, and extend our sincerest sympathy to the families of those affected. We will continue to respect the privacy of our guests and their families."

For now, travelers who've dealt with illness in the Dominican Republic are left to mull over the piña colada that made them feel dizzy, the beverage that they had to ask for multiple times, or the fish that tasted wrong at dinner.

Media reports have linked the spate of tourist deaths to bootleg alcohol. But two tourists who asked not to be named said that members of their party who didn't drink — in one case, young children — also fell violently ill. Both said they stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and fell ill after dining at the resort's Toro restaurant, which serves a buffet-style spread for breakfast and lunch and steak a la carte for dinner.

Goldberg told Business Insider that the only odd part of her stay at the Hard Rock Hotel in February was the amount of time it took wait staff to supply her with Diet Coke. 

"My mom would order an ice tea, and I would get a Diet Coke," Goldberg said. "She'd get hers right away. I'd have to ask like five times until I got mine. That happened every time. It was so bizarre."

Zach Gordon, a physician who stayed with his family at the Hard Rock last month, said he had a great experience at the resort overall. Still, after dining at the resort's Italian restaurant, Ciao, Gordon ended up "vomiting most of the night." He recovered after 24 hours.

The only thing that Gordon said he ate that his wife and two young daughters didn't was the red snapper, which he'd tried and enjoyed a few nights before. On the second go, he thought the red snapper tasted "overcooked."

When Gordon reported his sickness to the Hard Rock, he said he was told that the resort hadn't received any such reports for several weeks. Gordon said he personally believes he just came down with "classic food poisoning" and that the series of tourist deaths were caused by something else.

"I know that sometimes the simplest solution is the correct solution, but I actually think there's a couple things going on," Gordon said. 

Read the full statement from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino:

"The safety and health of our guests is now, and has always been, our highest priority. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana follows internationally recognized regulations regarding guest health, sanitation and security. We implement rigorous food and beverage protocols, including purchasing products from U.S. licensed and reputable vendors, as well as daily inspections of all products served throughout the hotel. Additionally, our team members are trained to inspect all supplies, equipment and products that enter the property. The property employs more than 70 security personnel per shift and has hundreds of cameras on property to provide the utmost safety for guests and team members. Although the official reports state these incidents are unrelated, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana has taken steps, based on guest feedback, to improve the experience and enhance safety moving forward:   We are currently in the process of removing liquor dispensers from all guest rooms. Alcoholic beverages will continue to be available 24 hours a day as part of the all-inclusive experience. All of the alcohol on property will continue to be brand name and sourced from the U.S., with the exception of a Dominican Republic specialty, Mama Juana, and local beer, Presidente, that we carry to support our community.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana has always provided onsite medical care, however, as an added measure, a U.S. based healthcare facility will be contracted to ensure the on-site health clinic is complying with all international and U.S. standards of care. Once we have finalized the healthcare facility details, we will share those with the public.

The hotel has already been inspected by the Ministry of Public Health. We are also contracting a U.S. based 3rd party testing lab to provide inspections and laboratory testing of all food and beverage products and public spaces.

We will continue to utilize Ecolab to source all cleaning supplies for kitchens and guest rooms, detergents for laundry, and fumigation supplies. Ecolab, a U.S. based company, is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technology and services. The company complies with global regulations, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and/or CE (European Regulation).   More than six million tourists visit the Dominican Republic annually and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana hosts approximately a quarter million guests each year; and we will continue to welcome guests to enjoy our beautiful destination and resort, as we have for the past eight years." 

Read the full statement from the Bahia Principe Hotels and Resorts:

"These two events took place in two different hotels.

The case of Mr. Holmes and Ms. Day remains under investigation by the authorities with the results of toxicology and histopathological tests still pending, thus the cause of death has not been determined. We disapprove of any speculation and conjecture on the possible causes of death and urge all to respect the families while the investigation is ongoing.

To date, there are no indications of any correlation between these two unfortunate incidents.

In both circumstances, established security protocols were followed, and we have maintained open communication with the authorities to provide information and clarification for each case.

At Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts providing a safe and welcoming environment for travelers stands at the heart of our company values. We are the hotel brand with the largest number of rooms in the Dominican Republic, accommodating approximately 700,000 guests per year. We hold some of the most prestigious certifications within the tourism industry, including Travelife Gold certifications in all our hotels in the Dominican Republic. To achieve a Travelife Gold certification, hospitality brands must meet a stringent list of 163 environmental and social criteria, among which include environmental standards for energy, water, waste and hazardous substances."

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Fake alcohol is a deadly problem for tourists traveling abroad

The news about the tragic deaths of several American tourists in the Dominican Republic in May 2019 has created an outcry and a media frenzy. As of June 30, there were at least nine deaths with similar circumstances in the past few months. The FBI and Dominican authorities are investigating , and one theory is that alcohol was the cause of these deaths.

The FBI has reportedly taken samples of alcohol for testing , and the hotels where some tourists died have removed alcohol from the minibars in the hotel rooms. But the concerns are growing, and Senator Chuck Schumer on June 30 recommended that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should aid the ongoing investigation.

Many may find it puzzling that alcohol, particularly adulterated or counterfeit alcohol, could possibly have caused these deaths. But, some experts seem to agree that the symptoms and circumstances fit the indicators of deaths caused by adulterated alcohol .

As a professor of public health, I need to note that research now shows that no amount of alcohol is considered safe in terms of your health, and that alcohol is linked to many cancers and heart disease and is also a key contributor to traffic crashes, violence, and suicide. Even so, counterfeit or illegally made alcohol brings a new level of risk, as it is not monitored for safety and may include added ingredients, such as methanol , known to be extremely harmful to health.

Fake, illegal, and adulterated

Thanks to rigorous regulation of alcohol, Americans may not see or hear much about counterfeit alcohol in the US , but in many other parts of the world counterfeit or “illegal” alcohol is more common and a growing public health concern .

Counterfeit or illegal alcohol is part of a larger category described as “unrecorded” alcohol because it is not recorded in official statistics and not monitored for quality or for taxation. The World Health Organization estimates that 25% of the alcohol consumed worldwide is unrecorded.

Counterfeit alcohol is typically meant to resemble legitimate alcohol, such as finer wines and expensive spirits, in terms of its look, taste, and packaging. But there are also other types of alcohol that are typically considered illegal, such as “moonshine” or “bootleg” alcohol, or simply alcohol that is made under less rigorous processes and that have added ingredients to make the alcohol faster or cheaper.

One of the key aspects of counterfeit or illegal alcohol is that producers distill the alcohol more cheaply and quickly using dangerous shortcuts in the process, such as adding water and methanol , also known as methyl alcohol, which is highly toxic . Methanol is not intended for human consumption and can cause liver damage, blindness, and death if consumed. Earlier this year, toxic alcohol killed at least 154 people in India because it was tainted with methanol.

Alcohol that has special ingredients added is usually described as adulterated alcohol. Sometimes, those who make counterfeit alcohol will add ingredients not only to make it cheaper but also to improve the taste or strengthen the high. The added ingredients may vary.

For example, in Kenya, one of the popular illegally brewed types of alcohol is called Chang-aa or “Kill me quick.” That is because it usually has a very high alcohol concentration and is often also adulterated with harmful ingredients such as pilfered jet fuel or spiked with embalming fluid from mortuaries. This type of alcohol is usually consumed in the urban slums among those vulnerable and poor who want the cheapest type of alcohol with the biggest “high.”

Siphoning sales from legit booze

INTERPOL , the International Criminal Police Organization, claims that counterfeit alcohol is a top concern globally. In 2018, during one operation, it reported that “16,000 tonnes and 33 million liters of potentially dangerous fake food and drink was seized worth an estimated $117 million .” In Europe , wine and spirits are in the top five sectors for lost sales.

Counterfeit wine is becoming more common and now represents a billion-dollar market . In China, for example, counterfeit wine is so common it has been referred to as an epidemic , especially in terms of finer wines.

According to Forbes, Asian buyers comprise the majority of buyers of fine wines (60%) sold at Sotheby auctions across the world. And, it turns out that a very expensive bottle of wine sold at Christie’s in London for $157,000, which set a record at that time in 1985, was a fake .

But even more recently, in May 2019, an operation in Ukraine seized a large operation of counterfeit alcohol beverages.

More than money at stake

Even though lost revenue is a big concern for law enforcement and businesses, travel advisories for Americans traveling abroad are sometimes issued because of the risk posed by tainted alcohol. One was issued in 2017 to a resort in Mexico . Similarly, in June 2019, there was a notification that 23 people died and 10 patients were undergoing treatment for alcohol tainted with methanol in Nigeria .

The reality is that counterfeit or toxic alcohol is common in many places of the world, even in places you may not expect. So the next time you travel abroad and reach for an alcoholic beverage, particularly a finer wine or spirit, take a second look at that bottle.

The travel experts at the US Overseas Security Advisory Council made a list of tips for alcohol consumption while abroad. In particular, they recommend to tourists traveling abroad:

• Don’t drink homemade or counterfeit “booze.”
• Don’t overdo it.
• Don’t compete with locals and their brew.
• Don’t let your drink out of sight.

Also, there are some tips for spotting fake alcohol by the Trading Standards Institute in the UK. It is key to remember to pay attention to the place, price, packaging, and product, the group says. Most importantly, if the alcohol tastes or smells bad, don’t drink it.

The medical and public health community is growing more concerned about the dangerous effects of alcohol, as new research shows that there is no safe amount of alcohol . That said, if you choose to drink, especially while abroad, make sure the alcohol you drink is the real thing, and keep it shaken or stirred, but not poisoned.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

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How to Avoid Tainted Alcohol When You Travel

When you’re traveling, keeping safety in mind is paramount, no matter where in the world you are. While many travelers are aware of the more common issues to be wary of, such as pickpocketing or scam artists in busy tourists areas, there are other potentially fatal concerns that go more under the radar — consuming tainted alcohol, for instance. Tainted alcohol has been linked to a number of deaths in popular tourist destinations around the world, including Mexico and Indonesia.

What Is Tainted Alcohol?

Tainted alcohol — also called counterfeit, unregulated, or bootleg alcohol — is liquor that’s been produced illegally via a variety of methods, typically with the goal of minimizing cost and maximizing profit. This could be as simple as replacing a high-end spirit with a low-end one or diluting bottles with water, which are both relatively harmless, or as dangerous as mixing chemicals like indigestible alcohols into the real product, which can lead to death if consumed. A common additive is methanol, which is a form of alcohol commonly used in antifreeze that is fatally toxic to humans in small doses. It can also cause permanent blindness. Bootleggers may put tainted alcohol into bottles with counterfeit labels of popular liquor brands or slip them into genuine bottles from those brands before resealing the cap.

Where Is Tainted Alcohol an Issue?

Tainted alcohol has been found all over the world, including parts of Asia, Europe, and Latin America. In 2017, authorities seized 10,000 gallons of tainted alcohol in Mexico after an investigation into the death of American Abbey Conner, who died at the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar in Playa del Carmen after possibly drinking tainted alcohol. The tainted alcohol was produced served in multiple bars, restaurants, and hotels in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. And as of June 2019, an ongoing investigation into the deaths of at least 10 Americans in the Dominican Republic over the course of the preceding 12 months is looking into the possibility of alcohol-related causes — potentially tainted alcohol — as many of the deceased fell ill after drinking from the minibar. But tainted alcohol is by no means an issue limited to tourists: in 2018, CNN reported that 86 people, primarily locals, died from consuming tainted alcohol in Indonesia.

How to Avoid Tainted Alcohol

Remember that none of these tips are failproof. They are, however, a good starting point to be mindful about alcohol when traveling.

• Do your research. Read online reviews to see if guests have been complaining about alcohol-related problems at the restaurant, bar, or hotel you’re planning on visiting.
• Buy duty-free alcohol from the airport to drink on your travels. It’s much easier to sneak tainted alcohol into bottles at bars than it is to the shops of an airport, where goods are heavily regulated.
• Avoid hard liquor —the most common type of alcohol to be tainted—at bars. Stick to wine and bottled or canned beer, which are less likely to be contaminated.
• Watch closely as your drink is made or poured. This is a good rule to follow at any bar, any time. Make sure that everything that goes into your glass comes from a sealed bottle and that nothing suspicious is added to your drink.
• Pay attention to the taste. Anything that tastes “off” should not be consumed.
• Inspect the bottles in your minibar. Check out the labels, the seal, and the contents. Labels should be secured directly onto the bottle with a horizontal glue pattern, and they should not have typos. Do not drink anything that is unsealed. If there is sediment in the bottom of your bottle, that may indicate the presence of an unknown substance (though it’s expected in certain drinks, like unfiltered beers and certain wines).

The Symptoms of Consuming Tainted Alcohol

Even if you take every precaution, there’s still a chance you might drink tainted alcohol. If you feel excessively drunk — dizzy, nauseous, and confused, for instance — for the amount of alcohol you consumed, seek medical help immediately, and inform the staff, doctors, or nurses that you might have drunk tainted alcohol. Other symptoms include vomiting, irregular breathing, and falling unconscious. If you’re traveling internationally, keep the phone number of your local embassy on hand, as officials may be able to assist you.

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Bootleg liquor eyed as cause of dominican republic tourist deaths.

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Cops are investigating whether at least seven tourists who mysteriously died in the Dominican Republic were poisoned by counterfeit booze, The Post has learned.

Officials want to know who supplied the alcoholic beverages the victims drank in the minutes and hours before their deaths over the past year — and if the drinks had any dangerous chemicals in them, law enforcement sources said.

The FBI is assisting and will take blood samples from the dead back to its research center in Quantico, Va., a source said.

The Dominican government insists the fatalities are isolated incidents, while reps for both of the resorts where victims have died — the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Bahia Principe — described the deaths as simple accidents.

But most of the deaths bear similarities , as they involve apparently healthy adults — at least some of whom drank from their hotel room minibar before suddenly becoming gravely sick.

Five American tourists have died in mysterious circumstances on the island this year, while the family of two others who died in 2018 say they now suspect their loved ones met foul play.

Others have reported falling ill, but surviving, after drinking from their minibars.

A Post reporter at one of the resorts noted the vodka in the room had a strange, potent smell resembling pure alcohol.

Lawrence Kobilinsky, a forensic science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, said the symptoms among some of the dead — including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea — were consistent with poisoning from methanol or pesticides.

Methanol is a type of alcohol not safe for humans. It is regularly used as antifreeze.

“Adulterated alcohol is usually methanol added to alcohol or just plain methanol, which is very, very toxic,” Kobilinsky said.

“It looks to me, from what I’ve heard and read, is that something was added to the drinks or bottles in those little refrigerators.”

Health inspectors from multiple agencies conducted extensive tests on the pool, air conditioning units, food areas and alcohol at two Bahia Principe resorts where three visitors died, said the Dominican Ministry of Public Health. They are waiting for the results.

“There should be no methanol at all” in the liquor, Kobilinsky said. “If it’s there, it means it’s been adulterated or put there deliberately.”

In 2017, Dominican National Police dismantled five labs used for the manufacture of alcohol not safe for human consumption.

But Hard Rock bartender Angel Santana, 43, said contamination claims were “not possible.”

“I have been working here for nine years, and everything here has always been very safe,” he said.

In a statement, the Hard Rock said clinical tests from Hospiten Bavaro, a hospital in Punta Cana, showed both deaths at its resort were caused by heart attacks.

The hotel also said it buys only “unopened products from licensed and reputable vendors.”

The first suspicious death at the Hard Rock came in July 2018, when American tourist David Harrison, 45, fell ill in his room and died. On April 14, Robert Bell Wallace, 67, also died there.

On May 25, Miranda Schaupp-Werner, 41, of Pennsylvania, died after drinking from the minibar of her room at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville resort.

Five days later, Maryland couple Nathaniel Edward Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Day, 49 were found dead in their room at the neighboring Grand Bahia Principe.

Yvette Monique Short, of Philadelphia, died in June 2018 after drinking from her minibar at the resort.

The family of a seventh person, Leyla Cox of Staten Island, said on Thursday that she died mysteriously in her room during a trip last week. It was not clear where she was staying.

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Billie Piper Says Childhood Friend Amy Winehouse Was Bullied at School: 'It Wasn't the Easiest Ride'

"She liked to push buttons, and do weird stuff," Piper said of the late singer on Jessie Ware's 'Table Manners' podcast

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Billie Piper is opening up about her friendship with Amy Winehouse .

On the Tuesday, April 2 episode of Jessie Ware 's podcast Table Manners , the actress/singer, 41, opened up about how the late R&B/soul singer was "bullied" at school growing up.

Throughout Piper's conversation with the "Selfish Love" performer, 39, and her mother Lennie, she recalls relocating to London at 12 years old to attend the Sylvia Young Theatre School, where one of her friends was Winehouse.

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“She was always cheeky,” the I Hate Suzie star recalled. “She was always like that, you know. She would do abstract stuff, and I really loved it.”

Piper added: “She could do everything. Super clever, super bright, unlike any other girl at that school.”

Lennie asked if the "Rehab" performer could "act," to which Piper replied: “Yeah, she could do everything. Super clever, super bright, [she was] unlike any other girl at that school.”

She then addressed the challenges that Winehouse faced in school and how she didn't have "the easiest ride."

“She got bullied quite a lot at school because she was doing her own thing, and she liked to push buttons, and do weird stuff," Piper said. She added: “And I had a lot of space for that, but not many of the girls did. It wasn’t the easiest ride.”

Winehouse, who  died in 2011  at age 27 from accidental alcohol poisoning, is set to be the subject of the upcoming biopic Back to Black , which will star actress  Marisa Abela .

In an official synopsis, the film is described as the "extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her  groundbreaking album  Back to Black  that catapulted Winehouse to global fame."

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"Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time," the synopsis continues.

Back to Black is directed by filmmaker  Sam Taylor-Johnson  ( Fifty Shades of Grey ) and the screenplay was written by Matt Greenhalgh.

In addition to Abela, the film will star Eddie Marsan, Bronson Webb, Ansu Kabia and Harley Bird.

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3 US Marines died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a car. Vehicle experts explain how that can happen

FILE - Signage stands on the main gate to Camp Lejeune Marine Base outside Jacksonville, N.C., April 29, 2022. Three U.S. Marines found unresponsive in a car at a North Carolina gas station died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the local sheriff’s office said Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File)

FILE - Cars give off exhaust fumes in Montpelier, Vt., Monday, Jan. 26, 2009. The deaths of three U.S. Marines who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in a parked car at a North Carolina gas station in July 2023, have stirred speculation about how the situation could have occurred outdoors. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The seemingly accidental deaths of three U.S. Marines who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in a parked car at a North Carolina gas station have raised questions about how the situation could have occurred outdoors.

Deputies from the Pender County Sheriff’s Office had found the men unresponsive in a privately owned Lexus sedan in the coastal community of Hampstead. Autopsies performed last week by the North Carolina medical examiner’s office determined that all three died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Sgt. Chester Ward from the sheriff’s office said the ongoing investigation indicates it was accidental.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that many U.S. carbon monoxide deaths occur inside homes or closed garages, automotive experts say certain vehicle malfunctions can cause casualties outdoors.

Usually, those malfunctions are loud or smelly. If a car’s exhaust system is broken or is leaking into the cabin, passengers would typically hear the engine making noises, said Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports. Corrosion on an older car, such as the one involved in the Marines’ deaths, can cause the hood to fill up with exhaust gases, which Fisher said can then get sucked into the cabin through an intake cavity between the hood and the windshield.

“You will absolutely hear a noise,” he said. “There would be a lot of warning, and that’s why a case like this is very rare.”

Although carbon monoxide has no odor or color, an exhaust leak would also release other chemicals with a noticeable smell, Fisher said.

Prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide reduces the ability of blood to carry oxygen to the body’s organs. It can cause throbbing headaches, disorientation and drowsiness, followed by unconsciousness, convulsions and eventually death.

It’s nearly impossible for carbon monoxide poisoning to occur in a vehicle without notice, Fisher said, unless the passengers are already asleep or impaired.

Officials haven’t released a toxicology report or explained the details leading up to the Marines’ deaths.

They could have been resting at the gas station with the air conditioning on and set it to recirculate cabin air, said Greg Brannon, director of automotive engineering for AAA. If exhaust fumes had seeped inside, air conditioning set to recirculate would not pull in any outside air to mix with the exhaust, causing the poisoning.

“Trying to take a nap in a running car is never a good idea, in my estimation,” Brannon said. “The recirculating air is the most efficient way to cool a vehicle. And also more dangerous for this very reason.”

If the air conditioning had not been set to recirculate, it could have pulled in fresh air and pushed out the contaminated air, he explained.

Three Marine lance corporals from Camp Lejeune died in the incident, including Tanner J. Kaltenberg, 19, of Madison, Wisconsin, Merax C. Dockery, 23, of Seminole, Oklahoma, and Ivan R. Garcia, 23, of Naples, Florida. Sheriff’s deputies found them on an early Sunday morning, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of their base, after the mother of one of the Marines reported her son missing.

Rust likely formed holes in the car’s exhaust and floor, letting fumes from the engine into the passenger compartment, Brannon said. Salt exposure from the ocean can cause rust, Fisher said, and older car parts can develop leaks over time. Garcia’s 2000 Lexus had traveled with him from Florida.

If the car had also spent some of its life in northern states where corrosive salt is used to clear the roads of snow and ice, holes from rust formation would be highly probable, Brannon said.

Sitting in an idling car for a long time is usually safe, Fisher said. But drivers should keep an eye out for warning signs and have them inspected annually. Vehicles are more prone to exhaust leaks after a crash and should be inspected before they are put back on the road.

“Engines emit a lot of very dangerous chemicals and gases,” Fisher said. “If your car is not running right and you hear it sounding funny, you really do need to get it checked out.”

Associated Press auto writer Tom Krisher contributed reporting from Detroit.

Newlywed died of carbon monoxide poisoning while honeymooning in Montana hotel as staff ignored multiple calls to check on him: Lawsuit

Lewis Hudgens (Mobile Funeral Home and Crematory); Rainbow Ranch Lodge (KBZK screenshot)

More than three years after filing a lawsuit accusing a Montana hotel of killing her husband via carbon monoxide poisoning while on their honeymoon, an Alabama widow is having her day in court. Catharine Hudgens on Monday appeared in Gallatin County District Court where jurors will decide whether the Rainbow Ranch Lodge and several plumbers should be held responsible for the 2021 death of her husband, Lewis Hudgens.

The wrongful death and negligence suit currently names the Rainbow Ranch Lodge and a swath of companies and contractors alleged to have worked on a propane-fueled boiler the suit claims gave off the deadly gas as defendants. Catharine Hudgens is seeking unspecified damages in the case.

Catharine and Lewis Hudgens on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021, tied the knot in Florida before boarding a plane and heading to Big Sky, Montana, for their honeymoon on Monday, Jan. 11. They were married for less than a week before Lewis Hudgens was found dead inside of his hotel room at the age of 59.

According to a copy of the filed complaint obtained by Law&Crime, prior to the couple arriving at the Rainbow Ranch Lodge, the hotel had purchased and installed a new water boiler to heat an outdoor hot tub. The room that housed the new boiler was, the suit states, directly next to the room provided to the couple for their honeymoon stay.

Catharine Hudgens’ legal team alleges that holes had been drilled into the concrete wall separating the newlywed couple’s room from the boiler room. The suit claims that those holes allowed fatal amounts of carbon monoxide from the boiler to seep into the Hudgens’ room.

The suit claims that the boiler room was not properly ventilated, stating that an exhaust fan in the room “was not operational while the Hudgens stayed in the adjacent guest room.”

Additionally, Catharine Hudgens alleges that the hotel “failed to monitor carbon monoxide levels” in the boiler room, which would have warned them about the deadly gas being emitted.

The poisonous gas that allegedly flowed into the room left Lewis Hudgens dead and Catharine Hudgens severely ill and disoriented.

Upon arriving at the upscale hotel that Monday, the couple remained in their room for the entirety of the evening, ordering room service and watching the NCAA college football national championship game, the suit states.

Making matters worse, the suit alleges that on Jan. 13 and 14, Catharine Hudgens’ sister phoned the Rainbow Lodge’s front desk and requested that the hotel send someone to the newlyweds’ room to make sure they were well. However, Catharine Hudgens claims that no employee ever visited the room to check on her or her husband.

It was not until a general manager at the hotel on Jan. 15 finally opened up the couples’ room after getting no response from calling or knocking. Upon entering the room, the manager found Catharine Hudgens lying on the bed in a “severely disoriented” state. Lewis Hudgens was lying next to her, dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, the complaint states.

“Had Rainbow Ranch staff checked on the Hudgens as requested, it is likely Lew (Hudgens) would be alive and Catharine (Hudgens) would not have been injured,” the document states.

Catharine Hudgens’ attorney, Justin P. Stalpes, and Alexander L. Roots, who is representing Rainbow Ranch in the proceedings, both did not immediately respond to a messages from Law&Crime.

An obituary for Lewis Hudgens says that he was affectionately known as “Big Lew” to friends and family and that he “passed away unexpectedly while honeymooning in Big Sky, Montana with his wife Catherine, whom he dearly loved.” The date of his death is listed as Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021.

The post Newlywed died of carbon monoxide poisoning while honeymooning in Montana hotel as staff ignored multiple calls to check on him: Lawsuit first appeared on Law & Crime .