Tainted Liquor Probed In PA Woman's Resort Death: Report

Authorities are investigating if counterfeit alcohol is behind a rash of mysterious tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic, a new report by the New York Post said.

The tourist death toll in the Dominican Republic is now up to at least eight people, including two women from Pennsylvania. Many more have reported severe illness after staying at resorts in the Caribbean country.

The New York Post report said the FBI is involved in the investigation, which includes a probe into who supplied the alcoholic beverages the victims drank leading up to their deaths. The FBI will take blood samples back to its research center in Virginia, the report said.

The investigation began after three Americans, including a Pennsylvania woman, died at a Bahia Principe resort within days in May. After the news of the deaths made headlines, several more families have come forward with concerning stories of similar experiences, including sudden deaths of loved ones and severe illnesses.

Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, of Allentown, Pennsylvania died May 25, just hours after arriving at the Grand Bahia Príncipe Hotel. She was found unresponsive in her hotel room and died before making it to the hospital, the hotel said in a statement.

She was on a trip to celebrate her anniversary with her husband but collapsed suddenly after having a drink and was later pronounced dead.

Five days later, an engaged Maryland couple was found deceased in their hotel room at the same resort. The couple was identified as Edward Nathaniel Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Ann Day, 49, of Maryland.

All three died of respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, the Dominican Republic National Police told ABC News.

But the hotel, in its statement, said Schaup-Werner died of a heart attack. The hotel would not comment on the cause of death of Day and Holmes pending toxicology results.

As news of those deaths made headlines, family members of people who died suddenly while vacationing on the island are coming forward seeking answers. Additionally, multiple people who visited the Grand Bahia Principe resort and became ill have gone public with their stories.

Here's a look at some of the reports, which continue to come in:

• New York resident Leyla Cox is the most recent suspicious death reported in the Dominican Republic. She died June 10 while visiting the Dominican Republic for a birthday trip, her family told the Staten Island Advance. She was found dead in her hotel room; U.S. Embassy officials told the family it was ruled a heart attack.
• The family of Glenside, Pa. resident Yvette Monique Sport said she died in 2018 at a Bahia Principe Resort on the Dominican Republic after having a drink from the minibar. Sport's sister Felecia Nieves, in an interview with FOX29, said they were told Sport died from a heart attack. Her obituary simply states she died suddenly on June 23, 2018 while in the Dominican Republic.
• Robert Bell Wallace, 67, of California, died in April after drinking from the minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana, Fox News reported. A cause of death has not yet been provided to the family, the report said.
• Jerry Curran, an Ohio resident, died in January while visiting Dreams Resort in Punta Can, his daughter told WKYC. Shortly after having dinner and drinks the night of his arrival, Curren fell ill and spent the next couple of days in bed. Three days later he began vomiting and was unresponsive. He had surgery at a local hospital but later died.
• David Harrison, a Maryland resident, died last year at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort, the New York Post reported. Dominican authorities also ruled his death was due to pulmonary edema and a heart attack, the report said.
• A Denver, Colorado couple said they became "dangerously ill" during their stay at a Bahia Principe resort in the Dominican Republic. They told told ABC it smelled like paint had been spilled all over the room. A doctor who examined them upon their return said they had likely been sickened due to poisoning by pesticides, the report said.
• A New York woman said she was sickened after drinking a bottle of soda from the minibar at the Grand Bahia Principe resort in October 2018. Awilda Montes told The New York Post the soda from the minibar fridge tasted like bleach and made her violently ill.

Grand Bahia Principe, in a statement about the deaths in May, said there is no evidence "of any correlation between these two unfortunate incidents." Bahia Principe staff followed the appropriate medical and security protocols in both cases, the hotel said.

The hotel did not return a request for comment from Patch.

However, in a statement, the resort said it has a "firm commitment to collaborate completely with the authorities and hope for a prompt resolution."

The company also alleges misinformation about the incidents has been published by the media.

"Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts has suffered great damage to its image and reputation. Serious insults and threats have been levied on some of our more than 15,000 employees and their families, who are the backbone of our company and before whom we cannot stand idle on the sidelines."

The resort is advertised as a "sweet and cozy" getaway with access to world-class golf courses. In its statement, the resort says it holds "some of the most prestigious certifications in the tourism industry" and accommodates 700,000 guests annually.

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