July 15, 2019
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A man identified as Tracy Jerome Jester Jr., 31, of Forsyth, Georgia, is the 11th American tourist to die while vacationing in the Dominican Republic since last year. He died from "respiratory illness" in March, the U.S. State Department confirms.
A man from Georgia is the 11th American tourist to die while vacationing in the Dominican Republic since last year, officials confirmed.
Tracy Jerome Jester Jr., 31, of Forsyth, Georgia, was found dead in the Dominican Republic on March 17, the U.S. State Department told ABC News. According to his mother, Melody Moore, Jester died from respiratory illness while vacationing with his sister. The name of the resort where Jester had been staying has not yet been reported.
The day before Jester was going to leave, he suddenly fell ill, began to vomit blood, and had trouble breathing, Moore said. She received a phone call from her daughter around 3:30 a.m. and by 4:40 a.m. her son was dead. The exact cause of death is unknown. Moore did not request a toxicology test.
Moore said her son had lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes systemic inflammation, but it is unclear if that contributed to his death.
There have been a total of 11 American tourists deaths since June 2018. Most recently, Vittorio Caruso, of Glen Cove, Long Island and Joseph Allen, of Avenel, New Jersey — died in separate incidents while vacationing in the Caribbean country in June.
In May, three Americans died while guests at the Grand Bahia Principe Hotel — Miranda Schaup-Werner of Allentown, and Maryland couple Edward Nathanael Holmes and Cynthia Ann Day. Dominican Republic officials said Schaup-Werner and the couple from Maryland died from enlarged hearts and internal bleeding, according to the Washington Post. Since those incidents became known, a South Philly couple has said they became ill at the same resort.
Two tourists – one from Florida and one from Staten Island – died in Punta Cana while vacationing in January. In April, a California man died in his room in Punta Cana.
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