NJ man found dead in Dominican Republic, raising death toll to 9 tourists
A 55-year-old New Jersey man has been found dead in his hotel room in the Dominican Republic, raising the death toll to 9 tourists visiting popular resorts on the island; Bryan Llenas reports.
The State Department confirmed to Fox News the latest American tourist to die in the Dominican Republic -- reportedly a New Jersey man whose body was found on his hotel room floor.
Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, New Jersey, was found dead last Thursday morning, WABC reported.
A State Department official told Fox News: "We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in June 2019 in the Dominican Republic. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family for their loss. Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we do not have additional information to provide."
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"They found him on the floor," Allen’s sister Jamie Reed told the news outlet. "He had been there for a while. Rigor mortis had set in, and he was cold."
7th American tourist confirmed dead in the Dominican Republic
Local investigators say 53-year-old Leyla Cox died from a heart attack; Steve Harrigan reports from Santo Domingo.
Allen had complained about being hot at a pool and left to take a shower; he went to bed early and was found dead the next day, the report said.
His family didn’t return phone calls or emails from Fox News.
The popular Caribbean vacation destination has been grappling with a rash of deaths of U.S. tourists in their hotel rooms at various resorts. Families of the tourists said they were generally in good health.
Of the seven other recent deaths that have become publicly known so far, Dominican investigators said five were caused by a heart attack. In the case of the other two -- an engaged Maryland couple found dead on May 30 -- a final report on the cause of death was pending.
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In nearly all of them, officials said there were signs of pulmonary edema -- a condition in which the lungs fill with fluid. The tourists ranged in age from 41 to 67.
The Dominican Ministry of Tourism has denounced what it has called an overreaction to what it characterized as coincidental.