The alarming death toll of tourists in the Dominican Republic continues to rise.
On Sunday, the State Department confirmed another American died in the Caribbean country back in March after complaining the soda didn’t taste right, reportedly marking the 13th American to die during their D.R. trip under rather mysterious circumstances.
According to reports, Tracy Jerome Jester Jr. (pictured above) died of “respiratory illness” after a day of sightseeing with his sister, who reportedly called for an ambulance after the 31-year-old started having trouble breathing.
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The Georgia native’s sister told ABC News:
“He just dropped to his knees and started throwing up blood, and was calling for Mama.”
OMG!
Jester’s mother, Melody Moore, told WSB-TV-2 she spoke with him the day before he died, remembering:
“They had a good day. Saturday, they went out, they explored. They said they had a good day.”
Moore noted that her son he seemed fine on the phone, though he apparently mentioned something about drinking a soda that tasted funny. But around 3:30 a.m. the next day, Jester’s sister called Moore “and she told me he was calling her saying he couldn’t breathe, just saying, ‘Mama I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.'”
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Jester reportedly suffered from Lupus, but it’s unclear if that had any connection to his death. Moore noted she never ordered a toxicology report because Jester died before the string of widely reported deaths in the country.
Still, relatives have unanswered questions about Jester’s death, and they aren’t close to getting any answers. Moore said she reached out to the FBI but has yet to meet with anyone from the agency, adding:
“Being a mom, I want to go to where he was, where he died at last. Something is wrong, my son is gone. Something is really wrong. As a mother, you’re not there when your son takes his last breath. That hurts and I mean, you’ve got so many questions.”
As does the State Department, apparently, which confirmed in a statement they had little information about the situation. The statement read:
“We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in the Dominican Republic in March 2019. 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.”
In 2019 alone, over 10 Americans have died after traveling to the D.R.; usually under questionable circumstances.
Several relatives of the deceased tourists have expressed doubts about the accounts Dominican authorities have given them of the deaths. Others have accused the U.S. State Department of being too passive in investigating the matter — however, U.S. agencies have been getting involved.
The FBI has said they were testing alcohol from at least one mini-bar in at least one of the rooms where a number of guests have died. Dominican Republic officials, meanwhile, insist the American tourists have all died of natural causes.
If something is going on here, we hope they get to the bottom of it — fast!
[Image via Facebook]