BEDFORD, Ohio — An Ohio family says a retired police officer died during a visit to the Dominican Republic, another in a string of mysterious deaths of American tourists in the island nation.
WKYC reports Jerry Curran, 78, died in January.
Curran was with the Bedford Police Department for 32 years and a bailiff for a decade before retiring. He and his wife Janet had just moved to Florida.
They went to Dreams Resort in Punta Cana on Jan. 22.
Daughter Kellie Brown told WKYC that her father was a healthy man. After dinner and drinks the night of arrival, however, he said he didn't feel well and he spent the next couple of days mostly in bed.
About 3 a.m. on the third day at the resort, he began vomiting and was unresponsive. He was put on a ventilator and underwent surgery, but died hours later.
One of the four causes of death listed was pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, which CBS says was also listed as the cause of three other tourist deaths.
Dreams Punta Cana told WKYC it had no evidence the "unfortunate incident" was the result of anything other than natural causes. The resort says a night manager called a doctor who facilitated a transfer to the hospital where Curran underwent surgery.
"During this period, our staff worked very diligently to provide as much comfort and care as possible to the family. I personally visited Mrs. Curran in the hospital to offer comfort and the property provided courtesy accommodations to the family arriving from the U.S. We know how difficult his passing was for his family and friends and our hearts go out to them," a spokesperson told WKYC.
At least nine other Americans have died in the Dominican Republic since last June.
RELATED: New Jersey man found dead in the Dominican Republic; 9th American tourist to die in country
Recent deaths in the Dominican Republic:
- Yvette Monique Sport died in June 2018 in Punta Cana
- David Harrison died last July in Punta Cana
- John Corcoran died in April in the Dominican Republic
- Robert Wallace died on April 12 in Punta Cana
- Miranda Schaup-Werner died on May 25 in La Romana
- Edward Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Day died on May 30 in La Romana
- Leyla Cox died on June 10 in Punta Cana
- Joseph Allen died June 13 in Sosúa
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