Missing Us Couple In Dr. Apparently Drove Car Into The Sea?

I read they were missing yesterday, now they claim they accidentally drove their car into the sea. This story doesn’t make sense to me.

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/04/10/us/missing-americans-dominican-republic-friend/index.html?r=https://www.cnn.com/
If she had known her friend was in a Dominican Republic ICU, she could have held her hand before she died
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (CNN) — A man and woman missing for two weeks likely died after a car accident in the Dominican Republic, authorities said. Although their bodies were found within days of the accident, family and friends are only now learning what happened to them.

The National Police believe the car Orlando Moore and Portia Ravenelle were in plunged into the ocean in the early hours of March 27 as they were on their way to catch a flight home.

A body fitting the description of Moore was found at sea in an advanced stage of decomposition and Ravenelle was found alive -- but she died in the ICU eight days later, police say.

"She had to die by herself," family friend Francesca Figueroa told CNN. "When one of us could have been there holding her hand."

Friends with Moore for about 25 years, Figueroa says she thinks of him as family. Both Moore and Ravenelle, friends who worked together, spent the night before their trip to the Dominican Republic at Figueroa's having dinner and watching a movie.

They were due back in New York on March 27 at 5:45 a.m., Figueroa said. When they didn't return, Figueroa says her family started looking for them.

Figueroa said she spoke to a US Embassy representative on March 31 who told her "no bodies were found, there were no dead bodies reported, no accidents, no one was in jail."

She said she was relieved. Perhaps they were just lost.

But on Tuesday, she learned that her friends likely were in a car accident on the way to the airport to go back home.

"I am saddened it took this many days to find out," Figueroa said.



Authorities are working to confirm the identities


Cheryl Freeman and her boyfriend Carter Warrington pose with Ravenelle and Moore.

Airport surveillance cameras show that the couple never made it inside the airport building on the day of their flight.

Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play.

Fishermen reported seeing a vehicle at the bottom of the sea, but because of rough conditions, divers have not been able to identify the vehicle, National Police Col. Frank Félix Durán Mejia told CNN affiliate Telesistema.

Duran Mejia said an unconscious woman, who fits the description of Ravenelle, was found on the road to the international airport in Santo Domingo on March 27. She died in the Darío Contreras Hospital eight days later on April 4.

"The protocol we conduct in these cases is to take a picture of the patient or the unknown patient and we give it to the media so that family members can contact us," hospital spokesperson Darío Mañón told Telesistema.

On March 31, the body of a man fitting the description of Moore was found at sea near Sans Souci, Duran Mejia said.

The body was found in an advanced stage of decomposition and had a tattoo that read "Milano" on its right arm, police said.

Figueroa confirmed to the police on Tuesday that Moore has a tattoo with his daughter's name, "Milan," on his arm.

The bodies have not been positively identified and autopsies are pending.

But family members and friends are expecting the worst.

"Everybody is devastated. Everybody is devastated," Figueroa said. "His daughter is devastated, everybody is devastated, as I am, as my husband, as the mayor, as everybody in this town is because he's well known in this town. You go on the corner, and everybody knows Orlando."



They planned to drive at night for early morning flight


Cheryl Freeman and Portia Ravenelle in Samama, Dominican Republic.

Cheryl Freeman and her boyfriend said that they spent time with Moore and Ravenelle while on vacation in the resort town of Samana. Freeman said that Moore and Ravenelle had a 2 a.m. flight and were driving a rental car to the airport.

Ravenelle expressed anxiety about driving at night and said the rental company warned them to not stop and open their windows for anyone because the locals know which cars are rentals and try to mug tourists, Freeman said.

Ravenelle repeatedly asked Moore if he was sure they had enough gas to make it to the airport. She kept checking to make sure their phones were charged enough to use the GPS, Freeman said.

After the couple left Freeman's boyfriend sent Moore an email wishing them a safe flight.

He never heard back from him.

Freeman said she did not realize the couple had gone missing until she returned home to Halifax, Nova Scotia on March 31 and discovered several emails from Ravenelle's famil

 

This makes no sense. How could the female victim be at a hospital for several days without hospital personnel publicly seeking information on her identity? Isn’t that their protocol??

Where were the police to confirm why she was there in the first place?

How is it possible to have found her boyfriend 19 miles away from the accident washed up at sea? He crawled that far away??

And no offense to the dead couple but there was no way I would drive 2 hours at night in a foreign country to get to an airport. If they had to leave that hour, leave a day earlier and book a closer hotel and get an experienced driver to drop you to the airport.

I am sorry to see a bad decision may have cost them their lives.

 

That right there is where I would be taking a taxi or some type of car service.
The story don't make any sense at all.

 

Sometimes getting a good deal on airfare is not as important as safety.

There is no way that I would have driven at that hour to get to the airport for a 2 am flight. They could have eliminated some of the sight seeing on their last day and gotten to the airport while it was still light out and spent the hours until the flight at the airport.

The Dominican Republic is kind of sketchy depending on who you are. I think they stood out as foreigners and may have been targeted. The armed guards at the resort should have been enough of a warning to exercise caution.

When I went there with my sisters and a group of others, I guess we looked enough like natives so that we weren't targeted a a lot. Still I was on my guard all the time, especially when 'tour guides' tried to steer into various places (where they probably got a cut for bringing in tourists). Even the day time drive to the airport was kind of scary and this was with an experienced driver.

 

This story sounds sketchy to me as well. The article I read was saying they had no identification on them which seems strange since they were headed to the airport. Very sad.

 

This is very sad. It's very possible that they just had an accident especially if they were driving at night. Some of the roads in the DR are dark and bumpy. I wouldn't feel comfortable renting a car. I usually take a shuttle to and from the airport. Let me go back and read the article.

 

Them folks was robbed, killed and dumped. This is an account from the last people to see them alive at the resort.

At some point in the day, Freeman said she learned that the couple had a flight around 2 a.m. out of Santo Domingo, located roughly 100 miles from their resort. Ravenelle told Freeman that they got a good deal on the airfare, but she had not realized how far it was from their hotel.

To make it to the airport on time, the couple had rented the car they used for sightseeing, Freeman said. But Ravenelle expressed anxiety about the prospect of driving at night, Freeman said. Throughout the day, Freeman said Ravenelle was on her phone talking to the rental company about what time they would return the car. Ravenelle also said she was talking to her daughter, according to Freeman.

On the drive to El Limón, Freeman said Ravenelle told them that the rental company warned them to not stop and open their windows for anyone because the locals know which cars are rentals, and try to mug tourists. During the drive, Ravenelle told Moore not to roll down his window for the men on speed bikes driving up next to their car, Freeman said. On the way back to the hotel, Ravenelle repeatedly asked Moore if he was sure they had enough gas to make it to the airport. She kept checking to make sure their phones were charged enough to use the GPS, Freeman said.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/08/americas/missing-americans-dominican-republic/index.html

 

I went to high school with the guy. It’s very sad but they made some serious mistakes to save money. They stayed at a resort on the poorer side of the island two hours away from the airport instead of Punta Cana. They paid a bartender $20 so his friend could take them horseback riding. The couple that was with them should be thanking God they are alive! There was no reason to rent a car! Those roads are dangerous! Nothing makes sense! I’ll be in Punta Cana in August and I am not leaving the resort.

 

This is such a sad story. I agree with you @Crackers Phinn .

 

Same. I smell a rat.

 

"After the couple left Freeman's boyfriend sent Moore an email wishing them a safe flight."

This is fishy. Why would the boyfriend send an email to them instead of calling or texting?

I would never drive in the DR. You have to be a native to drive in that madness. It is so crazy because people don't respect "right of way" down there. It is so easy to get into an accident down there.

 

^^ they were concerned about the phone draining while on the road... a call would've used up battery and interrupted the GPS.. since he was surprised he didn't get an email back..seems they were already using that form of communication down there.

 

I don't buy it. It sounds like he sent that email so he can have proof with a time stamp. Maybe he knew the man's phone wouldn't ping or get the message because it was under water so he sent an email.

 

Do you think the "friends" that they met were involved?

 

Yes I do, the friends know too many details about how the couple was worried about phones and worried about driving etc,
they knew their friends were so worried but didn't call or get concerned about their where-abouts until family members started emailing them.

The woman was in ICU for 8days so the friend couldn't find that out and didn't find out until she passed away. It seems like the friends didn't care whether the couple made it home safely even though they all were on a trip together.
It just seems suspicious.

 

Yeah, I understand. I also wonder how the family knew to contact Cheryl Freeman. Based on the CNN article, the two couples met at the resort a day or two before.

 

I believe there were two baseball (MLB) players from the DR who died in car accidents there (two separate incidents). Not a good sign if the local (who were wealthy) couldn't navigate the roads.

 

The National Police believe the car Orlando Moore and Portia Ravenelle were in plunged into the ocean in the early hours of March 27 as they were on their way to catch a flight home. A body fitting the description of Moore was found at sea in an advanced stage of decomposition and Ravenelle was found alive -- but she died in the ICU eight days later, police say.


I was looking up videos on driving in Santo Dominicao and I didn't see crazy road ways, rickety bridges or the ocean jumping in front of cars. Like did people in a car end up in the ocean? It sounds like they don't want to spook the tourist trade so these folks met with a tragic accident. How they find bodies but no car? How did she manage to live 8 days after crashing into the ocean? How dis she survive being in the ocean until they found her?

This story don't make sense. I hate to say it but they got car jacked, they killed dude immediately and dumped his body in one place, took the wife and did whatever they did to her and dumped her someplace else.

 

^^ Exactly my questions. If the car was plunged into the ocean simply from an accident, how come the people riding in it weren't found with it? Even the guy being found away from the car is weird to me. He would have had to take off his seat belt (if he were wearing one), climb out of the car, and have drowned. But even if that happened, how did the girlfriend end up on the side of the road? She jumped out before the plunge? Makes no sense.

And did yall see the pics of the car? It was mangled. Anyway, an accident is possible, it's just all so odd...

 

It never dawned on me.. that Canadian couple did seem to know too much. But I thought they met the Canadian couple at the resort and started hanging out with them. They didn't come to the DR with them.

Now DR police are claiming speed an alcohol were a factor.. This young couple seemed responsible.. why would they drink and speed to the airport? The story is getting even more bizarre, but I agree could be a coverup


Alcohol, High Car Speed May Have Led to Crash Before NY Couple's Caribbean Death: Police
By Ray Villeda
Published 2 hours ago

Orlando Moore, 41, and Portia Ravenelle, 52, flew out of Newark Liberty International Airport on March 23 for a getaway in the Dominican Republic. They were supposed to return home to Mount Vernon on March 27.

Police on Friday said they believe the Moore and Ravenelle were on their way to the airport when Moore, who was driving, lost control of their rental car and crashed into the Caribbean Sea.

Dominican Republic National Police Col. Frank Felix Duran Mejia told News 4 Moore — who had been seen drinking before the two left for the airport — was last seen on video at tolls minutes from the airport.

Body Found in Caribbean Is Missing NY Tourist



A body found in the Caribbean is that of missing New York tourist Portia Ravenelle, Dominican Republic National Police confirmed Wednesday. Roseanne Colletti reports.
(Published Wednesday, April 10, 2019)
The two were running late and may have been speeding on a dark road when they lost control of the car, he said.

Investigators believe Ravenelle was able to get out just as the car careened into the sea. Dominican police do not believe foul play was involved.

New video on Friday showed the couple’s rental car being pulled from the Caribbean Sea.

• Body Found in Caribbean Is Missing NY Tourist: Authorities

A body found on the side of a highway in the Dominican Republic was identified as Ravenelle's earlier this week.

A body thought to be Moore's was found in the Caribbean Sea on March 31 inside of the vehicle Dominican officials believe was the car they had rented. That body has yet to be identified because of its condition, officials have said.

Photos of tattoos were sent to Moore's brother in the U.S. in hopes of expediting an identification.

Couple Found Dead in DR Believed to Be Missing NY Couple



Orlando Moore and his girlfriend, Portia Ravenelle, haven't been heard from in two weeks.
(Published Tuesday, April 9, 2019)
Two U.S. representatives from New York have called for an FBI investigation into the couple's deaths.

 

There is a picture with the lady sitting on Cheryl's lap, so I just thought they knew each other for a long time to be sitting on her lap. It seems too comfortable to be someone you just met.


But if they did just meet then I can see why the friends didnt check on them right away.
It still seems odd that they would send an email saying have a safe flight. When I am on vacation in another country I am not thinking about sending messages to a couple I just met 2 days ago.

 

Maybe they didn’t have service internationally outside of areas with WiFi (which is limited on that side of the island outside of a resort or Internet cafe). I rarely add cell service while abroad. I use what’s app when I have WiFi, but most of the time I’m not using my phone

 

True I did the same thing, I used what's app while down there too. But if that is true then that takes away the theory that they were using their phone for GPS to get to the airport.

 

It depends on your personality. By all accounts they seem like they were an extroverted couple and a resort type environment so not that out of the normal. Drinks flowing, you vibe etc. Even the email doesn't sound off. I've sent emails/texts to people I have met on trips to have a safe flight, it was great meeting you. Let's stay in touch.

This is unfortunate. Once they started the lock your doors, muggings etc I would have handed back the car keys and taken a cab But I also wouldn't have booked so far away. Just tragic all around

 

I'm almost certain this was foul play. And shame on the people there trying to spin this story to make the couple look like irresponsible people that caused their own deaths. Driving late at night there was a bad decision but they were likely targeted and murdered.

 

Yeah, I think they were robbed and murdered and DR doesn’t want to scare tourists off so they are making up another story.

 

Another black couple found dead in the Dominican Republic



Maryland Couple Found Dead at Dominican Republic Resort
By Shomari Stone
Published 2 hours ago

A couple from Prince George’s county, Maryland, were found dead while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, relatives said.

The bodies of Cynthia Day, 49, of Upper Marlboro, and her fiancé Nathaniel Holmes, 63, were found Thursday in their room at the Bahia Principe hotel at the resort Playa Nueva Romana, in the southeast coast of the island, The Dominican Today, a local newspaper, reported.

Sonya Jackson, Cynthia’s sister, told News4’s Shomari Stone the US Embassy confirmed the couple were found dead in the resort.

Day and Holmes, who according to relatives were engaged, had been staying at the vacation spot since May 25th, The Dominican Today reported. They were supposed to fly back home on Thursday.
Holmes’ sister said she talked to him a couple of days ago, and he told her he “was having a great time”.

The bodies showed "no signs of violence", according to The Dominican Today. Investigators have not determined the cause or manner of death.

Dajuan Holmes-Hamilton, Nathaniel Holmes' daughter, said she wants the mystery solved.

"It should have never happened", she said.


Also this lady was attacked in the DR recently.

 

Wow, I wonder what happened to that couple?

 

This is concerning. It sounded like the first couple stayed in a resort in a poor area so maybe that wasn't the best choice but is that what's happening with these other two stories? Or is there a real issue with tourist safety in the DR in general and we're not hearing about it because it's not making the news the same way it would here?

 

I think these folks are being robbed and murdered!