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(NBC NEWS/NBC Washington) – A couple from Prince George’s County, Maryland, were found dead while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, relatives said.
The bodies of Cynthia Day, 50, 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 that the U.S. Embassy confirmed the couple was found dead in the resort.
Day and Holmes, who according to relatives were engaged, had been staying at the vacation spot since May 25, 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.
In April, the State Department raised the threat level in the Dominican Republic and urged travelers to exercise increased caution because of high crime rates. Armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault are among top concerns, the State Department says.
They say resorts are typically policed better than urban areas like the capital, Santo Domingo. But Day and Holmes are not the first U.S. tourists whose trip to the island ended in tragedy.
In January, a Delaware woman says she was brutally beaten for hours at a resort in Punta Cana. In March, a New York couple was found dead in the country after failing to return home on their scheduled date.
CORRECTION (June 1, 10:37 p.m.): An earlier version of this story said Cynthia Day was 49. Her family says she was 50.
