Louisiana woman touts Dominican Republic despite string of American deaths
NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) - A Louisiana woman who recently returned from the Dominican Republic has already planned her next trip. Despite a string of American deaths in the popular tourist destination, she says she loves the country and won't stop visiting.
"And my dad giving me away," smiled Louisiana resident Cigi Ratcliff.
Ratcliff flips through a photo album from her beach wedding in the Dominican Republic. She was married there in 2012 with a couple dozen of her closest friends and family.
"We had a great time at the resort. The food was great, the beaches, all the employees we're super nice and helpful to us so, I don't know. We just kind of fell in love with it and, for my husband and I, it's just something special. We go there for our anniversary. We just love it," Ratcliff explained.
She loves it so much, the Prairieville Spanish teacher recently took a group of students to the Dominican Republic and she’s already planned another trip with her husband and four year old daughter, Mila.
"I don't have any concerns about it. If I did, I would definitely cancel the trip because why would I take my daughter, my four-year-old, to somewhere I felt unsafe? And I've never had a bad experience," said Ratcliff.
Her confidence comes after at least seven American deaths in the Dominican Republic, their ages ranging from 41 to 67. Authorities there say five of those tourists died from a heart attack, but also noted signs of pulmonary edema in several of those deaths. That's when fluid fills the lungs. A final report is still pending for two other Americans, a Maryland couple found dead in their room May 30.
"My friends and family are like, 'there's another one, did you hear? There's another one!' so I've done a little research about them," Ratcliff said about the deaths.
Ratcliff didn't stay in any of the same resorts, nor is she planning to.
"They weren't resorts that I chose so, if I hadn't chose them prior to this happening, I wouldn't use them now, not to say because of this happening but they just weren't on my list of top places to go," explained Ratcliff.
While Ratcliff calls the deaths ‘unfortunate’, she’s not sure they’re weren’t coincidences. She says she remains unconvinced the Dominican Republic is any more dangerous than any other Caribbean destination.
“I had a brain aneurysm. I was a ticking time bomb, walking around, traveling all around these countries, doing adrenaline-rush activities. My aneurysm could’ve ruptured and I could’ve died. Would that have turned into a story?” Ratcliff questioned.
Dominican Republic tourism officials say US agencies are working closely with their investigators to ensure all US citizen are and feel safe in the country. Ratcliff says she was in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic the same dates the last American tourist who died was in Punta Cana.
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