It’s an ending no one wanted to hear. A New York couple that’s been missing since March 27 while vacationing in the Dominican Republic is now presumed dead by the local officials. Police said they found two bodies that match the characteristics of the American couple.
CBS News report:
On March 27, a woman was found injured on the highway and was admitted to a hospital, where she died on April 4, according to Dominican Republic national police chief spokesman Col. Frank Félix Durán Mejia. He said the victim is presumed to be Portia Ravenelle.
Mejia also said a decomposed body was found washed ashore March 31 about 19 miles from the accident scene. The body has a tattoo reading “MILANO” that corresponds to a tattoo on Orlando Moore, who accompanied Ravenelle on the trip.
Mejia said the bodies were sent to the National Institute of Forensic Pathology for autopsies, and official identification is pending. Police are working on getting the vehicle from the sea.
She explained their two days together and shared the attached photos of them at a waterfall in El Limon Tuesday, March 26. The couples met at the all-inclusive resort Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa where they were both staying. Lashay Turner, Moore’s half sister identified Moore and Ravenelle to me in the photos.
“We have information on a vehicle at the bottom of the sea near the location where they were last seen. We can’t confirm the characteristics of the vehicle because of rough seas and our divers are having a hard time reaching the depths,” Mejia said.
An image from a toll plaza near Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo apparently shows the car the couple was using the night of the accident and it was photographed after they were supposed to board their flight.
Dominican Republic’s national police continue to investigate and the U.S. State Department is aware of the case.
We’re hoping that the investigators will find answers so that the families can have peace and closure. We’ll keep you all updated as this story develops…as for now, you’re officially in the know.
