'Bright Ray Of Sunshine' | Family And Friends Remember Cynthia Day Who Died At Dominican Republic Resort With Her Fiance
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- Family and friends remembered the life of a Maryland woman who died mysteriously while on vacation with her fiance in the Dominican Republic. Cynthia Day was among the avalanche of American tourists who have died in the Carribean nation.
Even as the Day family said goodbye Monday they continue to wait for answers from officials as the FBI investigates the series of deaths in the Dominican Republic.
Pops of yellow inside a crowded Prince George's County church, as friends and family wore the color to reflect Day's bright personality as they mourned her death.
"She was always a ray of bright sunshine," said one mourner at First Baptist Church of Glenarden.
But a cloud still hangs over her family while they wait for the results of an ongoing FBI investigation into Day's death.
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Videos show the two off the coast of La Romana in May. On the day they were scheduled to return home to Maryland, Bahia Principe Hotel resort staff found the couple's bodies in their room after they failed to check out. Another American died at the same resort five days earlier.
All share the same cause of death -- respiratory failure. But local police quickly denied any link -- saying Day died of shock after discovering her fiance dead.
"That's absolutely ridiculous. It's ludicrous for them to even make that kind of statement," Day's attorney Steven Murphy said.
Still, the body count in the Caribbean nation continues to rise, with 10 American tourists dying there this year -- the latest a 56-year-old man who was formerly a pizzeria owner in Long Island.
Leaving families in search of answers.
"We're going to wait. We're going to get the facts. And, once we get the facts, we'll share all that with everyone," Murphy said.
The FBI and CDC are conducting toxicology tests and attorneys are waiting on those.
Dominican officials maintain that these are isolated cases.
List Of Recent American Deaths In The Dominican Republic
- June 17, 2019: Vittorio Caruso, 56, from Glen Cove, N.Y.
Died after "drinking something," cause of death not officially determined. - June 13, 2019: Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, N.J.
Died at Terra Linda resort in Sosua, Dominican Republic. Cause of death yet to be officially determined. - June 10, 2019: Leyla Cox, 53, of Staten Island, N.Y.
Died at the Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana. Cause of death in DR ruled a heart attack. - May 30, 2019: Edward Nathaniel Holmes, 63, of Maryland.
Died at the Grand Bahia Principe in La Romana. DR officials ruled cause of death as respiratory failure, along with Cynthia Day. - May 30, 2019: Cynthia Day, 49, of Maryland.
Died at the Grand Bahia Principe in La Romana. DR officials ruled cause of death as respiratory failure, along with Nathaniel Holmes. - May 25, 2019: Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, of Allentown, Pa.
Died at the Bahia Principe resort in La Romana. Cause of death ruled heart attack and respiratory failure. - March 27, 2019: Portia Ravenelle, 52, of Westchester County, N.Y.
Found alive on highway in DR, later died of injuries at a hospital, linked to a traffic crash on March 27 with Moore. - April 12, 2019: Robert Wallace, 67, of California.
Died at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana of a heart attack after being served a scotch at the bar. - April 2019: John Corcoran of Turlock, California
Death in DR reported by CNN through his sister, "Shark Tank" star Barbara Corcoran. - July 2018: David Harrison of Maryland.
Died at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana of a heart attack. - June 2018: Yvette Monique Sport of Pennsylvania.
According to CNN reports, she died after drinking from her hotel room's mini-bar at the Bahia Principe in Punta Cana. - May 2018: Donette Edge Cannon of Queens, N.Y.
Died at hospital of kidney failure after stay in Punta Cana.