ABC news - American woman attacked in the Dominican Republic... Update 6/3

[LovesTimone]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/i...c-vacation/ar-AACaacC?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U305DHP
Not sure is this is the right way to link this...

I think that I did this right...

We stayed there 2 years ago and we went several other couples... The resort is beautiful... In reading this it gave me pause to think about something that had happened... I normally never go out by myself when we travel... you have to be aware at all times... and safety is always first... However one night I did go out about 11:00 pm to the Adult Only concierges lounge, to grab some ginger-ale and some late night eats... When I arrived the lady looks at me and said "did you come alone", I was like yes... "Oh" she said, I will have someone walk back with you to your room and help you carry your stuff... At the time I thought she was just being super nice and giving really great service... Now it makes me think that there was a back side to this..... she was making sure I got back to my room safely, which I am so grateful for... and at the same time it makes me think that they knew that they had some problems, or maybe there had been some type of other incidences that maybe happened... We were planning on going in August with a big group for my DH's 50th... that will not be happening now...

Update: Yesterday they found an American couple dead in a hotel room at another resort Bahia Principe in the Dominican .....and they are saying at they both died of respiratory failure, and pulmonary edema... which basically is excess fluid in the lungs... and only blood pressure med's were found in the room... and no signs of fowl play.... so what... 2 people seemly healthy people just die of the same cause, at the same time, on the same night in the same bed... does just not fit....

 

[avengerspoilerer]

Will you go on a Disney cruise?

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/d...of-11-year-old-girl-in-port_20151107085226743
Back in 2014, an crew member fondled an 11 year old while in port in Florida. The line set sail and did not report it to FL police, but put him off the boat in Nassau where he was flown back to India!

Crimes can and do happen everywhere.

 

[Hikergirl]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/i...c-vacation/ar-AACaacC?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U305DHP
Not sure is this is the right way to link this...

I think that I did this right...

We stayed there 2 years ago and we went several other couples... The resort is beautiful... In reading this it gave me pause to think about something that had happened... I normally never go out by myself when we travel... you have to be aware at all times... and safety is always first... However one night I did go out about 11:00 pm to the Adult Only concierges lounge, to grab some ginger-ale and some late night eats... When I arrived the lady looks at me and said "did you come alone", I was like yes... "Oh" she said, I will have someone walk back with you to your room and help you carry your stuff... At the time I thought she was just being super nice and giving really great service... Now it makes me think that there was a back side to this..... she was making sure I got back to my room safely, which I am so grateful for... and at the same time it makes me think that they knew that they had some problems, or maybe there had been some type of other incidences that maybe happened... We were planning on going in August with a big group for my DH's 50th... that will not be happening now...

Thank goodness she survived.

OP I don't blame you for not going to that resort in August.

 

[DLgal]

All of these "all inclusive" resorts in developing countries are shady as heck. I would never, ever spend my vacation dollars at one of them. Tainted alcohol, assaults/violence, shady tax evasion, etc. These places should be considered "go at your own risk."

 

[caylene44]

Will you go on a Disney cruise?

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/d...of-11-year-old-girl-in-port_20151107085226743
Back in 2014, an crew member fondled an 11 year old while in port in Florida. The line set sail and did not report it to FL police, but put him off the boat in Nassau where he was flown back to India!

Crimes can and do happen everywhere.

This!

What happened to this woman is absolutely horrible and thank goodness she survived.

However, stuff like this can (and does) happen anywhere, including right here in the United States. I personally refuse to let TERRORism (terror is literally in the name and is what they're hoping to incite) control or ruin my experiences. I 100% believe that we should all be vigilant/aware of our surroundings while traveling but it shouldn't make us scared to travel. That's just letting them win. I'm going to the DR in December, albeit at a different resort. However, I do respect OP's choice to choose not to travel there.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The only thing I'm surprised about is that people find this surprising! And I'm not talking about just this incident, these seem to happen all over the place if you follow the news closely. Pretty rarely, thankfully. But I think if people travel abroad, or even close to home, they still need to use good sense and caution at all times.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The sad thing about this place, too, is that it will probably be forced to deal with the problem now that the incident has been sensationalized. Tourists going elsewhere will hit them where it hurts. There was a similar incident recently, I can't remember details, but if I recall, the perp was an employee of the resort.

 

[Jafar30]

All of these "all inclusive" resorts in developing countries are shady as heck. I would never, ever spend my vacation dollars at one of them. Tainted alcohol, assaults/violence, shady tax evasion, etc. These places should be considered "go at your own risk."

I've stayed at all-inclusives with as little as 4 people going to over 30 of us. Never had one issue.

I'm not saying others haven't had issues but that's at least my experience.

 

[NotUrsula]

Several Caribbean tourist destinations have had problems with assaults on female guests, often by resort staff. Jamaica is generally considered to the be the highest-risk by the US State Dept., but the Canadian government shows more reported incidents in the DR.

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/n...pots/465-3bb0203b-154c-43cb-bc32-62ea488a87fahttps://www.nbcnewyork.com/investig...nations-Report-Sexual-Assaults-505539661.htmlhttps://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/w5-tracking-sexual-assaults-at-vacation-resorts-1.4180402
The State Dept has an interactive map that shows all warnings currently in effect: https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/?extent=-0.879381859,47.401628436,20.397707357,54.42135931
(It defaults to the Middle East because the most serious warnings are there, and it's tricky to re-focus. Best way to do it is to zoom out to world level, move the map to center the area you want to look at more closely, and then zoom back in on it.)
.

 

[Hikergirl]

The woman was on her 2nd night of vacation when she was attacked and left for dead, she was beaten for hours on their property. Apparently it took her husband and friends 3 attempts to get security to help look for her. They found her 8 hours later, still on their property. And they didnt even have the decency to refund her. Definitely not a place I'd give my vacation dollars.

 

[luvsJack]

The woman was on her 2nd night of vacation when she was attacked and left for dead, she was beaten for hours on their property. Apparently it took her husband and friends 3 attempts to get security to help look for her. They found her 8 hours later, still on their property. And they didnt even have the decency to refund her. Definitely not a place I'd give my vacation dollars.

Exactly! Its not just that this horrible thing happened to her. Yes, crime happens everywhere. Its the unfeeling, uncaring, nonchalant way this resort handled it. If they had bothered to look for the woman, maybe she could have been saved from so much of what she went through.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

All of these "all inclusive" resorts in developing countries are shady as heck. I would never, ever spend my vacation dollars at one of them. Tainted alcohol, assaults/violence, shady tax evasion, etc. These places should be considered "go at your own risk."

People go to these resorts thinking they are safe. They're not. And further, in many of the countries they are in, you're flat out not going to be helped much at all and at best the police aren't going out of their way to solve the crime. At worst, they won't lift a finger. And getting compensation. Good luck with that.

 

[DLgal]

This!

What happened to this woman is absolutely horrible and thank goodness she survived.

However, stuff like this can (and does) happen anywhere, including right here in the United States. I personally refuse to let TERRORism (terror is literally in the name and is what they're hoping to incite) control or ruin my experiences. I 100% believe that we should all be vigilant/aware of our surroundings while traveling but it shouldn't make us scared to travel. That's just letting them win. I'm going to the DR in December, albeit at a different resort. However, I do respect OP's choice to choose not to travel there.

That's not what terrorism is. Terrorism, by definition, needs to have a political motive behind the violence.

 

[DLgal]

I've stayed at all-inclusives with as little as 4 people going to over 30 of us. Never had one issue.

I'm not saying others haven't had issues but that's at least my experience.

That's nice for you, but it doesn't mean anything.

I've never been in a car accident. That doesn't mean that getting into a car isn't a risky endeavor,

 

[tcufrog]

This!

What happened to this woman is absolutely horrible and thank goodness she survived.

However, stuff like this can (and does) happen anywhere, including right here in the United States. I personally refuse to let TERRORism (terror is literally in the name and is what they're hoping to incite) control or ruin my experiences. I 100% believe that we should all be vigilant/aware of our surroundings while traveling but it shouldn't make us scared to travel. That's just letting them win. I'm going to the DR in December, albeit at a different resort. However, I do respect OP's choice to choose not to travel there.

This isn't about terrorism. It's about someone being assaulted at a resort and the resort staff and managers actively hindering her family's search for her and then hindering their attempts to have offending party brought to justice.

 

[NotUrsula]

This!

What happened to this woman is absolutely horrible and thank goodness she survived.

However, stuff like this can (and does) happen anywhere, including right here in the United States. I personally refuse to let TERRORism (terror is literally in the name and is what they're hoping to incite) control or ruin my experiences. I 100% believe that we should all be vigilant/aware of our surroundings while traveling but it shouldn't make us scared to travel. That's just letting them win. I'm going to the DR in December, albeit at a different resort. However, I do respect OP's choice to choose not to travel there.

WTH? This isn't about terrorism at all; this is good old-fashioned CRIME.

This is about people living in impoverished places preying on clueless vulnerable foreigners who wander into their midst. This isn't faceless political violence; it's personal crime directed at individuals. These are criminals who take advantage of the desperation of local governments for tourism income, which allows them free rein to practice their vices on easy marks. They choose these places to rape and to rob individuals because they know they can get away with it there, because poorly-paid law-enforcement officials can be bribed, and because the resort will pay off the victims to protect the business. (And they will pay, too, as long as the victims are willing to sign nondisclosure agreements; that has always been the pattern with this particular type of crime.)

 

[mnrose]

I dunno. I think my worst nightmare might be attending a concert in Las Vegas and being caught up in a mad man's desire to kill and wound 100's of people. Not saying that what happened to her wasn't horrible, but horrible things can happen anywhere.

 

[Hikergirl]

I dunno. I think my worst nightmare might be attending a concert in Las Vegas and being caught up in a mad man's desire to kill and wound 100's of people. Not saying that what happened to her wasn't horrible, but horrible things can happen anywhere.

What a strange thing to say in order to diminish what she went through.

 

[Chocolate Cake]

I dunno. I think my worst nightmare might be attending a concert in Las Vegas and being caught up in a mad man's desire to kill and wound 100's of people. Not saying that what happened to her wasn't horrible, but horrible things can happen anywhere.

What happened to the Las Vegas victims was horrific, but police sprung into immediate action to assist in any way that they could.

What happened to this poor woman in the DR was equally horrific, as was the reaction of the pathetic police.

 

[goofyintoronto]

This is scary as hell. I wont stop vacationing at these places BUT its a good eye opener for me not to go anywhere alone, no matter what.