HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. – A 10th American citizen has died while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, leaving tourism experts puzzled and travelers booking their vacations concerned.
Everyone wants to know if it's safe to travel to the Dominican Republic. Local 4's Hank Winchester has been talking with a Highland Park couple too afraid to travel to the country but stuck with the airline ticket fee.
The U.S. State Department's travel advisory for the country remains at a level two. Level one means practice normal precautions, and level two means use increased caution. Level three would mean people should reconsider traveling there, and level four would mean do not travel.
Autopsy reports for travelers who died in the Dominican Republic list causes of death including heart attacks, septic shock and pneumonia.
"We've got kids and grandkids," Terri McGee said. "We don't want to go over there and not come home, because nobody that didn't come home thought they weren't coming home."
The Dominican Republic's tourism minister blames the media for the scare, but the death toll is now in the double digits. The question is whether the deaths are connected.
Some people became ill after eating or consuming drinks from a hotel minibar, but it's still unclear what's causing the sharp increase in tourists dying after visiting the Dominican Republic.
A spokesperson for the foreign ministry said several of the deaths were reported to be heart attacks, which health officials said is the most common cause of death for Americans on vacation.
"I said, 'God, they're staying at the same resort we were scheduled to stay at,'" McGee said.
"You can't deny it anymore," Lorne McGee said.
The Highland Park couple are celebrating their 29th anniversary in August.
"For so long, I wasn't able to travel because I had a kidney transplant eight years ago," Lorne McGee said. "She stood by me. I owe her this."
But when nearly 50 tourists got sick at the same resort they had booked, the McGees wanted to pull the plug on their Dominican Republic trip, hoping to go somewhere else.
Working with their travel agent, they got their money back from the resort, but without travel insurance on their flight, they ran into problems with getting their money back. They called Help Me Hank.
"Four hundred dollars for working people -- for you to keep it with all this going on is highly insensitive," Terri McGee said. "I couldn't think of anything else, and I'm like, 'Help Me Hank.'"
So far, United, Delta and Southwest airlines are working with customers who want to cancel their flights. The McGees booked on American Airlines and said they weren't getting anywhere.
Winchester called the airline and received a call back immediately. An airline worker said the company is working with the McGees personally and taking other customers' requests on a case-by-case basis.
American Airlines is waiving the fees for the McGees and helping them fly to a different destination.
If you decide to travel overseas, there's a program called the Safe Traveler Enrollment Progam that allows you to receive alerts from the State Department and provides your trip and contact information so the nearest U.S. Consulate can find you if there are problems.
Experts recommend taking out travel insurance, especially when traveling outside the United States.