US Reps Want FBI Probe Into NY Couple’s Deaths in Caribbean

What to Know

• Authorities in Dominican Republic are using photos of tattoos found on body thought to be of missing NY tourist in hopes of identifying it[hhmc]

• Body found in Caribbean Sea on March 31 is believed to be that of Orlando Moore who went missing along with his girlfriend Portia Ravenelle[hhmc]

• An unconscious and injured person who was found on the side of a Dominican highway and later died was later identified as Ravenelle [hhmc]

Two U.S. Representatives from New York are calling for an FBI investigation into the deaths of a couple from Mount Vernon who apparently died on their way to the airport after a romantic getaway in the Caribbean.

Reps. Eliot Engel, who represents the 16th District, and Adriano Espaillat, who represents the 13th District and is from the Caribbean nation where the couple vanished in late March, met Wednesday with U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Robin Bernstein about the case of Orlando Moore and Portia Ravanelle.

A letter the two wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray dated the same day read: "The FBI must work quickly to conduct a thorough investigation regarding details of their reported deaths that raise questions for us. It is essential that this investigation be conducted expeditiously so that both families can receive the closure they deserve."

In that letter, Reps. Engel and Espaillat specifically asked for a full investigation followed by a summary brief, a complete timeline of events from the couple's arrival to the Dominican Republic through April 9, assistance to help get the rental car out of the ocean, which authorities have thus far been unable to do; and a detailed report on FBI cooperation with Dominican authorities.

Couple Found Dead in DR Believed to Be Missing NY Couple

They said the mayor of Mount Vernon had reached out to them out of concern. In a statement, Mayor Richard Thomas said Mount Vernon was "determined to get the full facts," citing "too many unanswered questions" and "suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths of our citizens who vanished on vacation."

It wasn't immediately clear if Wray had responded to the letter as of Friday morning.

Moore, 41, and Ravanelle, 52, had flown out of Newark Liberty National Airport onRead More – Source

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USA Today

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