Family Desperate For Answers After New York Couple Vanishes On Caribbean Vacation
A family is frantically seeking information about a New York couple who disappeared while vacationing in the Caribbean.
NBC New York reports, on March 23, Orlando Moore, 43, and his girlfriend, Portia Ravenelle, 32, flew from Newark International Airport to the Dominican Republic. Four days later, the couple was supposed to return to Mount Vernon, NY; however, Moore and Ravenelle never boarded their flight.
It’s been nearly two weeks since Moore and Ravenelle’s family last heard from them, and their car is still parked at Newark Airport.
“We’ve been calling DR and they said they didn’t make their flight,” Moore’s sister Lashay Turner told NBC New York. “We also spoke to someone in U.S. Customs and they said my brother did not make his flight back here.”
According to NBC, the alleged last photo of the couple posted to social media showed Moore and Ravenelle riding horses on a beach.
At the end of the trip, the couple checked out of the Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa hotel in Samana, but police have no idea what happened next. Moore and Ravenelle rented a car in the Dominican Republic. The car has not yet been located.
Now the family is starting to worry.
“This is definitely not my brother,” Turner told NBC. “He’s not going to run off on a hiatus and don’t tell his family and his daughter. I’m scared, I don’t know what’s going on.”
In a statement to BET, a State Department spokesperson said they are aware of the reports but have no additional information to provide.
"We are aware of reports regarding a U.S. couple missing in the Dominican Republic. The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State. We stand ready to provide appropriate assistance to U.S. citizens in need and to their families," the spokesperson said in an email to BET.
"When a U.S. citizen is missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their search efforts and share information with families however we can. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further information to offer at this time. For questions regarding investigations in the Dominican Republic, we refer you to local authorities," the statement concluded.
BET.com has reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo for comment.