The Bachelor's Melissa Rycroft falls ill with 'fever and stomach cramps' after family trip to Dominican Republic, just days after EIGHTH US tourist died in mysterious circumstances during trip to the island

  • Melissa Rycroft, best-known for her appearance on season 13 of The Bachelor, has mysteriously fallen ill after a vacation in the Dominican Republic 
  • Rycroft revealed her battle with the unidentified bug on Instagram in a series of posts, saying she is undergoing treatment to combat her symptoms 
  • She's said to be suffering from mysteriously low blood pressure, high-fever and extreme stomach cramping - similar to other tourists who've visited 
  • Despite the severity of her symptoms, Rycroft seems resolute and positive about the ordeal, telling her followers she hopes to have more answers this week
  • Her complaints come after an eighth US tourist, Joseph Allen, died in mysterious circumstances while vacationing in the Dominican Republic on June 13

Melissa Rycroft, best-known for her appearance on season 13 of The Bachelor, has mysteriously fallen ill since her return from a vacation in the Dominican Republic – in the same week an eighth US citizen suddenly died during a visit to the Caribbean country.

Rycroft revealed her battle with the strange and unidentified bug on Instagram in a serious of posts, saying she is undergoing treatment to combat her mysteriously low blood pressure, high-fever and extreme stomach cramping.

The TV personality’s symptoms are similar to those exhibited by dozens of other American citizens who have either fallen ill or suddenly died while visiting the Dominican Republic over the past year.

Despite the severity of her symptoms, Rycroft seems resolute and positive about the ordeal, telling her followers she hopes to have more answers when her blood test results come back on Thursday.

Melissa Rycroft
Pictured in hospital

Melissa Rycroft, best-known for her appearance on season 13 of the Bachelor, has mysteriously fallen ill after a vacation in the Dominican Republic. She is pictured right at a medical facility

The TV personality’s symptoms show a stark correlation to those exhibited by dozens of other American citizens who have either fallen ill or suddenly died while visiting the Dominican Republic over the past year

The TV personality’s symptoms show a stark correlation to those exhibited by dozens of other American citizens who have either fallen ill or suddenly died while visiting the Dominican Republic over the past year

‘Update for everyone,’ she said in an Instagram story on Tuesday. ‘More bloodwork done today. Bloody pressure was 90/60 so they’re monitoring it.

‘But!! New meds are making me feel so much better!!!’ Rycroft added. ‘This is good progress.’

One of the star’s representatives told Page Six that she’s had ‘major’ stomach issues since returning from the country.

‘She got an upset stomach on the second day of vacation, but it passed. Once they came home, she got severe cramping,’ the rep said. ‘It has lasted for over a week, and she’s currently getting tested for possible parasites and any other infections. She’s assuming it’s something foodborne, but no one else in her family is ill.’

She had been staying at the five-star Nickelodeon Resort in Punta Cana with her family - costing around $1,100 per-night - when she was suddenly struck down by the illness.

Doctors recently switched her to a liquids-only diet in a bid to combat her extreme bouts of vomiting. 

'After a really rough week, I have been put on a liquid diet, and given meds for my severe cramping,' Rycroft said in an Instagram post on Friday. 

'Fingers crossed this goes away in 3 days - doc says next step is a Parasite test if it doesn’t.' 

The Nickelodeon resort has not yet responded to a DailyMail.com request for comment. 

Rycroft revealed her battle with the strange and unidentified bug on Instagram in a serious of posts, saying she is undergoing treatment to combat her mysteriously low blood pressure, high-fever and extreme stomach cramping

Rycroft revealed her battle with the strange and unidentified bug on Instagram in a serious of posts, saying she is undergoing treatment to combat her mysteriously low blood pressure, high-fever and extreme stomach cramping

Despite the severity of her symptoms, Rycroft seems resolute and positive about the ordeal, telling her followers she hopes to have more answers when her blood test results come back on Thursday

Despite the severity of her symptoms, Rycroft seems resolute and positive about the ordeal, telling her followers she hopes to have more answers when her blood test results come back on Thursday

Also on Monday, Mississippi mother Tracy McCraw and newlyweds Skylar and Derek Martin revealed they too had fallen ill with flu-like symptoms during a trip to the Puta Cana region of the Island.

During a five-day mother and daughter trip to the Island last month, McGraw recalled how she suddenly came down with a 102 degree fever and stomach cramps part-way through the trip and says she was forced to fly home on an airplane filled with sick passengers.

'It wasn't like you usually go on a plane and you're leaving and see other people sick on the plane,' McCraw, 49, told the New York Post. 'There was one lady next to me who was all bundled up and I could tell she was sick. It was obvious.'

The Martins say they were fever-struck on Saturday night shortly after enjoying a honeymoon meal at a Japanese hibachi restaurant at the resort inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Skylar told her husband she wasn't feeling well and at around midnight she said she woke up and fell victim to 'extreme vomiting', before drifting in and out of consciousness. 

Her complaints come after an eighth American tourist died in mysterious circumstances while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.

On Sunday, the State Department confirmed that Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, New Jersey, was found dead in his hotel room at the Terra Linda hotel in Sosua on June 13. 

On Monday, newlyweds Skylar and Derek Martin revealed they too had fallen ill with flu-like symptoms during a trip to the Puta Cana region of the Island

On Monday, newlyweds Skylar and Derek Martin revealed they too had fallen ill with flu-like symptoms during a trip to the Puta Cana region of the Island

Tracy McCraw, of Madison, said the flu-like symptoms she was suffering following her disastrous five-day trip to Punta Cana were present in other passengers on her journey home last month

Tracy McCraw, of Madison, said the flu-like symptoms she was suffering following her disastrous five-day trip to Punta Cana were present in other passengers on her journey home last month

This is a different resort to where the other Americans have died. Three American tourists have died at the Grand Bahia Príncipe La Romana, two at the Hard Rock in Punta Cana, one at Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana and one at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville.

Allen was reportedly in good health and would visit the Dominican Republic multiple times a year. 

The FBI is reportedly currently investigating whether the dead tourists had drunk tainted liquor. 

His sister Jamie Reed said: 'The families need answers. We deserve answers... My brother was my best friend. I spoke to him every day. This is killing me.'

Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, New Jersey, was found dead in his hotel room at the Terra Linda hotel in Sosua

Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, New Jersey, was found dead in his hotel room at the Terra Linda hotel in Sosua

The map above shows the five resorts where American tourists have died mysteriously over the past year

The map above shows the five resorts where American tourists have died mysteriously over the past year 

'I just don't want them to suppress anything, especially with them embalming the body,' Reed said.

'We want answers. We've reached out to everybody, including Senator (Robert) Menendez to try to get some help from anyone.'

Allen's family released a statement Monday saying they believe he could be 'the victim of a wrongful death'.

Reed said that friends who were on holiday with her brother said he complained of feeling hot in the pool so went to take a shower.

Later that evening he said he still wasn't feeling right. When he didn't show for breakfast and didn't answer his door the hotel staff performed a wellness check and found him dead on the floor of his room.

Allen was reportedly in good health and would visit the Dominican Republic multiple times a year.

Reed said: 'The families need answers. We deserve answers... My brother was my best friend. I spoke to him every day. This is killing me.'

'I just don't want them to suppress anything, especially with them embalming the body,' Reed said.

'We want answers. We've reached out to everybody, including Senator (Robert) Menendez to try to get some help from anyone.'

At least five members of the 40-strong group from Deer Creek High School have fallen ill - the group are pictured above on the beach

At least five members of the 40-strong group from Deer Creek High School have fallen ill - the group are pictured above on the beach

TIMELINE: American tourists who mysteriously died or were struck down with illnesses in the Dominican Republic 

June 2018: Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, dies after drinking from the minibar at the Grand Bahia Príncipe La Romana in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. Family said the previously healthy Sport had the drink, went to sleep and never woke up.

June 2018: Kaylynn Knull, 29, and Tom Schwander, 33, woke up in their hotel room at the Grand Bahia Principe with a pounding headache. They returned to the room later in the day, to find a 'chemical smell'. The couple changed their flights and flew home early. 

July 2018: David Harrison, 45, dies while on vacation at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana to celebrate his wedding anniversary. He woke up struggling to breathe and covered in sweat. He died that same day. His widow said he'd visited the doctor before the trip who'd given him a clean bill of health. 

October, 2018:  Awilda Montes, 43, of New York, claims she drank a bottle of soda from the minibar at the Grand Bahia Principe Resort in La Romana that 'turned out to be bleach.' She survived but suffered chemical burns. 

April 10, 2019 : Robert Bell Wallace, 67, of California, became ill almost immediately after drinking an alcoholic beverage from his in-room minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana - the same hotel as Harrison.

April 14: Wallace dies in hospital four days after falling ill. 

May 25: Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, of Pennsylvannia, dies within hours of consuming a drink from a resort minibar at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville.

May 25: Cynthia Day, 49, and Nathaniel Holmes, 63, of Maryland, check into the Grand Bahia Principe Hotel, La Romana.

May 30: Day and Holmes are found dead in their rooms at the Grand Bahia Principe Hotel, La Romana. 

June 10: Leyla Cox, 53, of Staten Island, New York, is found dead in her hotel room at Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana. The U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo informed her family that she died of a heart attack, but her son, William Cox, says he is suspicious. 

June 13: Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, New Jersey, was found dead in his hotel room at the Terra Linda hotel in Sosua.

June 15: Mark Hurlbut Jr. told AZFamily.com his father, Mark Hurlbut Sr., from Surprise, Arizona, died exactly a year ago on June 15, 2018, in Punta Cana. A coroner listed his death there as a heart attack. However in light of the recent spate of tourist deaths Hurlbut Jr is now questioning how his dad died. He did not say which resort his father was staying at but he said his dad was 'found foaming green stuff' when he died.

Advertisement

A seniors trip from Oklahoma to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana saw at least five members of the 40-strong group of graduates from Deer Creek High School and adults get sick after flying out there on June 8. 

Liz McLaughlin who was in the group of Oklahoma graduates vacationing at Hard Rock told Newson6.com how her daughter, Libby, was among those to fall ill after eating at a Japanese restaurant at the all-inclusive resort last Tuesday.

'We just don't know what is happening,' McLaughlin said.

'Is it the water? Is it the ice? Is it the food? Is it the food handling? Is it the pesticides?'

Two other American tourists have died at the Hard Rock in the past year. Robert Bell Wallace, 67, of California became ill almost immediately after drinking an alcoholic beverage from his in-room minibar at the hotel on April 10, and died on April 14 after being hospitalized.

In July 2018, David Harrison, 45, of Maryland died of an alleged heart attack while vacationing with his wife and their son at the Hard Rock, which his widow now calls into question given the other recent deaths.

The confirmation of Allen's death comes a week after Leyla Cox, 53, of New Brighton became the seventh American in the last year to die in mysterious circumstances in Dominican Republic.

She was found dead in her hotel room at Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana, last Monday.

Liz McLaughlin said her daughter, Libby (pictured), was among those to fall ill after eating at a Japanese restaurant at the all-inclusive resort last Tuesday

Liz McLaughlin said her daughter, Libby (pictured), was among those to fall ill after eating at a Japanese restaurant at the all-inclusive resort last Tuesday

Her son William has claimed no toxicology report has been carried out on her because all the country's machines are broken.

Cox said that he was told by the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo that his mother died of a heart attack, but in light of recent news reports about Americans dying during their vacations, he is not ready to accept the official explanation.

'I have a right to be suspicious,' he said. In a phone interview with the New York Post he explained: 'The Dominican Republic has not released an autopsy report.

'They will not do a toxicology report on her because they say the toxicology machines in the Dominican Republic are broken.

'I've been trying to get her body flown back to the US, so we can do our own autopsy and our own toxicology report.

'But unfortunately that will cost a fortune. And I do not have anywhere close to that sort of money.'

Toxicology reports - drug tests done on people who have died - cost thousands of dollars.

David Harrison and Robert Bell Wallace died at the at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, pictured, in the last year

David Harrison and Robert Bell Wallace died at the at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, pictured, in the last year

'He was foaming something GREEN at the mouth': Son questions whether his father's death in the Dominican Republic one year ago is linked to other tourist fatalities 

Mark Hurlbut Sr., died last June in Punta Cana seemingly from a heart attack

Mark Hurlbut Sr., died last June in Punta Cana seemingly from a heart attack

A son is questioning whether his 62-year-old father's death in the Dominican Republic a year ago is related to the recent spate of American tourist deaths. 

Mark Hurlbut Jr. told AZFamily.com his father, Mark Hurlbut Sr., from Surprise, Arizona, died on June 15, 2018, in Punta Cana. A coroner listed his death there as a heart attack. 

He said his father and his wife felt sick the night before he died.  

'She told me that as she found him that he had something green coming from his mouth. It was something that came way out of left field. It was not something that any of us thought was going to happen,' he said. 

Hurlbut Jr continued: 'Some seemingly quite healthy people seem to be having heart attacks out of the blue.'  

Hurlbut Jr (pictured) now believes his father may have died from whatever it is that other tourists are dying of. He said: 'Some seemingly quite healthy people seem to be having heart attacks out of the blue'

Hurlbut Jr (pictured) now believes his father may have died from whatever it is that other tourists are dying of. He said: 'Some seemingly quite healthy people seem to be having heart attacks out of the blue'

AZ Family Privacy Policy

He said he was unaware whether his father ate or drank from the mini bar the night before he died. 

'Having known then what I know now I would have fought tooth and nail to have his remains brought back here and had his autopsy done here in America,' said Hurlbut Jr.  

He added: 'It's been like a scab picked over and over again, all these people with the same causes all dying needlessly.' 

Advertisement

The brother of Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran, John, was also found dead in a Dominican Republic hotel room in April. Corcoran said in a statement on Instagram Thursday that her brother had an 'existing heart condition and we believe he died of natural causes'.

Other tourists have told how they have fallen ill on the island. A bride told how she and her new husband both fell violently sick after their wedding day at a Dominican Republic resort forcing them to cut short their honeymoon.

Claudia Massaranduba and fiance Kevin Gentile, who live in the Boston area, were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel when they began to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea.

The newlyweds, believed to have tied the knot earlier this month, told The New York Post that several members of their family also fell ill during the celebrations.

Claudia said Kevin was ill on morning of their big day: 'It was scary. He had a fever, chills and we were more concerned about getting fluids into him than the wedding.'

Leyla Cox, 53, of New Brighton, flew to the Dominican Republic on June 5. She was expected to spend a week on the island before flying back to New York on Wednesday, according to her son, William Cox. She died last Monday

Leyla Cox, 53, of New Brighton, flew to the Dominican Republic on June 5. She was expected to spend a week on the island before flying back to New York on Wednesday, according to her son, William Cox. She died last Monday

In a statement a spokesman for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana told the DailyMail.com: 'Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana is deeply saddened by these two unfortunate incidents, and we extend our sincerest sympathy to the families of Mr. Harrison and Mr. Wallace.

'We are currently waiting for official reports regarding these deaths, which occurred in July of 2018 and April of 2019 respectively.

'We can assure you, the safety and health of our guests is now, and has always been our highest priority. We currently implement beverage protocols, including purchasing sealed and unopened products from licensed and reputable vendors, as well as daily inspections of all products served throughout the hotel bars and in-room liquor dispensers.

'Additionally, our team members are trained to inspect all supplies, equipment and products that enter the property.'

Dozens of members of a Jimmy Buffet fan club from Oklahoma also reportedly fell ill during a trip in April while staying at the Hotel Riu Palace Macao in Punta Cana.

One of the Buffet fans, Dana Flowers, says he got so sick that he lost 14 pounds and was unable to leave his room.

Flowers, a local travel agent from Oklahoma City, traveled to Punta Cana as part of the Central Oklahoma Parrothead Association, a group of Buffet fanatics from the Tulsa and Oklahoma City region.

Leyla Cox was found dead in her hotel room at Excellence Resorts (pictured) in Punta Cana, last Monday

Leyla Cox was found dead in her hotel room at Excellence Resorts (pictured) in Punta Cana, last Monday

Miranda Schaup Werner, a 41-year-old psychotherapist from Allentown, Pa., collapsed on May 25, 2019 and passed away in her room after having a drink from the mini-bar at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville. She's pictured here with her husband, Dan
David Harrison, 45 (left), of Maryland died of an alleged heart attack while vacationing with his wife, Dawn McCoy (right) and their son at the Hard Rock in Punta Cana

Miranda Schaup Werner collapsed on May 25 and  died in her room after having a drink from the mini-bar at the all-inclusive Bahia Principe Hotel in La Romana. She's pictured left with her husband Dan.  David Harrison, 45, right, of Maryland died of an alleged heart attack while vacationing with his wife, Dawn McCoy and their son at the Hard Rock in Punta Cana

Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, also died after drinking from a minibar
Robert Bell Wallace, 67,right, of California, became ill and died after he had a scotch from the room minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic

Yvette Monique Sport, 51, left, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, also died after drinking from the minibar at the Bahia Principe resort, Sport's family members said. Robert Bell Wallace, 67,right,  of California, became ill and died after he had a scotch from the room minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic

Claudia Massaranduba and fiance Kevin Gentile were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana when the began to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea
The newlyweds said that several members of their family also fell ill during the celebrations

Claudia Massaranduba and fiance Kevin Gentile were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana when the began to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea

'Four or five days we were having a good time but then by the middle of the week people were beginning to get sick,' he told KFOR-TV .

'Out of those 114 people, 47 got sick there.'

Flowers said another member of their entourage died after going to another hotel.

At the time, however, nobody knew that it was the beginning of a rash of strange incidents involving American tourists.

'We had no idea when we were there that all this was going on,' Flowers said.

He said that local doctors believed it might be a parasite. Although Flowers tested negative for salmonella, others in the group tested positive.

He believes that people in the group got sick either from something they drank at the swim-up pool bar or from swimming in the pool.

Flowers says he's just thankful that nobody died.

'I will not be going back to the Dominican any time soon,' he said.

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.