Police Say Bodies Found in Dominican Republic Likely Belong to Missing New York Couple

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Police in the Dominican Republic believe two bodies linked to a car accident belong to a missing New York couple.

Orlando Moore, 43, and his girlfriend, Portia Ravenelle, 32, were reported missing after they suddenly disappeared during a romantic getaway in the Caribbean and have not been heard from for more than two weeks, according to NBC4.

And now, Dominican Republic National Police Col. Frank Felix Duran Mejia was cited in a Pix11 report as saying that two bodies that have been found likely belong to the missing couple.

An unconscious woman fitting Ravenelle’s description was found on March 27 near a road leading to the airport, and transported to an area hospital, Duran Mejia said, according to the report.

The woman, who had no identification, died at the Doctor Dario Contreras Hospital on April 4.

An autopsy is still pending, as is a final confirmation of identity, according to the report.

Duran Mejia was reported as saying that the body of a man fitting Moore’s description was found on March 31 in an advanced state of decomposition.

The body was discovered at sea near Port Sans Souci, according to the report.

Official confirmation regarding the identity of the second body is still pending.

Car Accident?

The Dominican newspaper Diario Libre reported that police believe the couple may have gotten into a car accident on their way to the airport.

Police officials said on April 9 that local fishermen found a car in the water near where the couple would have been driving on their way to the airport back from their vacation getaway in the northeast part of the country, according to the Diario Libre report.

Police have not been able to recover the vehicle due to weather conditions, reported NBC. The body of a man was found near the vehicle, according to the Pix11 report.

Divers have been unable to make a positive identification of the car due to rough seas, according to Fox8.

Authorities believe the couple was heading to the airport on March 27 when, for an unknown reason, their car plunged into the ocean.

‘They Didn’t Make Their Flight’

Moore and Ravenelle were supposed to return to New York on March 27, after a four-day vacation in the Dominican Republic.

Their families have been unable to reach them for more than 15 days. Their phones are off, their car still parked at the airport, and officials say there are no records of them returning to the United States.

According to earlier reports, authorities said the couple had checked out of their hotel in Samana but vanished en route to the airport. Moore’s sister, Lashay Turner, told NBC4 that she has contacted the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic and also filed a police report.

“We’ve been calling DR and they said they didn’t make their flight,” Turner told the news station. “We also spoke to someone in U.S. Customs and they said my brother did not make his flight back here.”

Turner said that the pair had a rental car in the Dominican Republic and the vehicle is also missing.

The U.S. State Department told the news station that they were working with local authorities to search for the couple.

“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,” a department official told the news station in a statement.

“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,” they added.

Turner said her brother is not the type of person who would “just run off on a hiatus,” adding that he has a daughter. She said, “he’s gonna let someone know where he is.”

Other family members and friends have been using social media to raise awareness about their disappearance.

The Mount Vernon couple flew out of Newark Liberty International Airport on March 23, NBC reported.

Family and friends expected the couple to return home on March 27.

Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this article.