A Pennsylvania woman was found dead in a hotel in the Dominican Republic, just five days before a Maryland couple was found dead in the same resort. 

Jay McDonald says his brother-in-law Dan Werner and his wife Miranda Schaup-Werner flew to the Dominican Republic on May 25 to celebrate their 9th wedding anniversary. 

The couple checked in at the Grand Bahia Principe Hotel in La Romana, went straight their room, and began to relax. 

Miranda even had a drink from the mini-bar. 

“At one point, she was sitting there happily smiling and taking pictures and the next moment she was in acute pain and called out for Dan and she collapsed,” said Jay McDonald, a spokesperson for the family. 

Dan and the EMTs did all they could to help her but to no avail. 

“He was understandably in shock but the whole thing was just so stunning,” said McDonald. 

Schaup-Werner – an Allentown psychotherapist – died of respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, according to the hotel. 

“That’s not something we were aware of prior, and we really want an independent medical review here in the states,” said McDonald. 

He did say she had a heart issue 15 years ago, but doctors then gave her a clean bill of health. 

63-year-old Edward Nathaniel Holmes and 49-year-old Cynthia Ann Day of Maryland checked into the same hotel the same day as the Whitehall couple. 

Five days later, after missing their scheduled check out time, the hotel staff entered their room and found them dead. 

Dominican Republic National Police say Holmes and Day died of the same cause as Schaup-Werner. 

Following the couple’s death, the hotel posted a statement saying “there were no signs of violence,” and adding “we are in complete collaboration with authorities, but as the investigation is ongoing, we have no further information to share.”

“She was a very sweet person and at 41, had a lot of life ahead of her and we miss her,” said McDonald.