What happened to Dan Wright? B.C. man dies after Dominican Republic trip

B.C. man dies after Dominican Republic trip A B.C. woman is speaking out after her husband suddenly fell ill during a trip to the Dominican Republic. He died while on the way home.

A B.C. woman is speaking out after her husband suddenly fell ill and died on the way home from the Dominican Republic.

Prince Rupert resident Meghann Wright told CTV News she and her husband, Dan, a longshoreman, made the trip for a friend's wedding in April.

They were set to stay for a week, but Dan got sick on the fifth day following a deep-sea fishing trip. Two days later, they went to the local hospital in Punta Cana.

The next day, the couple flew back to Toronto as scheduled, but Dan never made it past the layover there.

His wife isn’t sure if Wright’s death could be connected to other tourist deaths in the Dominican Republican, and she doesn’t understand the findings of the initial coroner’s report, which said Dan died from a heart attack.

"Dan was always the centre of attention. He walked into the room, he was the funny guy, the jokester. He was an extremely good athlete," she said, adding that "he was a 40-year-old guy that liked to eat red meat and drink beer, but he was also pretty active."

Wright, who’d been with her husband over 15 years, added that he excelled at everything he did.

A GoFundMe page for Wright has raised over $21,000, more than double its goal.

On Thursday, the Ontario coroner confirmed it launched an investigation into Wright’s death—a typical move in cases with unexpected deaths—but couldn’t comment further because of privacy rules.

The tragedy adds to a growing list of mysterious deaths in the Caribbean.

At least 10 other Canadian and American tourists have died under questionable circumstances in the Dominican Republic over the last year. That includes 55-year-old Joseph Allan from New Jersey, 53-year-old radiologist Leyla Cox from New York, and Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Day. Family members have questioned official findings, and it some of the cases, those who died had reportedly consumed alcohol from hotel minibars.

The FBI is involved but so far both U.S. and Dominican Republic say none of the deaths appear to be connected.

CTV reached out to Global Affairs about Dan Wright’s case. A spokesperson extended his thoughts to the family and friends, but wouldn’t comment further, saying only that Canadians should exercise caution in the Dominican Republic because of the country's high crime rate.

CTV News has not heard back from the resort where the Wrights stayed.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's David Molko