Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
NationalNews

New York Couple Still Missing After Mysteriously Vanishing During Vacation to the Dominican Republic 

By | Published on April 8, 2019
CommentsComments (0) Add ABS as a preferred source on Google i

A desperate search is underway for a New York couple who vacationed to the Caribbean, then vanished without a trace with no sign of them for almost two weeks now, NBC New York reported.

Now their family and friends are growing increasingly worried.

Orlando Moore and his girlfriend, Portia Ravenelle, were supposed to return home to Mount Vernon on March 27 after flying out of Newark Liberty International Airport four days earlier for a getaway to the Dominican Republic. Concerned relatives say there has been no sign of the missing couple.

Orlando Moore and Portia Ravenelle

Orlando Moore and Portia Ravenelle haven’t been seen or heard from in almost two weeks after they failed to return from a romantic getaway to the Dominican Republic. (Photo posted on couple’s social media page, Screenshot NBC New York)

“This is definitely not my brother,” Moore’s sister Lashay Turner told the station. “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.”

Relatives said there have been no sightings of the couple and their car is still parked at the airport. Turner said she reached out to customs officials in the DR, who told her that  Moore and Ravenelle never made it to their return flight.

“We also spoke to someone in U.S. Customs and they said my brother did not make his flight back here,” she said.

A photo posted to social media showed the couple enjoying a horseback ride on the beach during their trip. According to Turner, her brother and Ravenelle had rented a car to travel the island, but there’s been no sign of the vehicle.

Investigators confirmed the couple had checked out of the Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa hotel in Samana, but what occurred next is still unknown. The pair’s family members said they don’t want to speculate what may have happened to the lovebirds, but said they are growing desperate for answers.

“When these things happen, you always think of the worst, but we are hoping for the best,” Edith Walters, Moore’s grandmother, told the outlet.

Watch more in the video below.

The ABS Newsletter — Stories that matter, in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top