U.S. Department of State Aware of NY Couple Missing in Caribbean

The U.S. Department of State says it is aware of the case of a New York couple who vanished during a romantic vacation in the Caribbean and working closely with local authorities in the Dominican Republic on investigative efforts. 

No new information in the disappearance of Orlando Moore and his girlfriend, Portia Ravenelle, of Mount Vernon, had been released by early Tuesday, adding fuel to the anxiety and fear overwhelming their close family and friends.

Moore and Ravenelle flew out of Newark Liberty International Airport on March 23 for a getaway in the Dominican Republic. They were supposed to return home to Mount Vernon on March 27. 

Fourteen days later, their family hasn’t heard from them. Their phones are off. And their car is still parked at the airport. 

Moore’s sister, Lashay Turner, said her first move was to reach out to the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. Then she filed a police report. 

Cops say the pair checked out of their hotel in Samana, but what happened to them next remains a mystery at this point. Officials say they didn’t make the flight back to Newark, and there’s no record of them getting back to the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined comment, saying privacy concerns preclude them from discussing individual cases of international travelers.

Turner said her brother and Ravenelle had a rental car in the Dominican Republic, but that vehicle is missing. A picture believed to be the latest of them posted to social media before they vanished shows them riding horses together on their trip.

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

Turner says her brother has a daughter — and he’s not the type to “just run off on a hiatus … he’s gonna let someone know where he is.”

“I’m scared. I don’t know what’s going on,” she added. “I’m saddened, my family is saddened by this and we just want me brother to return safe and alive.”

Authorities aren’t speculating about what may have happened to the couple, but relatives are growing increasingly concerned.

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