Family of American found dead on Bahamas beach fears ‘evidence will disappear,’ pleads for help
The family of a Maryland man found dead in the Bahamas during a family vacation earlier this month is pleading for "international help."
The Bahamas Royal Police Force on April 9 ruled 23-year-old Dinari McAlmont's death a drowning after he was found dead on April 6, just 12 hours after he and his parents arrived at Paradise Island in Nassau.
Marcelle Bacchus, McAlmont's aunt, said in an April 11 Facebook post that the victim's body was supposed to be released from a mortuary on April 10 but was not released due to a spelling error with his name.
"My sister is so frustrated," Bacchus wrote. "She has not seen her son yet. Only a picture of his battered face in a folder shown to her briefly on April 7."
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McAlmont's mother, Michelle McAlmont, previously told Bahamas news outlet Eyewitness News Bahamas that she believed her son had been beaten.
However, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in an April 9 press release announcing Dinari McAlmont's cause of death that "foul play is not suspected at this time."
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"A post-mortem examination was performed, and the pathologist's findings revealed that the deceased died as a result of drowning," the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement at the time.
Bacchus said her family is "afraid evidence will disappear."
"Please we need some international help ASAP please!!" she wrote on Facebook.
The McAlmont family was staying at a resort called The Reef at Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas.
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Dinari apparently left his parents during dinner to retrieve a jacket when he disappeared, and his parents filed a missing person report when they could not track him using cellphone location data, according to Eyewitness News.
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of one of our guests," the resort previously told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time. We are fully cooperating with the authorities as they conduct their investigation."
The State Department has issued a Level 2 Travel Advisory for the Bahamas, as well as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Netherlands Antilles, and Turks and Caicos.
The Level 2 Travel Advisory warns tourists to "be aware of heightened risks to safety and security."