Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Feb 26, 2026

3 American tourists found dead @ Sandals in Bahamas

3 American tourists found dead @ Sandals in Bahamas

Three days after the deaths of three guests at Sandals Emerald Bay Resort in Exuma, Bahamas authorities say they still aren't sure what killed them.
On Friday, two men and a woman were found dead in two separate beachfront villas. On Monday, the deceased were identified as Michael and Robbie Phillips of Tennessee, and Vincent Chiarella of Florida, all in their sixties. Chiarella's wife Donnis had to be airlifted to a hospital, in critical condition.

The cause of death of the three American citizens is unknown at this time, but Bahamas Health Minister Dr. Michael Darville said last week that there is no suspicion of foul play. Ahead of press time on Monday, Bahamas Police Commissioner Paul Rolle revealed to local, regional and international press that autopsies were scheduled to be performed later in the day. Authorities are also reportedly awaiting toxicology reports from tests performed on samples taken from the victims, although the commissioner warned that those results could take some time.

Rolle resisted invitations from journalists to speculate on what might be responsible for the deaths of the three individuals, deflecting questions designed to elicit clues on whether there could have been contamination in the cooling systems of the two villas in which the guests died, or a possible common denominator in the food they may have eaten prior to falling ill.

Police, in a Friday statement, said they'd been told that morning that multiple people had been found dead. Upon arrival at Sandals Emerald Bay, they found one man lying unresponsive in the bedroom of his accommodation. No signs of trauma were found following an examination. In the second villa, they found the second man slumped against a bathroom wall unresponsive, with an unresponsive woman on the bed of that unit. No signs of trauma were found on these bodies either.

Police also said on Friday their investigations had revealed that the couple in the second unit - the Phillips from Tennessee - had visited a local medical facility on Thursday complaining of feeling ill. Minister Darville described their symptoms as nausea and vomiting, and said that after the pair were treated, it was recommended by a doctor that they be airlifted to a hospital in New Providence, however they refused and returned to the property.

As it turns out, Donnis Chiarella, the only surviving member of the quartet, also sought out medical treatment on Thursday. According to her son Austin, who spoke to ABC news, his mother felt ill and visited a local clinic. She too returned to her lodgings after she was released, but woke up the next morning to a horrific scene - Austin told ABC News that his mother found her husband on the floor, and herself immobile with arms and legs swollen. She had to scream to get someone to come to the door, the grieving man told the news outlet.

Health officials say that the visitors' illness and deaths are not Covid-19 related.

Sandals, a Jamaican hospitality giant with properties in Jamaica, the Bahamas, and several Eastern Caribbean islands, has referred to the deaths as a quote "health emergency", and in a terse statement said that they were actively working to support both the ongoing investigation and the families of the deceased at this time.

During today's press conference, MrRolle reminded the public that this was still very much active investigation, disclosing that police and public health officials were still processing the scene of the deaths for any additional evidence that could help shed light on what exactly led to this tragic outcome.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Lawmakers Seek Briefing from UK Over Reported Encryption Order Directed at Apple
UK Business Secretary Calls on EU to Remove Trade Barriers Hindering Growth
Legal Pathways for Removing Prince Andrew from Britain’s Line of Succession Examined
PM Netanyahu welcome India PM Narendra Modi to Israel
Shadow Diplomacy: How Harry and Meghan’s Jordan Trip Undermines the Monarchy
Britain’s Channel Crisis: Paying Billions While the Boats Keep Coming
Downing Street’s Veteran Deception Scandal
UK HealthCare Expands ‘Food as Health’ Initiative Statewide to Tackle Chronic Illness in Kentucky
Leonardo Chief Says UK Set to Decide on New Medium Helicopter Programme
UK Slows Chagos Islands Agreement After Concerns Raised in Washington
European and UK Stock Markets Reach Fresh Highs as Banks and Miners Lead Rally
UK Government Insists Chagos Islands Negotiations Continue After Minister’s ‘Pause’ Remark
No Confirmed Deal for Engie to Acquire UK Power Networks Amid Market Speculation
UK Reaffirms Updated Entry Requirements for Travellers as of February 25, 2026
Lord Mandelson Condemns Arrest as Driven by ‘Baseless Suggestion’ He Would Flee Abroad
Former UK Ambassador Released on Bail Following Arrest in Epstein-Linked Investigation
UK Parliament Orders Release of Former Prince Andrew’s Government Vetting Files
Reddit Fined £14 Million by UK Regulator Over Failures in Age Verification Controls
UK Moves to Tighten Regulation of Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video Under New Media Rules
British Woman Who Reported Rape in Hong Kong Faces Possible Prosecution
UK Sanctions New Zealand Insurer Maritime Mutual Following Allegations Over Russian Oil Cover
Reform MP Danny Kruger Condemns UK’s ‘Unregulated Sexual Economy’ in Call for Tougher Controls
UK Sanctions Russian ‘Illicit Oil Traders’ After Email Blunder Exposes Sanctions Evasion Network
Russia Amplifies Baseless Claims That UK and France Plan to Arm Ukraine with Nuclear Weapons
UK Imposes Sanctions on Two Georgian Television Channels Over Alleged Russian Disinformation
United States National Parks See Noticeable Drop in Visitors from Canada, U.K. and Australia
UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand Escalate Sanctions on Russia as Ukraine War Marks Four Years
UK Economy Faces Acute Strain as Trump’s Global Tariff Reshapes Trade Landscape
UK Signals Retaliation Is Possible as New US Tariff Policy Threatens Trade Stability
British Police Arrest Former Ambassador Peter Mandelson in Epstein-Related Misconduct Probe
Australia Officially Supports Proposal to Remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from Royal Succession
Diverging Polls Show Mixed Signals on UK Economic Revival as Confidence Remains Fragile
Spotify Expands AI-Driven ‘Prompted Playlists’ Feature to the United Kingdom and Other Markets
Greens and Reform UK Surge in Manchester By-Election, Threatening Labour’s Historic Stronghold
UK Businesses Push for Closer European Trade Links Amid Renewed US Tariff Uncertainty
Deloitte Global Overhaul Sparks Leadership Contest in the United Kingdom
University of Kentucky and Microsoft to Showcase Campus-Wide AI Innovation
UK Food System Faces Acute Vulnerability to Shocks, Experts Warn
Reform UK’s Proposed ICE-Style Deportation Scheme Triggers Sharp Backlash
U.S. Global Tariff Push Leaves Britain, Australia and Others Facing Higher Costs and Trade Strain
UK Police Officers Guarded 2010 Epstein Dinner Attended by Prince Andrew, Reports Say
US Trade Representative Affirms Commitment to Existing Tariff Agreements with UK and Other Partners
Activists at the Louvre hung a framed Reuters photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor slumped in the back of a car leaving a police station on the day of his arrest
Metropolitan Police Deploys Palantir-Powered AI to Flag Potential Officer Misconduct
UK Parliament Rebukes Police Over Ban on Israeli Football Fans
Britain Emerges Among a Small Group of Nations Without a Religious Majority
UK’s Manufacturing Base at Risk as Soaring Energy Costs Weigh on Industry
Matt Goodwin’s Unconventional Campaign for Reform UK in the Gorton and Denton By-Election
US Military Movements in the UK Spark Speculation Over Preparations Related to Iran Tensions
UK Faces Significant Economic Risk From Trump’s New Global Tariff Regime
×