A 40-year-old yoga teacher was found dead off of the coast of a Dominican Republic beach Wednesday, making her the eighth American tourist to die in the country in recent weeks.
Surely Miller was reportedly swimming near the Sosua beach of Cabarete, Puerto Plata, when a rip current caught her and carried her out to sea. According to Spanish news outlet Noticias SIN, a fisherman discovered her body and the local medical examiner declared that she had died from asphyxiation associated with drowning. Miller was vacationing with her partner, Karan Bindran, when she went missing.
Miller owned her own yoga studio called Surely Yoga and was an active member of the community in Fogelsville, Pa. Tribe Yoga in Fogelsville announced they’re holding a special evening class to honor Miller.
“Honoring our beloved friend and teacher Surely Miller tomorrow. Tribe will be closed for the morning – no 9:30 am class,” Tribe Yoga posted on Facebook. “Please come out and join me for our 6 pm Ashtanga practice – dedicated to her beautiful spirit.”
Miller has become the next in a string of deaths in the Dominican Republic, leading to the FBI confirming to National Public Radio that they were investigating the deaths, several of which are considered mysterious and involving alcohol.
The safety and security of U.S. citizens that live in, work in, and visit the Dominican Republic remains our highest priority,” U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Robin Bernstein said in a statement. “These incidents are tragic and we offer our deepest condolences to those personally impacted.”
The Caribbean nation has a history of death and violence in recent years, including the high-profile 2017 deaths of Major League Baseball players Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte in two separate car accidents and the recent attempted murder of retired MLB player David Ortiz.
