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Mother wants answers after son dies in Dominican Republic

FORSYTH, Ga. — A mother in Forsyth, Georgia, wants answers after her son died in the Dominican Republic. She feels there's a connection between his death and the deaths of other American tourists in that country.

"As a mother, you're not there when your son takes his last breath," Melody Moore told WSB. "That hurts, and I mean, you've got so many questions."

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Moore told WSB she misses her son, Tracy Jester Jr., every day. Moore told the local news outlet that he flew to the Dominican Republic with his sister in April for a weekend getaway. She told ABC News he was staying at a resort, but the name of the resort was not made clear.

"They had a good day. (On) Saturday, they went out. They explored," she said. "They said they had a good day."

Moore said Jester seemed fine when she spoke with him during his trip. She told WSB that Jester told her he drank a soda that didn't taste right.

Moore said she got a call from her daughter the next day.

"She called me about 3:30 in the morning and she told me he was calling her, saying he couldn’t breathe, just saying, 'Mama, I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe'", Moore said.

Her daughter called 911, but it was too late. Moore said that her son's death certificate says he died March 17 of "respiratory illness," but she said she feels her son’s death is connected to those of the other 11 American tourists who have also died in that country since June 2018.

She said she called the FBI and an investigator put her son's name on a list of people who have died in the Dominican Republic in recent months. ABC News reported she has not yet met with anyone from the agency. Moore told WSB her son was healthy and never had any health issues.

"Being a mom, I want to go to where he was, where he died at last. Something is wrong. My son is gone. Something is really wrong," Moore said.

"We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in the Dominican Republic in March 2019," a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told ABC News in a statement. "We offer our sincerest condolences to the family for their loss. Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we do not have additional information to provide."

Jester's sister told WSB her brother had lupus. It's unclear if the illness was connected to his death.