An investigation is underway in the Bahamas after a 23-year-old American man was found dead Saturday on the shoreline near the Atlantis resort, located on Paradise Island near Nassau.
Eyewitness News reported Wednesday that staffers at the resort were being questioned in connection to the death of Dinari Mcalmont, who reportedly died approximately 12 hours after arriving at the resort with his family. According to The Independent, the young man from Bowie, Md., was a record producer.
Fox 5 News in Washington D.C. said that the Mcalmont family left for Paradise Island Friday and that they were expected to return home Monday. While at dinner, Dinari left his parents to explore the resort, said Fox 5’s report.
Hours later, staff came to Mcalmont’s room asking about their son’s whereabouts. When they began searching for him, they realized that his location services had gone inactive, so they went out themselves to search the sprawling compound, which includes five resorts, a casino, pools, giant fish tanks, many restaurants and more. They also made a missing persons flyer, but staff eventually told the Mcalmont family that they had found Dinari dead.
“They believe the circumstances surrounding his death are suspicious,” said Fox 5 of the young man’s family.
Dinari’s mother, Michelle Mcalmont, told Eyewitness News that authorities informed her that they were interviewing people in connection to the case, including staff of the resort. She also said that her son’s face had been badly beaten by the time he was found.
“They beat my son down in the sand,” Michelle Mcalmont said, according to Fox 5. “I need justice for my baby. I need justice.”
Royal Bahamas Police Force Commissioner Shanta Knowles told reporters that authorities are waiting on an autopsy to determine Dinari’s cause of death.
“We will certainly do our best to get answers,” she said.
An April 5 press release from the Royal Bahamas Police Force said that an investigation has been launched following the discovery of a male body on Paradise Island. It said officers were alerted shortly after 5:30 a.m. and that they arrived to find an unresponsive man on the beach – emergency services found no vital life signs.
In addition to interviews and the autopsy, authorities are combing through security footage at the resort. Michelle Mcalmont said Atlantis is working with the family, as well as U.S. officials.
“She believes there’s far more to the story than she’s been told,” said Eyewitness News of Dinari’s mother. Fox 5 reported that the family was searching for an attorney who specializes in international relations.
In December, the U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas issued a security alert for U.S. citizens near Nassau. It said that several crimes had been reported in the Love Beach area of Nassau and mentioned a robbery at gunpoint in the area. Atlantis is a popular destination for tourists – The Cove at Atlantis was ranked as one of the top resorts in the Caribbean by Travel + Leisure last year.