Although Coral Sommers was nervous about the recent deaths of 10 American tourists in the Dominican Republic, she did not cancel her family vacation.

Three weeks before their trip, the American tourists' deaths made the news.

At least 10 American tourists have died in the country in the past year, according to published reports. The deaths have been attributed to health issues and natural causes, but the sheer number of them has raised questions about whether travel is safe to the Caribbean destination.

More than 2 million American tourists visited the Dominican Republic in each of the past two years, according to the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association.

Since May, other American tourists have reported becoming severely ill while on vacation, brutally attacked and shot, according to published news reports.

One Butler resident, Holly Burtner-Moore, warns travelers to avoid the area after the death of her husband, Michael Moore, 11 years ago while traveling to the Dominican Republic.

Other locals, including Sommers and William DiCuccio, a retired Butler doctor, believe that the destination is safe. They say they've had pleasant experiences while abroad.

Sommers took a family vacation with her husband and four children to the Dominican Republic from June 21 to 28.

Nervous feelings led her family to consider canceling the trip, she said. However, her husband decided he felt safe enough to go.

Although they had trip insurance, it would only give them a waiver to go back within a year to the destination if they canceled the trip, she said, adding that they would have to go there either way.

She described the resort as secure.

“Once you get there, you kind of forget everything everyone was talking about,” Sommers said.

The resorts connected to the tourists' deaths were far from Sommers' location. The resort where they stayed did not have any negative reports or reviews.

The trip was their first to the country, Sommers said.

Originally, they planned to go to Aruba, she said. However, when their research uncovered a lack of activities for children, they Googled other destinations.

This led Sommers to Punta Cana on the easternmost tip of the Dominican Republic.

The family stayed at the Club Med resort, about a mile from the airport. The family spent its days at the beach and pool, paddle boarding, kayaking and snorkeling.

Only guests could come in and out of the resort, which was gated and had security. Beaches were not open to the public, and no outside vendors were allowed.

No one in her family got sick from food or alcoholic beverages.

Sommers felt secure enough to let her children, who range in age from 13 to 19, do activities on their own.

Her children knew about the deaths from social media and news reports, she said.

Sommers reassured her children that the resort was secure. During the trip, the family stuck together and did not venture off on their own.

One topic people discussed at the resort was how some Dominican Republic resorts reportedly serve bootleg, homemade liquor. At the resort where the Sommers stayed, all goods were imported.

Sommers said she plans to return to the island country.

“I don't feel like it's unsafe” she said. “We definitely will go back.”

Another traveler to the country is DiCuccio, who has an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

The deaths have occurred in clusters at resorts and rooms with in-service bars and refrigerators, DiCuccio said.

“Be careful what you drink, that's one of the main things,” he advised travelers.

DiCuccio and his wife started their mission in 2000 for Haitians who came to the Dominican Republic to pick sugar cane for $4 a day. The children did not have any clothing.

DiCuccio's mission built a school that went up to 12th grade and gave every child a uniform, immunizations, a meal and religious studies.

No one on a mission trip has died, he said.

DiCuccio said he is anxious to see the findings in the autopsy reports.

“People die of heart attacks every day,” DiCuccio said. “If it's someone who's relatively healthy, you begin to wonder.”

DiCuccio plans to return to the Dominican Republic, if his health allows, to build a vo-tech school.