Mystery Deaths at Thai resort vex family, investigators

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

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Perilous Times*
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Mystery Deaths at Thai resort vex family, investigators
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* Story Highlights
* Family, husband-to-be in shock over death of loved one at Thailand
resort
* Fiancé says Jill St. Onge started vomiting in hotel room, later died
* Norweigan tourist at same resort died same weekend
* Thai officials say investigation into deaths could take 4 to 8 weeks

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- What started as a romantic Southeast Asia
vacation for a Seattle couple ended with Ryan Kells preparing Friday to
return from Bangkok carrying the ashes of his fianceé to give to her
family in California.

Jill St. Onge died while vacationing with her fiance at a Thailand resort.

"It's such a shock," Robert St. Onge told CNN about the death of his
sister, Jill, who had been traveling with the man she planned to marry.
"There was no way to hear last words or even see her because she has
already been cremated."

The couple had been visiting Thailand at the end of a three-month
journey during which the two had become engaged.

On April 26 in her online journal, the 27-year-old woman described the
surroundings near where the Leonardo Dicaprio movie, "The Beach," was
filmed.

"Hey hey! We're in koh phi phi right now. It's off the west coast of
Thailand about a 2 hour boat ride from krabi. So amazing... just
drinking eating and living so cheaply and having a blast. Food, drink,
good books, sun and warm waters... What else do ya need?," St. Onge blogged.

But on May 2, Kells found St. Onge, who had told him earlier that she
had not been feeling well, vomiting in their room at the Laleena
guesthouse on Phi Phi island. He put her into a shopping cart and
searched for help.

"She couldn't breathe. She was vomiting," Kells, 31, told CNN affiliate
KGO-TV. "I tried to run her to a hospital and she ended up passing
within, maybe, 12 hours of being sick." Video Watch fiancé discuss death
of bride-to-be »

Robert St. Onge said his sister had been healthy and that her sudden
death is a mystery.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that another tourist, a 22-year-old
Norwegian woman, died at the same resort the same weekend, the U.S.
Embassy in Thailand said.

The manager of the Laleena guesthouse has said in published reports that
he believes the women's deaths came from drinking heavily.

Norwegian media reported that the Norweigan woman could have been a
victim of food poisoning. Newspapers in Thailand have questioned whether
both women were poisoned, quoting police sources.

In Internet postings on a Web site created to update friends and family
on the tragedy, Kells also described feeling ill at the hotel and said
that he believed something in their room had made the couple sick.

Kells also said he had spent less time in their room than his fiancee.

The U.S. Embassy in Thailand has been working with the St. Onge family
to determine what happened.

"The police know we are concerned about this, but as with any
investigation, it could take some time," said embassy spokesman Michael
Turner.

Robert St. Onge said Thai authorities told his family that the inquiry
could take four to eight weeks. He said his family has been given tissue
samples so they can have testing done by an independent laboratory.
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At Shadowland, the Seattle, Washington, restaurant where Jill St. Onge
used to work as a bartender, a corner of the bar is filled with
pictures, candles and postcards from the couple.

"Greetings from Phnom Penh," one from Jill reads, "We love you guys."