Police in the Dominican Republic have arrested six men and are looking for an additional suspect in the death of an American teacher who was found dead in her apartment on Tuesday. The event brought the resort gem back into the spotlight after a slew of unexplained tourist deaths this year caught international attention, shaking up the country's tourism industry.

Patricia Anton, 63, was tied up and strangled by seven men, a statement by investigative police said. Michael Mariñez Rosario, Heuri Flores Hernández, Junior Alexis Suarez, Juan José Andújar Mella, Oroniel Canario Montero and Alexis Maquey are now in custody, while a man under the alias of "El Venezolano," meaning the Venezuelan, remains at large with an arrest warrant. According to investigators, the group traveled to Puerto Plata "with the aim of committing crimes of such nature."

From Anton's apartment in Puerto Plata, a province that she had been living in for more than 15 years, they took one cellphone, a laptop, a 40-inch television and $80 in cash.

"Authorities will continue investigations," the statement said.

"A horrendous case," Ramon Brito, a representative for the tourism police, told The Washington Post. "We profoundly lament what happened."

He said crimes against foreigners in the Caribbean nation are "uncommon" and "isolated."

Four of the six captured men had criminal records for committing "different crimes" dating back to 2017. The statement also specifies that two of them are Haitian.

Anton, who was born in Italy but grew up in Traverse City, Mich., worked as a teacher and consultant at the 3 Mariposas Montessori school in the northern province of Puerto Plata for more than six years. The school described her in a Facebook post on Wednesday as a "mentor" who could light up a room upon entering." Anton's cover photo on Facebook shows a Dominican beach, and many of her posts reiterate her love for the country.

She had a husband, Patrick, two sons, 35 and 31, and a daughter, 28. Her husband, who traveled every week for work, spent the weekends in Puerto Plata with her.

"We are really grateful and impressed by how much effort the police in the island has put to find out what happened," said Anton's cousin, Adrianne Machina, 51. "I would love people to know what an amazing mother, teacher and friend Patty was to everyone. She had a huge laugh and was very inclusive."

In May, the deaths of three Americans at hotels in the resort town of La Romana sparked a media outburst that led many in the United States to report the recent deaths of their relatives in the country, triggering suspicions of links between them, including possible alcohol or pesticide intoxication.

Cynthia Ann Day and Nathaniel Holmes, an engaged couple, were found dead in their room in the Grand Bahia Principe hotel on May 30. Five days earlier, Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, died at the neighboring Luxury Bahia Principe Hotel.

While autopsies conducted by local authorities suggested that they had all died of cardiac-related problems, the events kept drawing negative media toward the tourism industry, a key component of the country's economy. More than 2 million Americans visit the Dominican Republic every year, and the figure dropped at least 100,000 so far this year compared with 2018, according to official tourism data.

That came even as the U.S. State Department, which confirmed that at least 10 Americans died in the Dominican Republic in 2019, said that the number of deaths was not unusual, and that there was no uptick compared with previous years' counts.

Last month, the FBI, which conducted toxicology studies on the three deaths, said the results matched those of local authorities, and it ruled out intoxication with alcohol. Final results are yet to be announced.