Luanna Cappuccino said it was left to another Canadian tourist to tell her that her common-law husband was dead after the boat that had taken Allen McGuire on a diving excursion last week returned without the Ottawa man aboard.

"The scuba company didn't even speak to me," Cappuccino told CBC News on the phone from the Dominican Republic, where the couple was on vacation, and where she remains, hunting for answers.

"I had a young 19-year-old girl from Newfoundland that had to tell me, when the boat came back, why Allen wasn't on the boat."

In the week since McGuire died, Cappuccino has been struggling to get answers from officials in the Dominican Republic about what happened in the water on Feb. 22, and how it could have been prevented.

Cappuccino said a doctor told her McGuire, 53, had died from asphyxiation, though she hasn't been able to see a full autopsy report.

'He loved, loved, loved the water'

The couple, from Edwards in rural southeast Ottawa, was booked to stay in San Juan for a week, and McGuire decided to sign up for a scuba excursion with Scubaquatic.

"Every time we went somewhere, he wanted to dive and see the different places," Cappuccino said.

They had learned to scuba dive together and McGuire had gone on excursions in Jamaica, Venezuela and Florida.

"He loved, loved, loved the water. He was a strong swimmer, he was good at diving," Cappuccino said.

She said she has spoken to others who were on the boat with McGuire during his final trip. They told her McGuire helped calm first-time divers as the boat headed out in choppy waters searching for the buoy that marked the dive site.

No real answers

Those partial accounts have left Cappuccino with many questions about whether the diving company had proper equipment and adequately trained instructors.

"I don't know what, if any, answers I will get ... the police won't do anything. I wanted to file a report, to have an investigation done — it's not like in Canada."

Cappuccino said the Dominican Republic national police told her they won't open an investigation until they receive an attorney general's report, which would follow the coroner's report in three months.

"I don't care what country you're in, three months later, everything is not the same," she said.

Luanna Cappuccino and McGuire went to the Dominican Republic for a one-week vacation on Feb. 18. McGuire died four days later during a diving excursion. (Supplied)

Cappuccino said if a diver had died on a trip in Canada, the company's equipment would have been checked right away. She said that hasn't happened and that Scubaquatic has run more excursions since McGuire's death.

"If it was the equipment — they say it wasn't heart attack, there's no signs of stress so it's not like something like that happened."

She said she plans to go to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) to ask them to look into the case.

Asking for help

Cappuccino has been in touch with the Canadian Consulate and has arranged to bring McGuire's remains back to Canada at the end of this week.

She has also been in touch with her local MP, Pierre Poilievre, and Global Affairs Canada for support in dealing with the case.

Global Affairs Canada confirmed consular officials have been in contact with the family of a Canadian who died in the Dominican Republic, but could not provide details due to privacy concerns.

The federal department also said it advises Canadians that beach sporting and aquatic equipment, especially scuba diving equipment, may not meet Canadian safety standards, and that Canadians in the Dominican Republic should ensure that equipment is safe and in good condition.

CBC contacted both national and local police in the Dominican Republic, but no one who was reached had any knowledge of an investigation, or was able to confirm details of McGuire's death.

CBC made several unsuccessful attempts to call the diving excursion company, Scubaquatic.