Thread: Iowa family found dead in Mexico resort of Tulum

Iowa family found dead in Mexico resort of Tulum

3/23/18

Image copyright CBS A family of four from Iowa have been found dead inside their rented holiday home in Mexico, authorities say.

The Sharp family had been expected to attend a basketball game in Illinois on Wednesday. A missing person report was filed after they did not show up.

The incident took place in the popular resort of Tulum, according to the Mexico Tourism Board.

Mexican and US police say there was no sign of traumatic injury and no foul play is suspected at this time.

"Autopsies are being performed in Mexico and results are pending," the police department in Creston, Iowa, said in a statement on Friday.
Image copyright Facebook A local news station in Mexico reports that investigators are looking into whether food poisoning or a gas leak could have been responsible.

Kevin, 41, Amy, 38, Sterling, 12, and Adrianna Sharp, seven, were found dead after Mexican police visited the condominium to check on them upon the request of the US Department of State.

According to KCCI-News in Des Moines, there was no sign of struggle in the room.
The Mexico Tourism Board said in a statement it was aware of the investigation and "we would like to express our sympathies to all family and friends of the Sharp family".

"The entire Mexico tourism industry offers its support and commitment to finding out what happened."

The board added that the area remains "a safe place to visit and there are no increased levels of threats observed at this time".

The Sharps' cousin, Jana Weland, told ABC News it was the family's second trip to Mexico.

She added it was "unusual" that they were not posting photos on social media because "last year they shared pictures about every day".

"To my knowledge, they went to sleep and never woke up," Ms Weland said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43523000

Poisoning, gas fumes, murder cover up?

TOXIC GAS KILLED FAMILY

No foul play or suicide suspected in Mexico deaths of Iowa vacationers, officials say


Iowa family found dead in Mexico inhaled toxic gas, autopsies reveal

Fox News


Iowa family missing in Mexico found dead

The family of four was found in the condo they rented in a tourist complex in Tulum, Mexico.

An Iowa family found dead in a vacation condo in Mexico died from inhaling toxic gas, but there was no sign of foul play or suicide, Mexican authorities said Saturday.

The type of gas hadn't yet been determined, but "any violent act or suicide has been discounted,” the prosecutors' office in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said.

The office said investigators "carried out a physical investigation of the gas connections in the room," and the civil defense office of Tulum would issue a technical report on the findings.

"Any violent act or suicide has been discounted."
- Prosecutors' office, Mexican state of Quintana Roo

Photos released by the office showed investigators in anti-contamination suits and firefighters with air tanks examining gas connections to a stove in the condo in Tulum.

The office said investigators "carried out a physical investigation of the gas connections in the room," and the civil defense office of Tulum would issue a technical report on the findings.

A spokeswoman for the office of Iowa state Attorney General Tom Miller would not comment on whether the owner of the condo could face legal consequences in connection with the deaths, Reuters reported.

In November 2010, the explosion of an improperly installed gas line at a hotel in the nearby town of Playa del Carmen killed five Canadian tourists and two Mexicans.

A Mexican judge dismissed charges in that case in August 2011.

Iowa officials identified the family as Kevin Sharp, 41; his wife, Amy Sharp, 38, and their children Sterling, 12, and Adrianna, 7. They were from Creston, Iowa.

The family was reported missing by relatives in their hometown about a week after the family left for vacation.

Creston police contacted the U.S. State Department, and the bodies were found during a welfare check at the condo in Tulum, on the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Quintana Roo prosecutors' office said the family had been dead for between 36 and 48 hours by the time they were found Friday at the Tao condominium complex.

Contacted Friday, the developer of the condo complex where the deaths occurred declined to comment.

The Creston News Advertiser newspaper in Iowa reported that the family flew to Cancun on March 14. According to her sister, Amy Sharp texted their mother the next day to say they had reached Tulum, but relatives didn't hear any more from the family.

The sister, Renee Hoyt, said the Sharps were scheduled to return to the U.S. this week. They were scheduled to depart from the Cancun airport on Wednesday and fly to St. Louis on a non-stop flight. The family had planned to then drive about 200 miles (322 kilometers) to Danville, Illinois, to watch a basketball game Thursday, Hoyt said.

When the family didn't arrive in St. Louis, family members contacted authorities, she said.

More than 300 people attended a candelight vigil for the Sharp family on Saturday night at the Adams County Speedway in Corning, the Creston News Advertiser reported.
Another candlelight vigil was planned for 7 p.m. Sunday in Creston at VFW Field on Highway 34, the report said.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/24...es-reveal.html

Figured there was a better than even chance it was toxic gas since it reported there was no foul play.