When the paramedics arrived at the scene, the tourists had already died.
Photo: JUAN MANUEL VALDIVIA / AFP / Getty Images
Last Wednesday, June 14, the news was released that two Americans were found dead inside a hotel room in the El Pescadero community, in Baja California Sur. The authorities of the Mexican state spread the news, which was taken up by the AFP agency.
Their identities were initially unknown, but they were later identified as a couple consisting of 28-year-old Abby Lutz and 41-year-old John Heathco, both originally from Newport, Beach, California. There were no signs of violence and the first hypothesis pointed to a gas leak.
This was confirmed because the paramedics who treated the victims – the Mexican brothers Fernando Valencia Sotelo and Grisel Valencia Sotelo – suffered from poisoning in the room. The autopsies performed on the couple also revealed that the causes of death were carbon monoxide poisoning.
About the death, the family of Abby Lutz spoke with the NBC network and confirmed that both died of poisoning, the authorities informed them that apparently poor ventilation was the cause.
Gabrielle Slate, the young woman’s sister-in-law, reported that the couple had felt terribly unwell over the weekend and went to a hospital where he was given intravenous fluids. The family believed the couple was on the mend and enjoying their vacation until they received a call from the State Department, said Racquel Lutz, Abby’s stepmother.
Because the United States has issued travel alerts to different parts of Mexico, the family revealed that they were both smart travelers and knew better than to go into unsafe places. They added that the couple knew the Latin American country very well, since they traveled frequently to it.
“I think that’s the hardest thing: going to a resort where you think you’re going to be taken care of,” Slate said.
To pay for the funeral expenses, the family opened a GoFundMe fundraiser. On that page they confirmed that the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.
Keep reading:
– They reveal the cause of death of 3 Americans found dead in Airbnb in Mexico City.
– Carbon monoxide leak in Pennsylvania daycare leaves 28 hospitalized, most of them children.
