A group of three tourists on vacation in Mexico City died in an Airbnb rental, and their families were was struggling to find out why.
Jordan Marshall, 28, Kandace Florence, 28, and Courtez Hall, 33, travelled to Mexico at the end of October to celebrate the popular Mexican holiday, Dia De Los Muertos, which in English means Day of the Dead.
On the night of October 30, Florence was talking to her boyfriend on the phone. He had not accompanied her on the trip. After speaking for a while, Florence started telling her boyfriend that she wasn’t feeling well. She told him something was not right and then the call disconnected.
Her boyfriend tried many times to call her back without success and he became anxious and concerned for her. He contacted the Airbnb hosts and asked them to go and check on the guests.
A short while later, local law enforcement officers arrived at the Airbnb residence and found Florence and her two friends, Marshall and Hall, dead.
After learning about the mysterious deaths of their loved ones, the families tried to find out what happened to their children. They contacted the US Embassy in Mexico and also traveled to Mexico City to find out what happened, but they claim the authorities were not very helpful.
An investigation was undergoing to find out what killed the US tourists.
Jennifer Marshall, Marshall’s mother, told reporters that the Mexican police did not disclose any information about the deaths to the families. She also said that the language barrier was a big problem.
Marshall’s mother said that Marshall and Florence had been best friends since high school. She had a picture of them dressed in their Day of the Dead costumes.
Jordan’s sister, the first in the family to get the bad news, said that she found out via a message on social media, adding that the worst part about reading the message was figuring out how she would break the news to her mother.
The US Department of State released a statement confirming the deaths of the three friends. The statement also said that they were closely monitoring local authorities’ investigations into the cause of the deaths.
Kelvin Florence, Florence’s father, said that no-one in Mexico had reached out to the families in the US to inform them of their children’s deaths.
Freida Florence, her mother, said that the news was heartbreaking. Her daughter was about to celebrate her 29th birthday this Thursday, but instead, the family will be holding a candlelight vigil for her.
According to the Marshall family, Jordan’s body has already been returned to Virginia. Florence’s body will be returned to the US soon.
On Tuesday, November 8, Mexican authorities revealed the cause of death of the American tourists – carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the autopsy reports.
In the US alone, approximately 430 people die every year from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning and about 50,000 seek emergency care each year.
