New concerns over tainted alcohol at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico
There are growing concerns out of Mexico with allegations that popular resorts drug and serve tainted alcohol to tourists.
A Wisconsin family believes their daughter died after drinking tainted alcohol at a resort in Mexico, and now there is a different case of an American couple who suspect they were drugged or served bad alcohol at a different resort.
Abbey Connor was found facedown dead in a pool at the Iberostar Paraiso resort in Playa del Carmen. Her brother suffered a concussion. He said he doesn't remember what happened and there were reportedly no cameras.
Their family is questioning if tainted alcohol at the resort could have contributed to the tragedy while other American families are coming forward.
Jamie and Rick Valeri stayed at another resort in 2015. The couple said they both blacked out after a few drinks from the beach bar.
"I thought I was dying because I couldn't get out of whatever state of mind I was in. You couldn't wake up. I remember thinking 'how are my six kids going to find out, and what's going to happen to them,'" Jamie said.
They said the hotel ignored complaints that they thought they had been drugged.
"My hand is broken, and she was like, 'Oh no, no. That doesn't happen here. We've never had anything like that go on,'" Rick said.
Iberostar's parent company told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "We only purchase sealed bottles that satisfy all standards required by the designated regulatory authorities. We are deeply saddened by this incident and reiterate our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family."
"I believe the resorts are trying to hide the fact that these dangers exist," Miareen Webster of MexicoVacationAwareness.com said.
Webster created the website about the potential risks when traveling to resorts after her 22-year-old son Nolan's unconscious body was pulled from a waist-deep resort pool and he later died. She said a nurse tried to help her son, but the hotel doctor pulled him away saying he was too drunk, which Webster denies.
Webster said she started the website around the same time Trip Advisor refused to publish her reviews saying it did not meet their requirements.
But the Valeri family said no review will convince them to return to Mexico.
"There is absolutely physical and emotional consequences that will never be able to leave us," Jamie said.
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