Mexico - Arlington TX Firefighter Elijah Snow, wed anniversary found dead at Cancun resort, Jul 2021

[Quiet Time]

May be he thought he was at the right hotel room, but couldn't get thru the front door, or thought his wife wasn't letting him in, so he decided to try to climb in thru the bathroom window.

Without success.
jmo

 

[Satchie]

Benito Juarez is the municipal district that includes Cancun, presumably it's relevant as to which police force investigated. But it doesn't mean the second hotel is 30 minutes away, that is media misinformation. The 2nd hotel appears to be next door.

Benito Juárez Municipality, Quintana Roo - Wikipedia

An all-inclusive resort includes unlimited free alcohol, the quality of the alcohol can be questionable and is often disguised with delicious flavours. Having someone continually bring you free drinks is a novel experience and maybe hard to say no to.

But also, some people seem to give way to an impulse to bust loose of all constraints when they arrive at a Mexican all-inclusive. They see a sexy person in the bar, or they want to join the crowd whooping it up in the corner, whatever it is: it seems they believe this is the time and place to throw caution and good sense to the wind and 'finally live it up'. Presumably thinking, 'I'm at a resort, nothing can go wrong.'

So IMO they get blind drunk among complete strangers, they don't know their way around, they might go with someone somewhere, but then that person/people just want to get rid of them...it's dark, there's no one around to guide them back to their room, trouble happens.

IMO, whether at home or abroad, whether male or female, people need to be with a true friend, partner, family member, and not go off alone to a bar, or hang out with strangers late at night. IMO many deaths would be prevented if people would watch out for each other.

This is not to blame his wife, possibly he would have seen her as the party pooper (never mind they were supposed to be celebrating 10 years of watching out for each other). IMO, mostly people learn from their mistakes, but unfortunately some people don't survive.

 

[Satchie]

May be he thought he was at the right hotel room, but couldn't get thru the front door, or thought his wife wasn't letting him in, so he decided to try to climb in thru the bathroom window.

Without success.
jmo

I lived near some bars and had three incidents of very drunk people trying to get into my apartment in the middle of the night, trying dozens of times to open front and back doors, wringing the doorbells, and not giving up until I called police. My building was very similar to another a couple of blocks away, and in one case they were staying in a unit on the other side of my building.

In this case, trying to sneak back into the room without his wife knowing how long he'd been out is a possibility. Who knows, possibly he was accustomed to sneaking in through the bathroom at home.

 

[anonypotomous]

My honest guess (IMO/MOO) is drunken misadventure. I think the family is in denial, and don't want to believe he could get so wasted that this kind of thing could happen. It's really not likely that he was kidnapped, beaten and left to die in a window. I read another article that said he was between two walls. I think there is some problem with translation and hope we get the actual story soon. When he got stuck, did he not yell for help? Maybe those resorts are very loud, lots of music and partying and no one heard? How long would he have had to been stuck before he passed? Anyone here know how that would happen, physically?

 

[Gardenista]

Elijah Snow, Texas firefighter celebrating anniversary, found dead in Cancun

Snow’s family, however, hired a local attorney who obtained crime scene photos that show bruises on most of his body, news station KTVT reported.

The family now believes that he was kidnapped and beaten before he was killed, the outlet reported.

 

[scdiv]

I'm curious as to which version of the hotel location is correct. Was the hotel right next door? Or 10 miles away? If it was right next door to his hotel, I think it could be plausible that he was intoxicated and tried to get into the room thinking it was his? Was there a toxicology report?

ETA: Just saw Satchie's post regarding the hotels. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Satchie]

Here are some results of a google search for people who died when they lost their footing trying to climb through small windows:

Man, 66, suffocated after getting stuck climbing through small window, inquest is told

Officials: Mississippi man dies after getting stuck in window trying to get keys in locked camper - Magnolia State Live

Woman stuck in Florida hotel window died of mechanical asphyxia

I think what happens is the full bodyweight is supported by the lungs/diaphram, which then can't expand to breathe.

Mechanical asphyxiation is what killed George Floyd. New Autopsy Says George Floyd Died of Mechanical Asphyxia-Here's Why That Distinction is Important

 

[scdiv]

I also think if he were robbed and beaten, it would be strange that he had bruises everywhere but his head and face. That doesn't really make sense.

 

[Shamrock1]

Bruises on the body (but not face) seem consistent with someone struggling to hoist himself into a building via window. Jumping, falling down, and bumping/scraping his knees against the wall would all leave marks on the body, but not the face. He may well have sustained some bruises prior to the window - drunken stumbling comes to mind. JMO.

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

My honest guess (IMO/MOO) is drunken misadventure...

This is my speculation, too. We frequently vacation at Mexican resorts, and you will find some heavy duty partiers at the bars. Perhaps, being away from the kids, he felt like celebrating.

Who knows? He could have even met a group that wanted to sneak into the neighboring resort when/if the bar at their resort closed for the night.

It is sad and scary to think that a lapse in judgment due to overindulgence can lead to one's death. It probably happens more than we realize.

JMO.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I wonder if they be-friended him, and slipped something in his drink??

Snipped and BBM.
My first thought....

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[scdiv]

I wonder if he had a fight with the wife and drank more than usual? Not blaming. It just seems unusual that your first night on a special anniversary trip you wouldn't just go back to the room together. Did they argue and then he went to the bar and pounded back some drinks and get lost going back to his room and ended up at the hotel next door? Or was he walking back alone and got robbed and killed? Was he kidnapped if he ended up next door? Or killed and left between buildings? Or in a bathroom window? The details are not very clear.

 

[SeekingJana]

My honest guess (IMO/MOO) is drunken misadventure. It's really not likely that he was kidnapped, beaten and left to die in a window. I read another article that said he was between two walls. I think there is some problem with translation and hope we get the actual story soon. When he got stuck, did he not yell for help? How long would he have had to been stuck before he passed? Anyone here know how that would happen, physically?

(Snipped a tiny bit to avoid quoting entire post per WS rules.)

Yes, as an R.N. working in Specialty areas for over 35 years, I can pretty much tell you what happened as he died.

It's identical in mechanism to the young guys who decide to enter a house through the unused chimney, get stuck and die.
I'm sure you've read of this happening.
Also, it's similar to what a boa constrictor does to its prey.

The window was large enough for him to likely enter head first, shoulders down. When he got about halfway in, he became stuck. Stuck enough that he could not scream, call for help, or breathe well. He could have remained in this extreme distress for some time, or have died from asphyxia quickly due to his respiratory muscles not being able to work or his lungs being able to inflate and deflate. He also may have struggled and vomited, which could have killed him if he was already drunk and stuck in a position where he couldn't get enough O2/ air in and out.
I'd think bruises were incidental to the climb to the window, the entrance through a window head first, and generally struggling with his own body weight. He could have broken fingernails and torn clothing from his own solitary struggling.

<modsnip>
People do these types of things in mystery novels frequently in the books I've been reading. It's a trending way to " get in without a key" to be in the midst of fictitious non- drunk mischief. Usually, the buildings are older in my reading and the bathroom window is the only unlocked one on the property. The woman always manages to get in or out the window safely in novels.

I'm so sorry this happened, and feel for him and his family. I had thought he fell between two walls, like property boundary walls, from the one local report I saw about his death. I also had thought he was beaten and robbed, and made a mental note to turn down any of hubby's plans to go to a resort in Mexico for a long weekend.

 

[Cancunone]

The story of the “wife” does not add up! The information that has been presented in the news does not coincide with her story.

Question 1 - WHY wasn’t he in the room with his wife!?!?!?!? It was there anniversary??

Since only people that can answer that question are either dead or not saying then look at some of the other information:

We lived in Cancun for over 20 years and the hotel that is pictured in the news is part of a large Canadian owned chain and has plenty of cámaras and security at both the entrance to the street and the beach. This is not a hotel that a stranger can walk into and kidnap someone. If a guest leaves the hotel a security guard asks the name and room and records it. In addition, it is located in the middle of the “Hotel Zone” which is an area that has only 1 road in/out with several police checkpoints. The fact that the “husband” was found in the bathroom of another hotel 10 miles away makes me suspect that he went to party more with some new “friends”. That is something that people do all the time in Cancun. Let’s hope that the media reports everything as the whole story unfolds because I've worked for the company that owns that hotel and stayed at their properties and this version of the story is almost impossible to real.

 

[Cancunone]

(Snipped a tiny bit to avoid quoting entire post per WS rules.)

Yes, as an R.N. working in Specialty areas for over 35 years, I can pretty much tell you what happened as he died.

It's identical in mechanism to the young guys who decide to enter a house through the unused chimney, get stuck and die.
I'm sure you've read of this happening.
Also, it's similar to what a boa constrictor does to its prey.

The window was large enough for him to likely enter head first, shoulders down. When he got about halfway in, he became stuck. Stuck enough that he could not scream, call for help, or breathe well. He could have remained in this extreme distress for some time, or have died from asphyxia quickly due to his respiratory muscles not being able to work or his lungs being able to inflate and deflate. He also may have struggled and vomited, which could have killed him if he was already drunk and stuck in a position where he couldn't get enough O2/ air in and out.
I'd think bruises were incidental to the climb to the window, the entrance through a window head first, and generally struggling with his own body weight. He could have broken fingernails and torn clothing from his own solitary struggling.

Unless he was drunker than I can imagine, I'm pretty sure he suffered greatly, at least briefly.
People do these types of things in mystery novels frequently in the books I've been reading. It's a trending way to " get in without a key" to be in the midst of fictitious non- drunk mischief. Usually, the buildings are older in my reading and the bathroom window is the only unlocked one on the property. The woman always manages to get in or out the window safely in novels.

I'm so sorry this happened, and feel for him and his family. I had thought he fell between two walls, like property boundary walls, from the one local report I saw about his death. I also had thought he was beaten and robbed, and made a mental note to turn down any of hubby's plans to go to a resort in Mexico for a long weekend.

Thank you for a very good explanation of the circumstances that people die like this.

I lived in Cancun for over 20 years and it is VERY safe for tourists. Me and my family never had an problems with violent crime and the way that this story has been reported do not make any sense to me based on where they were staying,etc. Considering that the Cancun area had over 20,000,000 visitors in 2019 without any “strange kidnappings” like these tell me that you and your husband should be fine vacationing there.

 

[Cancunone]

After living in Cancun for over 20 years, I seriously doubt that this is a kidnapping situation. I am very sorry for the wife and hope that the medía reports the TRUTH!!

 

[EmmieA]

I’m not sure I buy the kidnapping theory. I’ve been to all inclusives in the Cancun/Quintana Roo area - the last one I stayed at had armed guards at two separate stations on the road before you got to the actual hotel - it was extremely safe. Not that a kidnapping couldn’t happen within the guests staying at the hotel I guess but that seems very far fetched IMO.

 

[SeekingJana]

Thank you for a very good explanation of the circumstances that people die like this.

I lived in Cancun for over 20 years and it is VERY safe for tourists. Me and my family never had an problems with violent crime and the way that this story has been reported do not make any sense to me based on where they were staying,etc. Considering that the Cancun area had over 20,000,000 visitors in 2019 without any “strange kidnappings” like these tell me that you and your husband should be fine vacationing there.

Thank you, and you're welcome.
<modsnip>
I do not think the Mexican Riviera is a crime den for tourists who are nice, polite, and don't flash wads of $100 bills in areas anyone can see is perhaps a fringe area. Likewise, the same rules apply to a tourist in Paris or Milan. You are careful not to be flashy, and act like a lady or a gentleman in the foreign country.

 

[beckyonsea]

I've been to many resort hotels where other hotels in their 'family' look very similar. Wrong room and didn't want to wake the wife?

 

[annpats]

It seems like Cancun is sloshing with alcohol and good times, but what about the drugs scene there? Is it mainly locals dealing to locals, or do they try and push them onto tourists too?