Abbey Conner's death, and the recent crackdown by authorities, has cast the spotlight on Mexico's illicit alcohol trade. Source: ABC 7 News
By Lauren McMah
She was a beautiful, young woman found floating face-down in a swimming pool while holidaying with her family in Mexico - and no one knew why.
Wisconsin student Abbey Conner, 20, was declared brain dead after being found in the pool at a five-star resort near Playa del Carmen in January.
Her brother Austin, 22, who had up to five pre-dinner shots of alcohol with Abbey before the incident, was also found floating in the pool - but he suffered only a concussion and recovered.
Initially, it was feared the siblings had been drugged, possibly by a group of men at the poolside bar who had offered them a shot.
Now, Abbey's death has been linked to a sinister bootlegged booze trade in Mexico that authorities say is much more widespread than tourists may realise.
Last week, Mexican authorities seized close to 38,000 litres of potentially dodgy alcohol and shut down two bars in the tourist hot spots of Playa del Carmen and Cancun.
One of those bars was at the hotel were Abbey was found unconscious.
Abbey Conner was a public relations student at the University of Wisconsin. Photo / Facebook
'It's almost surreal'
Austin said the last thing he remembered, before he regained consciousness in an ambulance, was he and Abbey having drinks at the poolside bar at the Paraiso del Mar hotel before they were due to meet their mum and stepdad for dinner.
A group of men at the bar offered them a Jagerbomb shot - a mix of Jagermeister and Red Bull. He blacked out after that.
Hotel staff pulled Austin from the pool with a bump on his head. His sister Abbey, a public relations student at the University of Wisconsin, was unconscious with a low pulse, a cracked collarbone and foam pouring from her nose and mouth.
Abbey was rushed to a nearby hospital where she slipped into a coma and was placed on a ventilator. Her medical records, released this week, read she had "lack of oxygen to the brain and cerebral inflammation".
Abbey was taken to a hospital in Florida, where she was declared brain dead. Her life support was switched off on January 12.
In the days after the tragedy, Abbey's stepdad John attempted to file a police report into the incident but Mexican police insisted the cause of death was "accidental drowning".
Abbey was on a family holiday with stepdad John McGowan (second left), mum Ginny and brother Austin when tragedy struck. Photo / Facebook
Austin said he thought he and his sister had been drugged.
"I've been in college for five years and had my fair share of drinks before. No way in hell I'm putting my face down in a pool and going to sleep," he said.
"Knowing that we got played or are victims of some sick person drugging us is almost surreal."
Austin and Abbey's father Bill Conner said: "Somebody had to slip them some type of drug."
But it now seems more likely Abbey's death is connected to an ever wider threat to holiday-makers in Mexico's resorts.
According to Milwaukee's The Journal Sentinel, Abbey and Austin's blood levels were three times over the legal limit in the state of Wisconsin - which is 0.08 - even though they had only spent about two hours at the resort.
Over the past month, people have been speaking to The Sentinel about their own experiences of blacking out after drinking "small and moderate amounts" of alcohol at upscale resorts in Cancun and Carmen del Playa.
Some people said they were assaulted and robbed and all said they had little or no recollection of what happened.
Abbey Conner's death has now been linked to Mexico's illegal booze trade. Photo / Supplied
In one case, a couple on their honeymoon at a Mexican resort both blacked out, and one of them was taken to hospital, after only a couple of drinks.
Then, last week, regulators in Mexico swooped on 31 resorts, nightclubs and restaurants in Cancun and Playa del Carmen. They also uncovered a manufacturer of illegal alcohol that supplied to tourist areas, and seized 38,000 litres of the booze.
After the raid authorities shut down two places that sold alcohol - and one of those places was the lobby bar at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya resort, located in the complex where Abbey's lifeless body was found.
Abbey's death, and the recent crackdown by authorities, has cast the spotlight on Mexico's illicit alcohol trade - which, not unlike the rise of potentially deadly home-brewed drinks in Bali, is a big threat to tourists.
A report released this year by Euromonitor International said about 36 per cent of the alcohol consumed in Mexico was illegal.
Another report by the same group revealed bootleggers not only sold their dodgy booze without labels, but sometimes they sold illicit alcohol in containers bearing other brand names.
The report found this "surrogate" alcohol was not safe for human consumption, and contained anything things such as pharmaceutical alcohol, mouthwash and perfumes and colognes.
The alcohol seized from the bar at Iberostar Paraiso Maya was expired, unlabelled and kept in unsanitary conditions, according to The Sentinel.
On Friday last week Mexican authorities handed down the results of their alcohol crackdown.
"It's important to emphasise that our vigilance is long-lasting," Mexican commissioner of sanitary operations Alvaro Perez said.
"We will continue to enforce these sanitary measures and will continue to be vigilant to make sure our tourists are confident that the alcohol they are drinking is safe ... and they can have a safe and healthy family vacation."
He did not say whether authorities were referring their findings for criminal prosecution, or whether they were investigating Abbey's death.
In response to the crackdown, Ibersotar Hotels and Resorts said: "It is important to clarify that the closure of this one bar was the result of sanitary compliance (for instance a trash container lid missing, leak from ice machine, etc.), not related to tainted alcohol allegations. We are diligently working to resolve the issues pointed by the inspector and expect another evaluation within the next several days so that this bar's operations can be fully restored."
But as she continues to come to terms with her daughter's death, Abbey's mum Ginny McGowan said the crackdown was "awesome" news.
"It's needed. There is obviously stuff going on that needs to be cleaned up and looked into further. They need to investigate and interview employees. This makes sense. This needs to happen."
