Mexico resort workers claim manager ignored signs of possible gas leak
Both current and former workers at Rancho Pescadero in Mexico claim managers ignored signs of possible gas leaks and disabled carbon monoxide detectors because of the loud alarms. Staff at the five-star Hotel Rancho Pescadero near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, have come forward with claims that the managers ignored signs of possible gas leaks and disabled the carbon monoxide detectors because some guests complained of the loud alarms. The cause of death is yet to be determined, but preliminary reports suggest the couple died due to inhalation of gas. Two firefighters, a brother and sister, who responded to the scene when the couple was found dead, were rushed to the hospital after falling ill. The GoFundMe has raised nearly $30,000 for the Sotelo siblings, who were found unresponsive in their hotel room. The state Attorney General's Office of Baja California Sur said on Thursday that no signs of violence were found.
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Staff at a luxury Mexico resort where a California couple was found dead claim the managers ignored signs of possible gas leaks and reportedly disabled the carbon monoxide detectors because some guests complained of the loud alarms.
Abby Lutz, 28, and John Heathco, 40, were found unresponsive in their hotel room at the five-star $780-a-night Hotel Rancho Pescadero near Cabo San Lucas last week, with preliminary reports suggesting the couple died due to inhalation of gas.
The hotel, which is owned by Hyatt, disputed suggestions there may have been a gas leak. On Thursday, the State Attorney General's Office of Baja California Sur said the cause of death was 'intoxication by substance to be determined.'
Ricardo Carbajal, a former night manager at Rancho Pescadero, and several current and former employees have since come forward and told the Los Angeles Times about managers allegedly ignoring complaints.
Carbajal said the alarms on the carbon monoxide detectors went off frequently in the past few months which led to complaints by some guests.
The former staffer, who left his job at the resort in March after a dispute over pay, claimed the likely cause was leaks in a system that delivers gas to fire pits on the outdoor patios of each room, the L.A. Times reported.
The detectors were then reportedly disabled in January after multiple complaints from the guests, Carbajal said.
'They knew there were problems with gas leaks,' Carbajal said. 'Everyone was aware of the alarms and that the detectors were off.'
Two current employees, who did not reveal their identity for fear of losing their jobs, told the L.A. Times that both guests and employees reported the strong smell of gas, but alleged that the managers ignored their complaints.
'Housekeepers reported gas leaks, security reported gas leaks, maintenance workers reported gas leaks,' one of the employees said.
The employee claimed that a housekeeper who had been cleaning the California couple's room got sick because of suspected gas poisoning.
Dailymail.com has reached out to Hyatt for comment on the allegations, but the company has not yet responded.
Two firefighters, a brother and sister, who responded to the scene when the couple was found dead, were rushed to the hospital after falling ill, according to a GoFundMe set up to raise money for their treatment.
Paramedic Fernando Valencia Sotelo told ABC that he and his partner Grisel Valencia Sotelo were among the first people to enter the couple's room where Heathco was found in the shower and Lutz in the bed.
'My partner and I, we started to feel dizzy and we came out. We went out of the room soon as possible and I was afraid for my partner because my first thought in mind, was are we gonna die?' Fernando told ABC's Good Morning America.
'It was one of the worst experiences that I've felt,' he said.
The GoFundMe has raised nearly $30,000 for the Sotelo siblings.
After responding to the scene and trying to revive the couple, the sibling paramedics were overcome and rushed out of the room just in time before Grisel collapsed to the ground. Valencia was able to get himself and Grisel back to their ambulance and administer oxygen.
They were then taken to the local hospital but it was not fully equipped to treat their symptoms so they were transferred to a private hospital in San Jose del Cabo, according to the GoFundMe.
The siblings are the children of Griselda Lorena Sotelo Amaya, who is the chief of the volunteer Firefighters and Paramedics of Pescadero.
The post continued: 'As we grieve for the families of Abby and John, we are overcome with emotion that our chief almost lost two of her own children on this terrible night.'
Heathco and Lutz had been dead for about 10 or 11 hours and when they were found.
Local police initially said gas inhalation was suspected as the cause of death for the couple.
The state prosecutors' office said on Thursday that the bodies bore no signs of violence. The office did not say what further steps were being taken to determine the exact cause of death.
It was also revealed that Heathco and Lutz were hospitalized days before their passing with what they had thought was food poisoning.
Heathco ran a health supplements website - and is described as a 'wellness junkie' - while girlfriend Lutz worked as a nanny.
Hotel Rancho Pescadero is located in the village of El Pescadero, by the Pacific Ocean on the Baja California Peninsula.
It disputed suggestions there may have been a gas leak, saying in a statement it does 'not believe that the cause of death was related to any issues with the hotel's infrastructure or facilities, including carbon monoxide or a gas of any kind.'
Lutz's family say that she had been messaging her father the day before she was found dead, claiming she was feeling sick and had visited a hospital.
'She had been texting her dad and telling him the same thing, that she was feeling sick and went to the hospital, stayed one night on IV, and felt so much better,' her stepmother told ABC.
'She texted him Monday night to say good night, love you, and then we hadn't heard from her again,' she added.
There have been several cases of such deaths in Mexico due to poisoning by carbon monoxide or other gases. Proper gas line installations, vents and monitoring devices are often lacking for water heaters and stoves in the country.
In October, three U.S. citizens found dead at a rented apartment in Mexico City were apparently victims of gas inhalation.
In 2018, a gas leak in a water heater killed an American couple and their two children in the resort town of Tulum, south of Playa del Carmen.
In 2010, an explosion traced to an improperly installed gas line at a hotel in Playa del Carmen killed five Canadian tourists and two Mexicans.