CRESTON, Iowa - A gas leak from a water heater or gas stove is the source of toxic gas that killed an entire family on vacation in Mexico.
According to the Des Moines Register Jana Weland, a cousin to Amy Sharp, says the U.S. Consulate in Mexico informed the family that a gas leak from a water heater or gas stove was what killed the Sharp family.
The bodies of 41-year-old Kevin Sharp, 38-year-old Amy Sharp, 12-year-old Sterling Sharp, and seven-year-old Adrianna Sharp were found early Friday in a vacation condo in Tulum, Mexico.
Police in Creston had been contacted after relatives became concerned the Sharp family had not returned from their Mexican vacation.
Creston police worked with the U.S. State Department, which was able to quickly contact Mexican authorities to perform a welfare check at the condo the Sharps were renting. That’s when they discovered the bodies.
Officials released information Saturday that the family had likely been dead for around 48 hours before their bodies were found and they died of asphyxiation from inhaling poisonous gas. At the time, they did not release the source of the gas.
The Mexican state prosecutor’s office said it was too soon to comment on whether the owner of the condo could be held liable.