A firefighter from Texas died in bizarre circumstances while on an anniversary trip to Mexico with his wife.
According to NBC News, Elijah Snow, a firefighter in Arlington, traveled to Cancun, Mexico, with his wife to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. On July 18, their first night at an all-inclusive beachside resort, the couple had drinks at the hotel bar. Eventually, Snow’s wife went back to the hotel room without her husband. There are conflicting reports about whether the couple initially left the bar together and he turned back, or if they separated at the time his wife left the bar.
By all available accounts, Snow’s wife returned to the hotel room alone and went to sleep, waking up at 4 a.m. to find that her husband was not there.
Snow’s father-in-law Randy Elledge told CBS Dallas Forth Worth that his daughter began searching for her husband at the hotel early the morning of July 19. At about 8:30 a.m. that day, an unidentified person told Snow’s wife that Snow had been found dead, and may have gotten wedged between the walls of that hotel and the one next door.
Snow was found dead, but at another hotel that the Daily Beast reports is ten miles from the resort where Snow and his wife were staying. According to that report, investigators believe Snow died trying to crawl into a bathroom through a window at that hotel.
According to NBC News, authorities in Mexico say Snow died of mechanical asphyxiation after he became stuck trying to crawl through the bathroom window. It is not known why Snow was at that hotel. His death remains under investigation, but Mexican authorities reportedly said there were not signs of violence at the scene and Snow’s death “could have been an accident.”
But Snow’s family disagrees. Elledge told CBS Dallas Forth Worth that the family obtained a lawyer who was able to access photos taken at the scene, and claims Snow’s body was covered in bruises, and they believe he was beaten.
Family members have reportedly traveled to Mexico to bring Snow’s body home for burial. It is unclear if any U.S. agencies investigate his death.
CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.
