Creston, Iowa family died of gas asphyxiation, according to Mexican authorities

MEXICO CITY — The Creston family found dead in their vacation condominium suffocated after inhaling toxic gases, Mexican authorities said in a news release Saturday.

Prosecutors for Quintana Roo state said pathologists determined that the members of the Sharp family had probably been dead for 36 to 48 hours before their discovery Friday. They had been expected to leave the Tulum, Mexico area on Wednesday to fly to the United States.

Further tests are being conducted after the autopsies of the Creston couple and their two children. The nature of what the family inhaled was not specified.

Authorities in Tulum inspected the gas connections in the condominium Saturday, but there was no immediate determination about what might have happened, according to the news release.

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The state prosecutor’s office reiterated that there was no indication of a break-in or other foul play in the condominium.

Iowa officials identified the family as Kevin Sharp, 41; his wife, Amy Sharp, 38, and their children Sterling, 12, and Adrianna, 7. They were from Creston.

In 2010, the explosion of an improperly installed gas line at a hotel in the nearby town of Playa del Carmen killed five Canadian tourists and two Mexicans.

The family was reported missing by relatives in their hometown about a week after the family left for vacation. Creston police contacted the U.S. State Department, and the bodies were found during a welfare check at the condo in Tulum, on the Yucatan Peninsula.



Contacted Friday, the developer of the Tao condo complex where the deaths occurred declined to comment.

The Creston News Advertiser newspaper in Iowa reported that the family flew to Cancun on March 14. According to her sister, Amy Sharp texted their mother the next day to say they had reached Tulum, but relatives didn't hear any more from the family.

The sister, Renee Hoyt, said the Sharps were scheduled to return to the U.S. this week. They were scheduled to depart from the Cancun airport on Wednesday and fly to St. Louis on a non-stop flight. The family had planned to then drive about 200 miles (322 kilometers) to Danville, Illinois, to watch a basketball game Thursday, Hoyt said.

When the family didn't arrive in St. Louis, family members contacted authorities, she said.

This is a breaking news story. Check back to DesMoinesRegister.com as more information develops.

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