A dream vacation turned into a deadly nightmare when two Oklahoma State University students allegedly died of poisoning after ordering water from a poolside bar at a Cancun resort.
Shocking photos shared by Zara Hull and her family show the moment she and Kayleigh Pitse lost consciousness after drinking the contaminated water on August 1.
“I called my mom around 10am that morning and told her how beautiful and amazing the resort was. By 4:30, Jake called my mom and told her I was totally disoriented and it felt like I’d disappeared or lost consciousness,” Hull told Fox 32 News.
Halle and a group of friends were in Cancun on a four-day trip that was cut short after she and Pitse drank several glasses of contaminated water.
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A group of Oklahoma college students were allegedly poisoned while vacationing in Cancun. (Rilee Works via Facebook)
Stephanie Snyder, whose son Jake is Hull’s boyfriend, said in a series of Facebook posts that Hull and Pitze were drugged while staying at a resort in Cancun last Friday. Snyder said the drugs were in their drinks and that both girls lost consciousness at the same time.
“Our son, Jake, and his girlfriend are finally back home in the United States after the most terrifying 48 hours of their lives,” Snyder said in a Facebook post. “What started as a fun vacation for them with friends turned into our worst nightmare.”
Jake also explained what happened at the pool, adding that he believes resort employees are to blame.
“They sat down, the bartender gave them water, and in the pictures I took you can see they were in the water, it had this bubbling effect, so there was something in it, so they took a sip of the water and within a minute, not even a minute or two, they both collapsed at the same time,” Jake told Fox 32 News.
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A vacation for a group of Oklahoma college students was turned upside down when two female students were allegedly poisoned after drinking water from the resort’s pool bar. (Stephanie Snyder via Facebook)
After they got out of the pool, Jake explained that Pitze carried him back to the room in a wheelchair and he picked up Halle, who began vomiting and appeared to have a seizure.
“We were told Zara had what the resort’s doctor called a ‘seizure’ and needed to take her to the hospital. Once there, they examined her and asked for $10,000 just to help her and begin treatment. The money was transferred. The next morning we were told they needed more money to continue treatment,” Snyder said.
Snyder said Pitsche was lucky not to have been hospitalized but suffered in the days following the incident.
“Neither girl has any memory of what happened after their last drink, which happened to be a glass of water, and they believe it was something in that glass of water that caused it. Both girls collapsed at the same time. Both are struggling with not understanding what happened and the question, ‘why us?'” Snyder said.
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After about 27 hours and thousands of dollars, Hal’s family was able to negotiate with the U.S. Embassy to fly her to Dallas for continued treatment.
On Thursday, Snyder posted that Hal has finally regained his appetite and is now able to drink more fluids on his own rather than just through an IV.
Snyder said he hopes this serves as a warning to others traveling to resorts like this one.
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“They did exactly what we said: Don’t leave the resort. There’s no reason to leave the resort. Stay there,” Snyder said.
“They say, ‘If you don’t leave the resort, you’ll be fine,’ but it started at the resort. The resort was not safe,” Hull said. “They say the resort is the safest place, but you can’t leave it. That’s not true.”
Snyder said the names of the resorts and hospitals will not be released at this time due to legal and privacy concerns.
