A young Canadian woman has survived a brutal beating that left her unconscious on an elevator floor at an elegant, five-star resort in Mexico.
The woman, who is thought to be in her 20s, was found lying on the floor of the elevator on Saturday night.
She had been staying at the Hotel Riu Emerald Bay in Punta Cerritos, in the Mexican resort area of Mazatlan. Police and Canadian consular officials had contacted the woman's family last night.
"Our thoughts are with the badly injured Canadian and her family during this difficult time," said Aliya Mawani, a spokesman for the federal Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
"Our officials in Mexico are providing consular assistance to her and her family and are in contact with Mexican authorities," Ms. Mawani said.
A local news site – noroeste.com – reported that the woman was found lying in a pool of blood. Her condition was considered serious. The report said that investigators believe she may have been assaulted in a hotel room and dragged down the hall to the elevator, where she was left by her assailant to be discovered.
The agency described the victim as having brown hair and a light complexion.
The Hotel Riu is a self-contained, exclusive resort with several swimming pools and wide range of restaurants, gyms and spas.
The attack was the latest in a series of violent incidents that involve Canadians who were visiting Mexico or who had taken up residence there.
Earlier this month, Salid Abdulacis Sabas – a 35-year-old man of Iranian descent who carried Canadian identification – was found dead in a street in Culiacan, in Sinaloa state. He had sustained gunshot wounds to his head.
On Jan. 4, another Canadian, Ximena Osegueda – a 39-year-old University of British Columbia student – was found stabbed to death and burned on a beach near Huatulco. Her hands had been tied behind her back and her body bore signs of torture.
The body of Ms. Osegueda's partner, Alejandro Alvarado, was found close by her in a shallow grave. He, too, had been tied up and stabbed to death.
Two days prior to the grisly discovery, 57-year-old Robin Wood, of Salt Spring, B.C., was shot to death while attempting to fend off several home invaders in the city of Melaque.
According to the Foreign Affairs department, 112 Canadians were killed in Mexico in accidents, murders or suicides over the past five years.
They include five Canadian tourists who died in an explosion at the Grand Riviera Princess hotel in Playa Del Carmen, in 2010.
Other Canadians killed in the country include:
- Kenneth Klowak, 43, who was shot by gunmen while he was travelling in a group near the border with Texas. He was from Orangeville, Ont.
- Daniel Dion, 51, an Ottawa-area businessman who travelled frequently to Mexico to supervise a purse factory he owned. Abducted in October, 2010, his charred remains were found in his rented car several days later.
- Joel St. Tierre, 35, was shot in the head while visiting friends in Mexico City. He lived in Mexico, where he owned and operated an air-conditioning factory.
- Len Patrick Schell, a 62-year-old B.C. businessman, was found stabbed to death in his Puerto Vallarta home May 30, 2011. Despite Mr. Schell having heavily fortified his home, thieves were able to break in.
- Judith Zena Baylis, a 64-year-old retiree from Ottawa, was stabbed repeatedly in June, 20111, as she slept in her home outside San Miguel de Allende.
However, the spate of violence has done little to deter tourism. Approximately 1.6 million Canadians visited the country in 2010 – almost twice as many as five years earlier.