Police in Mexico arrested a man for the savage attack on Canadian tourist Sheila Nabb on the same day she was unexpectedly brought home to Calgary a week after being beaten so badly at a seaside resort that she will require facial reconstruction surgery.
Sheila Nabb, who had been recovering in a Mazatlan hospital and has her jaw wired shut, was flown home in a private Learjet 35 on Friday accompanied by a medical team and her husband, Andrew. The 37-year-old office manager is now in a Calgary hospital, according to her relieved family, who had believed she would have to remain in Mexico for weeks.
"It was a total surprise to us," said Robert Prosser, Ms. Nabb's uncle, who lives in Nova Scotia, where his niece was raised. "I don't know what transpired or anything to do it, but we're just glad – glad she's back home."
A source said a Mexican confessed on Friday morning to the attack.
According to local news website noroeste.com, the Sinaloa State Attorney-General, Marco Antonio Higuera Gómez, identified the man in custody as Jose Ramon Acosta Quintero, who lives in Mazatlan, but is known to frequent hotels popular with tourists and speaks fluent English. The alleged motive is unknown, he added.
The attorney-general's office is expected to hold a news conference on Saturday morning to provide more information about the case.
Officials had reviewed video surveillance from the five-star Hotel Riu Emerald Bay, which captured a young man apparently kicking someone in an elevator where Ms. Nabb was found unconscious and sprawled on the blood-covered floor.
Early reports from Mexico said Mr. Nabb was questioned in the case, which raised the ire of relatives, who were quick to defend him as a loving husband and a "pillar." Mr. Nabb was sleeping at the time of the attack.
Subsequent media reports identified the prime suspect in the case as another guest, because the individual wasn't in hotel uniform, and likely another Canadian tourist.
Mexico's image has suffered in recent years after tourists were attacked or killed, and accusations of botched investigations and failure to arrest perpetrators.
While the number of Canadians travelling to Mexico has been rising steadily – about 1.6 million in 2010 – the violent crimes have prompted questions about safety.
Since 2005, 194 Canadians were assaulted there and 24 were murdered, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
After the attack, Ms. Nabb was placed in a medically induced coma, but her family said that when she was revived, she recognized her husband and father-in-law. Her brother, Paul Giles, and sister, Kathy Carmichael, said she could also respond to commands and follow directions.
"This is excellent news as it would appear that there is not any brain damage," they said in a statement earlier this week.
Peter Byl, president of Latitude Aeromedical Works, said his private air ambulance company carried Ms. Nabb back to Calgary.
"She did really well on the flight," Mr. Byl said.
His firm flies Canadian patients home for treatment around the clock from places all over the world under contract for insurance providers. Doctors, nurses or other health care professionals accompany the patients on board depending on the circumstances.
Mr. Byl said it is good news that Ms. Nabb is back home.
"It's important to be with family and top-notch medical care," Mr. Byl said.
Ms. Nabb's employer, Active Back to Health Centre in Calgary, has received more than $10,000 in donations to cover expenses not taken care of by insurance. A dentist and an orthodontist have offered their services at no charge.
"We've really been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from friends to strangers to you name it," co-worker Jocelyn Tindall said.
Her colleagues are anxious to visit with Ms. Nabb.
"Now she's back in Canada, so we're very happy to hear that," Ms. Tindall said.