A Canadian woman was discovered dead at a Mexican resort just one day after arriving for vacation with her boyfriend.
Kiara Agnew, 25, arrived in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, with her 26-year-old boyfriend Ryan Friesen on March 2, and was found dead one day later at the Grand Sunset Princess Resort.
According to local police, a man was arrested on March 3 after “a lifeless woman was found with possible marks of violence in a hotel located in the Xcalacoco neighborhood.”
The Canadian government’s Global Affairs office confirmed to the Toronto Star that Agnew had died and that Friesen had been arrested.
“Officials are assisting families with consular assistance and are in contact with local authorities,” Global Affairs Spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod said.
“Due to privacy concerns, no further information could be disclosed,” she added.
The Quintana Roo prosecutors’ office announced on Twitter that an investigation into a “foreign person arrested for his probable participation” in the death of a Canadian woman in a Riviera Maya hotel had been launched.
Katlyn Levesque, Agnew’s aunt, told the Toronto Star that her niece had been looking forward to this trip for a long time.
She has been counting down the days until this trip. It’s terrifying. “We want to know what happened,” said Levesque. “She was a lovely, wonderful person on the inside and out. It’s unjust that she was denied the opportunity to live her life to the fullest.”
Levesque said that the couple was together for a year and a half, adding that she warned her niece to be careful on the trip.
“The last thing I told her was to be careful. You know, don’t go out by yourself, and be aware of your surroundings. “I never heard from her after that,” Levesque explained.
Agnew’s boyfriend was a Dawson Creek Canucks hockey player, and she worked at Lake View Credit Union’s Sawson Creek branch.
“Everyone at Lake View Credit Union is saddened by the death of our teammate and friend, Kiara Agnew. This is a tragic and heartbreaking loss for our community. “We send our love and faith to everyone who has been affected,” Lake View Credit Union said in a Facebook post.
