


The luxury hotel in Mexico where two Americans were found dead under mysterious circumstances earlier this month has closed as it pursues an investigation into the incident.
The Rancho Pescadero in Baja California Sur shuttered on June 18, a hotel employee told ABC News.
Hyatt, the record’s management company, is conducting an “extensive independent investigation…led by a third party” into the troubling deaths, a spokesperson said.
“Our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of guests and colleagues and the property will not resume normal operations until our investigation is complete,” the statement read.
The bodies of John Heathco, 41, and Abby Lutz, 28, were found in their hotel room on June 13.
While initial reports indicated that the pair – who recently sought treatment for suspected food poisoning – died from gas inhalation, the Baja California Sur Attorney General’s Office later said they succumbed to “intoxication by substance to be determined.”
Authorities believe the Californians had already been dead for over 10 hours by the time paramedics arrived.
When the first responders arriving at the scene, they reported feeling “intoxication symptoms such as hypoxia and racing heartbeat,” ABC News said, and left in order to admit themselves to the hospital.
A fundraiser was set up to help the responders cover their own medical expenses.
Officials say Lutz and Heathco’s bodies showed no sign of violence, CBS News reported.
“She said, it’s the sickest she’s ever been,” said Lutz’s stepsister, Gabby Slate, told the outlet of Lutz’s mysterious final days.
“She texted her dad and said, ‘good night, love you,’ like she always does and that’s the last we heard from her,” said Lutz’s stepmother Racquel Chiappini-Lutz added.
In addition to its luxe amenities, Rancho Pescadero is well-known for encouraging guests to drink alcohol as part of its wellness programs.
Guests are treated to an open bar and are told to drink up in order to experience the resort’s “Mayan hangover cure” the next day, Bloomberg reported last year.
“The bartender is like our hotel doctor, they know just what to serve to make you feel better and not worse,” hotel founder Liza Harper told the outlet.
It is unclear if Lutz, who worked as a nanny, or Heathco indulged in the ritual before their deaths.