Mexico authorities say pathologists determined the Iowa family had probably been dead for 36 to 48 hours before their discovery.
A water heater or a gas stove was the source of a gas leak that killed an Iowa family in Mexico, a relative told the Des Moines Register.
Kevin Wayne Sharp, 41; Amy Marie Sharp, 38; and their children, Sterling Wayne Sharp, 12; and Adrianna Marie Sharp, 7; were found dead by authorities after conducting a welfare check Friday at in Tulum, Mexico, condominium where they were vacationing.
The U. S. Consulate in Mexico informed the family about the source of the leak, said Jana Weland, Amy Sharp’s cousin.
On Monday morning, the family was working on finalizing funeral arrangements and returning the bodies of the Sharp family to Iowa.
Weland said the family hopes to hold the funeral at Southwestern Community College, who were supporters of the Creston-based school.
« It’s been very stressful but the consulate’s been good about helping us, » Weland said. « Even the funeral home in Mexico has been good at helping. »
The Creston family found dead in their vacation condominium suffocated after inhaling toxic gases, Mexican authorities said in a news release Saturday.
#Comunicado Se descarta hecho violento en fallecimiento de las cuatro personas encontradas en una habitación en el municipio de Tulum. https://t.co/wryCFbJ6Kz pic.twitter.com/3dq2d6bmTU
Prosecutors for Quintana Roo state said pathologists determined that the members of the Sharp family had probably been dead for 36 to 48 hours before their discovery Friday.
They had been expected to leave Mexico on Wednesday to fly to the United States.
Further tests are being conducted after the autopsies of the Creston couple and their two children. The nature of the substance that the family inhaled was not specified.
Authorities in Tulum inspected the gas connections in the condominium Saturday, but there was no immediate determination about what might have happened, according to the news release.
