A dream vacation turned into a nearly fatal nightmare after two Oklahoma State University students were allegedly poisoned after ordering water from a poolside bar at a Cancun resort.
Disturbing photos shared by Zara Hull and her family show the moment Hull and Kaylie Pitze say they became unconscious after drinking the tainted water Aug. 1.
“I had called my mom at like 10 that morning to tell her how beautiful the resort was and how amazing it was. By 4:30, Jake called her and let her know that I was completely incoherent, like I was gone, like I was unconscious,” Hull told Fox 32 News.
Hull and a group of friends were in Cancun for a four-day trip that was quickly cut short after she and Pitze had a few drinks of the tainted water.
Stephanie Snider, whose son Jake is Hull’s boyfriend, said in a series of Facebook posts that Hull and Pitze were slipped a drug while they were at the resort in Cancun last Friday. She said it was in their drinks and caused both girls to pass out at the same time.
“Our son, Jake, and his girlfriend are finally back in the U.S. after the most horrific 48 hours of our lives,” Snider wrote in a post on Facebook. “What started out as a fun vacation with friends for them ended up as our worst nightmare.”
Jake also described what happened at the pool, adding that he believes a resort employee was responsible.
“They sit down, the bartender gives them water, which now we see a bubbling fizzing effect in the picture that I took of them in the water. So, something was in there. So, they take a sip of it and not even one minute or two minutes later they both drop at the same time,” Jake told Fox 32 News.
After leaving the pool, Jake explained that Pitze was taken back to their room in a wheelchair, while he carried Hull. Hull began throwing up and having what he thought was a seizure.
“Zara started having what the resort doctor called a ‘seizure’ and said she needed to be taken to the hospital. Once she was there, the hospital demanded $10K just to look at her to help her and start treating her. The money was sent. By the next morning, we were told more money was needed to continue treatment,” Snider said.
Snider said thankfully Pitze did not end up in the hospital, but he said she struggled for the following day after the incident.
“Neither of the girls have any memory of what happened after they took that last drink, which happened to have been a glass of WATER. We think it was whatever was put in that glass of water that did it. Both girls collapsed at the very SAME time. They both are battling feelings of not knowing what happened and ‘why them?’” Snider said.
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Nearly 27 hours later and after spending thousands of dollars, Hull’s family was able to negotiate with the U.S. Embassy and have her flown to Dallas to continue medical treatment.
On Thursday, Snider posted that Hull was finally getting her appetite back and able to drink more fluids on her own instead of solely through an IV.
Snider said she hopes this is a warning for others traveling to resorts like this.
“They did exactly like we told them. Don’t leave the resort. You have no reason to leave that resort. You stay there,” said Snider.
“Like people say, ‘Don’t leave the resort and you’ll be fine.’ It started at the resort. The resort was not safe,” Hull said. “They say the resort is the safest place; don’t leave it. That’s not true.”
Snider said the name of the resort or hospital is not being released at this time due to legal and privacy issues.
