Mexico: Balconies Killing Canadians

The family of an Okotoks man found dead at a Mexican resort is seeking answers from the Canadian government amid conflicting reports about his death.

Chris Morin, who arrived in Cancun Wednesday for a vacation, was found dead outside a resort hotel early Thursday, brother-in-law Kevin Brown told a local radio station yesterday.

The family has been told Morin fell from a fourth-floor hotel balcony sometime overnight, said Brown.

But he said they have information Morin may have been involved in a dispute at a resort bar Wednesday evening.

A Cancun newspaper reported Morin fell after a night of drinking with a friend. It said local authorities were investigating whether Morin may have been pushed off the balcony, or whether he jumped. A Mexican deputy state prosecutor, Luis Canche, told The Associated Press authorities suspect the death was a suicide.

He said forensic scientists found alcohol, cocaine and marijuana in Morin's blood.

"The tourist abused illegal substances and we believe that influenced his fatal decision," he said.

But Joseph Clayton, a friend who travelled with Morin, was quoted as saying that just before he fell asleep he heard Morin arguing with someone.

Morin's family has contacted the Canadian consulate in Mexico and Alberta Macleod MP Ted Menzies for help.

"If there was any foul play or if it was just an accident, or what happened, we just want to make sure we find out," said Brown.

Consular officials have contacted local authorities in Mexico, Canadian Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eugenie Cormier-Lassonde said yesterday.

"We are conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the death."

Menzies said he is assisting the family in their dealings with the Canadian government.

Friends and relatives of Morin have flocked to a Facebook tribute page to post condolences and seek answers.

Some wondered how the man with the "awesome sense of humour" could be gone.

Morin is the third Albertan to die in Mexico in the last three years under suspicious circumstances.