Father, daughter from Roblin, Man., remembered for kindness after being found dead in Mexican apartment

A family from Roblin, Man., is in mourning after two of its members died in Mexico last week, apparently as a result of different medical conditions.

The bodies of Marcel Gregoire, 78, and his daughter Kanene Gregoire, 47, were found inside a rented apartment in the city of Mazatlán, on Mexico's Pacific coast, Marcel's son Joel told CBC. 

Gregoire said autopsies determined his father and sister died from pre-existing medical conditions while staying in Mexico. 

"Marcel was a kind soul. He cared for all people in his community and was a great role model," Gregoire told CBC News in an emailed statement. "He loved golfing and was amazing at taking care of his wife, Linda." 

Gregoire said his sister was "a friend to all" who lived life with resilience and "tried her best to show love and comfort" when others needed it.

"Kindness was her gift. She will be missed by her children and her grandchildren," Gregoire's statement said. 

Over recent years Marcel and his 80-year-old wife Linda, who suffers from dementia, had stayed in Mexico from November to April, but this year was the first time their daughter Kanene decided to join them for the full length of the stay, Gregoire said. 

"My sister, she's had complications for her health throughout her whole life but was looking incredibly ill since [a] few days [ago]," Gregoire said.

He said Marcel had told neighbours he was planning to take Kanene to hospital on Feb. 26, but nobody saw either of them after. 

Gregoire believes his father and sister died later that day or the following morning. 

"My mother has very bad dementia and doesn't know who she is," Gregoire said. "She was in the apartment with them for two days, not able to really do anything for herself." 

Friends of the family, also staying in Mazatlán, went to check on the couple and the daughter last Friday. But they were met with a smell coming from the apartment, so they called local authorities after they couldn't contact the family. 

The attorney general's office in the state of Sinaloa told CBC the bodies of two Canadian nationals were found inside the home on Saturday.

The Mexican authorities said they've determined the deaths were caused by previous health problems, which it said was confirmed by a relative who said both people had experienced health issues.

Gregoire said the autopsy results show Kanene died from acute pancreatitis, while his father, Marcel, died from bronchial pneumonia. 

The findings weren't unexpected to Gregoire, who said his father had been dealing with fluid in his lungs for the last few years since he had a heart attack. He was medicated with diuretics to control the condition. 

"Whether that was probably a contributing factor and maybe he caught pneumonia, I [don't] know," Gregoire said. "But there's no suspicion on my part based on all of their health and the way the autopsy came back.

"It's a weird coincidence that they both went down at the same time." 

Struggle to return home

After finding the bodies, authorities brought Linda to a hospital, where she has been staying since last week. 

Gregoire flew to Mexico on Monday and is now trying to bring his mother back to Canada, but when authorities searched the apartment where his family was staying, they couldn't find Linda's passport. 

"I'm stuck here. I can't take her home," Gregoire said. "She's not well … her dementia is bad, she doesn't make sense when the words do come out." 

With authorities keeping access to the apartment off-limits, he is now gathering the paperwork to apply for Linda's passport. He is also waiting on documents from the funeral home so the bodies of his father and sister can be released for cremation. 

Gregoire said Canadian authorities have been helpful throughout the process, but there's just so much they can do to help when a foreign government is involved as well. 

Global Affairs Canada said Thursday it was aware of the deaths of two Canadians in Mexico and of another person who required medical assistance but didn't provide any further details, citing privacy considerations.

In the meantime, another couple from Roblin and some other friends in Mexico have been watching over Linda while keeping Gregoire company, he said. 

"The first couple days down here were sort of busy trying to run around," he said. "It was good in a way that I didn't have time to process … but it's a struggle."