Knowing that your child is missing is one of a parent’s “worst nightmares”. There are only
three possible outcomes, and only one of those has a happy outcome. The only thing worse
than knowing that your child is dead would be that your child was never found again.
Having a missing child for 20 hours, concluding with identifying an innocent 8 year old
in a morgue is a nightmare we have lived, and are continuing to live through.
Having Brent’s life senselessly taken in an unsafe hotel swimming pool would be horrific
if it were an accident. Imagine how much worse it is as a parent if you knew your son was
trapped underwater in a 11 ½ inch diameter drain pipe for 20 hours, that for the 11 hours
of the ordeal the hotel management and personnel did not even admit to the existence of
the pipes, and then tried to convince you that it took 9 hours to recover his lifeless
body. It soon became obvious that they only knew how to be deceitful, and attempted to
cover up the atrocity. Management was not capable of telling the truth—how cruel and
unimaginable!!!
Imagine as a parent being told that there was no information for that period of time,
only to later find a Mexican newspaper article stating that they knew where his body was
9 hours before they told you.
Imagine identifying the remains of a wonderful, innocent, intelligent boy in a dirty
one-room “morgue” that lacked any fixtures or equipment other than two tables, and was
entered directly from an alley.
If this is difficult to imagine, then think of how tragically difficult it is to know
that it is real!
As you may know it is real, and it happened to Brent Midlock at a “five star” hotel in
the popular Mexican vacation area of Playa Del Carmen that lures unsuspecting tourists
with promises of fun, luxurious, safe vacations.
The public needs to be educated as to the dangers, and evil that lurk hidden behind the
glamorous façade of the Occidental Grand Flamenco Xcaret.
These story needs to be shared with anyone contemplating a trip to Mexico. Such a
senseless death has had a profound impact on Brent’s classmates, friends and family. It
impossible to explain, and now Brent’s family many friends and our community will live
the rest of their lives never understanding WHY? The promise of healing for some seems
quite bleak and the painful tears and fears will remain forever ours.
The parents are friends in the US. |