Canadian Woman Killed on 'Dream Birthday Vacation' at Mexican Hotel with Boyfriend, Suspect in Custody

Kiara Agnew, 23, was killed at a hotel in Playa Del Carmen

Kiara Agnew, found murdered on vacation in Mexico
Kiara Agnew. Photo: GoFundMe

Authorities have detained a suspect in connection with the death of a woman at a hotel in a Mexican resort town, reports say.

Citing prosecutors in Mexico, the CBC reports that a woman from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, was found dead Friday at a hotel in the coastal resort city of Playa Del Carmen.

According to a GoFundMe campaign organized to help bring the woman's remains home, family members have identified the victim as Kiara Agnew.

Agnew, 23, was on a "dream birthday vacation" with her boyfriend, that "turned into a nightmare," the fundraiser reads.

Police in Mexico announced on Twitter they "insured a person of foreign origin for the possible crime of femicide, after a lifeless woman was found with possible marks of violence in a hotel located in the Xcalacoco neighborhood."

On Friday, the Attorney General of the State of Quintana Roo also confirmed in a tweet that "an investigation file was initiated on a foreign person arrested for his probable participation in the femicide of a Canadian woman that occurred in a hotel in the Riviera Maya."

Neither entity named a suspect or victim.

A cause of death or motive remains unclear.

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"It's beyond tragic," Agnew's aunt, Katlyn Levesque, told CTV News.

"Everyone's kind of in disbelief and what we want is justice for Kiara," Levesque added. "We want her home. We want everything to come out. We want the truth to come out. We want whoever did this to be held accountable."

According to the CBC, Canadian authorities are "providing consular assistance to the families and are in contact with local authorities," spokesperson Marilyne Guèvremont said. "Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed."

The investigation continues.

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