A Texas firefighter killed by mechanical asphyxiation after getting stuck while climbing in a Cancun vacation resort window was laid to rest as his family insisted he was murdered.
Elijah Snow, 35, was remembered at his funeral on Wednesday after Mexican authorities revealed the cause of his death, declaring that he died after getting trapped trying to climb the window of a bathroom at another resort he wasn't staying at. They added that there weren't signs of foul play, despite his family members asserting that he was abducted and beaten to death.
Snow was a firefighter in Arlington, Texas and had worked for the Fire Department for eight years, following in the footsteps of his father Ronny. Snow never got to meet his father, however, because he died in the line of duty in 1985, the same year Snow was born.
Snow's remains were returned to North Texas from Cancun on Friday, where they were met by an honor guard and water cannon salute at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Snow's funeral, which was live streamed on Facebook by the Arlington Fire Department, included touching tributes by a number of his colleagues.
The Texas firefighter who died of 'mechanical asphyxiation' while on vacation in Cancun was laid to rest at a funeral on Tuesday
Snow's funeral, which was live streamed on Facebook by the Arlington Fire Department, included touching tributes by a number of his colleagues
Colleague Xavier Flores posted on Facebook about Snow with photos of his body being brought back home
Snow, 35, was celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary when he died after getting trapped trying to climb into a window, Mexican authorities said
Jackie Parker, retired chief and a close friend to Snow, spoke directly to Snow's wife Jamie and their two daughters Aubrey and Hannah. He quoted famed television host Fred Rogers, who said, 'When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' Parker spoke to Snow's daughters and said, 'Your daddy was a helper. Right now, you are surrounded by helpers.'
Another friend of Snow's spoke at the funeral and said, 'I'm gonna miss a great neighbor who always helped everyone with anything, even if you didn't ask, he'd just show up and help. He'd just get right in it with you . . . Elijah's a hero, an amazing father, a loving husband, perfect neighbor, great friend, drinking buddy, the most selfless person I know and so many other things. You will always be missed and I will honor you forever and support youre family in any way I can.'
Snow was staying with his wife Jamie at the Royalton Chic Suites Cancun, a $392-a-night all-inclusive resort, another guest who was staying there at the time confirmed to DailyMail.com.
The person said that on the day Snow was found dead, she saw police crime scene tape at another resort that is right next to the Royalton, but was uncertain whether it was connected with his death.
'The resort must have something on video because cameras are all over the place,' the source said. 'Now hopefully they all work.'
Authorities with the Quintana Roo State Attorney General's Office said in a statement that Snow died of mechanical asphyxia due to thoracic-abdominal compression.
The office said Snow was trapped in a window when trying to enter a bathroom window and could not place his feet on the ground, giving him no support point to release himself from the window.
It is unclear why Snow was trying to get back in the window. The bathroom he'd been trying to enter was not
