Two US retirees, dog found shot to death in Mexico

http://www.nola.com/ ^ | 6/5/18

[BBell]

SAN DIEGO -- Like their fellow Americans in the coastal town of Bahia de los Angeles on the Gulf of California, Jo Anne Butler and Ray Ball kept returning, year after year, drawn by the small-town feel, the area's stark natural beauty, the warm waters that lapped almost at their door, friends said.

But the shooting deaths of the two U.S. retirees together with their dog early Saturday at their waterfront house south of town has shattered the tranquillity of this quiet community some 380 miles from the U.S. border. Sustained largely by tourism and fishing, Bahia has a year-round population of 1,000, but is also a part-time residence for more than 100 Americans, according to local authorities.

"We have no memory of having a shooting here," said Tom Mitchell, a San Diego resident who has had a home in Bahia de los Angeles for four decades. "This has taken it to a level that no one here has experienced."

Friends and authorities said Monday that the killings appear to be over a boat -- a 22-foot McKee Craft with a Yamaha 250 outboard motor that the couple kept at their house and frequently used for fishing excursions.

"It was an attempted robbery, and an individual went to defend his property, and that's when they shot him," said Octavio Lopez, the delegado, or top local government official, in a telephone interview from Bahia de los Angeles. "This is the first time we've had something like this happen."

A neighbor who remained fearful and asked that his name be withheld said he had been awakened at about midnight by gunfire that "sounded like somebody pounding on a metal roof." Looking outside, he saw a SUV pulling a boat toward the water, "and the thing just buried itself in the sand."

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Could not agree more, despite what the tourist promoters say or what our corrupt State Dept advisories say. I’ve heard way too many personal stories and experiences.

[dfwgator]

Why go to Mexico when you have California?

[Zhang Fei]

[Mexico and Central American countries have been magnets for retirees who are looking for low cost of living and a leisurely lifestyle. This brought in lots of capital and a good boost for local economies. If Mexico can’t control crime, especially the drug cartels, this will disappear almost overnight.]

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I expect the major draws are proximity to loved ones stateside, and similar time zones. For folks willing to deal with the distance and time zone issues, Southeast Asia is both cheaper and far safer (i.e. homicide rates are at or below average US levels, meaning expat lodgings at the upper end of the local income scale are about as safe as in some exclusive American suburb). I hear of people moving to Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia and having a pretty good time. But you can’t get away from the time zone and distance issues.

[Dagnabitt]

There may be a few nice areas and good beaches here and there in Mexico, but the evil and corruption of that awful society is never far away. Pure dice rolling to set foot in that S-hole.

[grania]

For the past few years, I've taken a vacation on a cruise ship I like. When it stops at a port that isn't safe or doesn't offer valid (not tourist trap) experiences, I stay on that very nice ship or at the most walk around the shops near the dock.

When I take short vacations by car, I find that if one has a hotel affinity card and is smart about food costs, travel can be reasonably priced in the US.

[Popman]

——and how, exactly, do you tell the difference between the .gov and the criminal class?-——

Easy, one rides in esclades and the other in top end suburbans

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We used to fly down to Ixtapa for a week of sun when we lived in Minnesota.
Get on the airplane in 15 below zero weather. Get off three hours later and find 82 and sunny.
Not any more...

[truth_seeker]

Mylast visit to Mexico, 35 yrs ago. Nobody hurt, but what we saw coonbinced us “no mas”

A BIL had a weekend place in Rosarito for years until vandalism and theft all but closed the park down for Aericans

[MrEdd]

Horse meat isn't a problem. It's just meat. We ate horse in the seventies because it was affordable.

There is nothing wrong in any way with eating horse.

Raising horses, some of the animals will have to be put down. They may have heart defects, or other physical issues. Many of them are just dangerously aggressive and injure or kill other livestock as well as posing a threat to ranch hands.

Might as well not waste the meat.

[Vigilanteman]

Nor do El Salvadorans want to go to El Salvador or Hondurans to Honduras, etc. The exception is Costa Rica.

Why can't every Latin American country be goverened like Costa Rica? Or Belize?

[Zhang Fei]

[Ever notice that pretty much every home that they feature has bars on the windows and doors? Not a chance I would visit Mexico and live there...no way!]

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That’s actually pretty common outside of the US, even in places where homicides are a fraction of US levels. What is shocking to expats I’ve spoken to, is the sliding glass doors on single story American homes. It looks to them like a standing invitation for burglary or home invasion.

[Zhang Fei]

[The Mexican government is fighting a losing war with losing tactics against the rising criminal class.]

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With no death penalty, deterrence is lacking.

[rrrod]

I take my semi retirement in Colombia.....great country.

[elcid1970]

“Wilburrrrr.....! Wha-what are you doing with that chainsaw!!?”

;^)

[dfwgator]

I would consider The Dominican Republic.

[elcid1970]

Is there still a ban on exporting horses to Mexico due to fears they will be turned into Alpo?

[BBell]

Iv’e read that Peru is becoming increasingly attractive to retirees. Bolivia and Belize also.

[dfwgator]

Every house in Puerto Rico has bars on the windows.

[NonValueAdded]

But whatever you do, don’t call the shooters animals.

[neverevergiveup]

“Why would anyone voluntarily go to Meh-Hee-Co.”

I used to live in CA, and took some drives down the Baha peninsula. It's a different world, and has natural beauty, but even then it was sketchy. Anyone who has ever been in line at the border crossing with Mexico (coming back into the US), and seen all the people soliciting the cars has a good idea why Mexicans leave Mexico. Why the poverty and crime never gets hung around the necks of the corrupt Mexican politicians is beyond me.

The US is a safety valve for all of the resentment in Mexico - which is why the Mexican government contributes to the narrative of the US being the reason for Mexico's problems. It deflects the blame from them. Our leaders should hold the Mexican government responsible.