At one time, going on a vacation to Mexico was a safe and happy destination for most Americans. Americans loved their Mexican holidays, whether it was Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, or some other exotic city south of the border.  

Unfortunately, due to the violence of the drug cartels, a vacation in Mexico can quickly go from a dream to a nightmare. There have been several reports of Americans and other foreign nationals who've been kidnapped, tortured, or murdered while in Mexico.  

A Merdian woman has escaped from Mexico, telling East Idaho News that she had to pay a ransom of $10,000 to get out of that country. Her thirtieth birthday turned the young lady into being jailed, sexually assaulted, and held in a sweltering jail cell.  

You're Not in America

Destani Cowham shared how her best vacation in years turned into a nightmare that she'll never forget. She says the Mexican airport officials found a gun in her purse. Cowham has a license for concealed carry in Idaho; her weapon was hidden in her purse.  

The young mother took the purse with her and the gun to Mexico, where the authorities discovered it on her return home. She was surrounded by soldiers who took her to jail. Cowham had her mom text the authorities her Idaho permit, but that was not enough to keep her from being detained.  

While in jail, an attorney told Destani and her husband Chris that he could get her out of jail for a price of $10,000. The couple came up with the money, but not before Detani was drugged and sexually assaulted. She shares what happened with East Idaho News:

“I was super dizzy and nauseous and tired. It’s all was kind of blurry, but these men took turns sexually assaulting me,” she recalls, holding back tears. “Both of them had guns on their hips, and when they went to leave, the one that spoke English pulled his gun out, put it to my head and said if I said anything to my husband, they would kill me and say I tried to escape.”

Destani was released and she and Chris returned home to Idaho.  She was treated at a local hospital and is continuing to recover from her ordeal in Mexico.

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