Relatives say 31-year-old Chez Johnson was reported to have fallen from a balcony at the Riu Caribe hotel.
BALTIMORE, MD — A Maryland man who traveled to Mexico for a co-worker’s destination wedding was found dead at a popular Cancún resort the day after he arrived, relatives said, prompting urgent questions about what happened and when authorities will return his body to the United States.
Family members identified the man as Chez Johnson, 31, of Baltimore. They said Johnson left for Cancún on Jan. 15 and was reported dead on Jan. 16 at the all-inclusive Riu Caribe hotel in the city’s hotel zone. Loved ones told reporters they were informed that Johnson fell from a balcony, but they have not received an official report from local police or medical authorities and do not know the exact circumstances. Johnson worked at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, where colleagues described him as a warm presence on the intermediate care unit. The case has become a test of cross-border procedures as the family works to repatriate his remains and seeks a formal accounting of how he died.
According to Johnson’s mother, Yulanda Williams, the last time she spoke with her son was before he boarded his flight on Jan. 15. The next day, Williams said, a family friend traveling with the wedding group called around midday with the news that Johnson had died. “I got a call around 12 or 1 o’clock that Chez had died, that he had fallen off a balcony in Mexico,” Williams said. She and other relatives said hotel staff and local authorities did not speak with her directly in the hours after his death. A relative on the trip FaceTimed Williams from the property to confirm Johnson’s identity, the family said. Images later shared with relatives showed an empty stairwell and a balcony area, according to the family, who described receiving differing accounts about injuries and the location of the fall.
Sinai Hospital said Johnson served as an administrative associate on the intermediate care unit and was well liked by teammates for his humor and energy. In a written statement, the hospital expressed condolences to his family and friends and said staff members were receiving support. Johnson’s sister-in-law, Shantia Smith, said the family has struggled to get updates and that they were told security cameras did not capture the interior area where the fall reportedly occurred. Smith said relatives called a local police station and were placed on hold before the line disconnected. Williams said no investigator had contacted her directly days after the incident, and the family’s requests for the police and autopsy reports were still pending. What caused the fall and whether anyone witnessed the moments before it remain unknown.
Family members said they faced hurdles arranging for Johnson’s remains to be returned to Maryland. Smith said a funeral director in Cancún initially quoted a price of 174,000 pesos for services, then discussed a discount to about $7,000, before the price rose again after learning an insurance policy might offset costs. The relatives compared the experience to being asked to pay a ransom for property and said they are working with a funeral home in Maryland to coordinate. The U.S. Consulate in Mérida, which covers Cancún, acknowledged receiving inquiries, relatives said, but the family reported only automated responses as of late week. Riu Caribe had not responded to questions sent by local reporters, according to the family. Johnson’s mother said she wants her son home as soon as possible so the family can plan a service.
Johnson’s death comes in a region that draws millions of visitors each year and has also seen high-profile violence, including a daylight beach killing near the Riu Caribe in Oct. 2024 that prompted a large law enforcement response and alarm among tourists. Officials at the time said the victim in that case was not a guest or hotel employee. The U.S. State Department currently lists Mexico at Level 2, advising travelers to exercise increased caution because of crime and kidnapping. For Johnson’s family, the broader picture offers little comfort as they focus on the specific facts of his case: how a healthy 31-year-old on a group trip died within a day of arrival and why they still lack a complete account from authorities.
As of this weekend, relatives said they had not received certified copies of a police report or a medical examiner’s report from Quintana Roo state authorities. The family said they were told Johnson had no signs of defensive wounds and that the injuries were consistent with a fall from a height, but they want that finding documented by the responsible agency. They also want clarity on the precise location of the fall, the condition of the scene when first responders arrived, and whether any surveillance footage shows the minutes beforehand. Without those records, the timeline remains thin: departure on Jan. 15, a reported fatal fall on Jan. 16, and days of unanswered questions.
Relatives described Johnson as a fashion-forward traveler who was close with his mother and extended family. Williams called him her “partner in crime” at family gatherings. Smith noted Johnson identified as a gay man and said the family worried about how he might have been treated after the incident. Friends from his hospital unit remembered a loud laugh and a knack for defusing tense shifts. The family started an online fundraiser to help cover repatriation and funeral expenses while they try to navigate official channels in Mexico and the United States.
For now, the family’s priorities are straightforward but urgent: a complete set of official documents, possession of Johnson’s remains, and a clear explanation of what happened between the night he arrived and the morning he was reported dead. Relatives said they are speaking with the Mexican Embassy and hope to identify a direct point of contact in Quintana Roo’s investigative office. If authorities determine the death was accidental, the family wants to see the evidence that led to that conclusion. If investigators find otherwise, they want to know what steps will follow and when. Johnson’s mother said every day without answers adds to the grief.
As of Saturday, Jan. 24, the family said they were still waiting for formal paperwork and a timetable for returning Johnson’s body to Maryland. They expect to hear next from a local funeral provider and consular staff about the logistics of transport. Any update to the cause and manner of death is likely to come after the release of autopsy findings by authorities in Quintana Roo. Until then, relatives said, their focus is on bringing him home and learning, in writing, what led to his final moments in Cancún.
Author note: Last updated January 24, 2026.