Canadian tourist, 27, shot dead in Mexican Pacific coastal town
A Canadian banker has been shot dead while on holiday with his girlfriend after a fight over his bar bill at a popular beach town, police say.
Victor Masson from Quebec had spent all Sunday on the beach with Elva Castillo and stayed at their hotel while she dined with her family in Puerto Escondido on the Pacific coast.
The mortgage advisor decided to go on his own and ended up in the Michelada El Aldoquin bar, where he allegedly argued over an unpaid bill.
He was found shot in the back in a car about two miles from the bar on Monday morning.
Victor Masson, of Quebec, Canada, was killed Monday while vacationing in Mexico. The 27-year-old had messaged his girlfriend, Mexico’s Elva Castillo, to warn her that a group of people he met at a local bar in the Pacific city of Puerto Escondido didn’t want him to leave. As of Friday, no arrests had been made
Victor Masson (left) had traveled to Mexico to spend two weeks with his girlfriend, Elva Castillo (right)
Authorities block the street in the Mexican Pacific coastal town of Puerto Escondido where Canadian tourist, Victor Masson, was found shot dead in a car Monday morning
José Rodríguez, attorney general of the state of Oaxaca, said: “After the fight, he makes a few calls saying that he was robbed and that he was found dead at dawn.
“The main thrust (of the investigation) of this case is what happened that night.
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In an interview with news channel Noticiero Televisa, Castillo, the banker’s girlfriend, said Masson was concerned about the two men and women he had met at the bar.
He told her, “I have no idea what’s going on. If I text you the word “danger,” find my location and call the police, okay?
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Masson would then send her an additional message after the group intercepted him trying to leave the bar and return to the hotel.
“It’s very much like… I’m stuck with them,” he said. “I tried to leave and they said, ‘No, no, stay,’ so it’s weird.”
Castillo said she filed a missing person report after he failed to show up at the hotel and learned of his murder several hours later.
A spokesperson for Masson’s family said he was on vacation for two weeks visiting Castillo’s relatives, and they were having a hard time getting information from police.
Victor Masson (left) with his girlfriend, Elva Castillo (right)
Argentina’s Benjamín Gammond died Monday of injuries sustained after being hit on the head at a beachfront restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico, on May 10.
They said the alleged killers stole the mortgage broker’s wallet but left behind his phone and passport.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Masson worked at Laurentian Bank and had attended Bishop’s University in Quebec.
Masson’s death came days after 23-year-old Argentine national, Benjamín Gammond, died of injuries sustained following a machete attack.
The 23-year-old, who has been living and working in the restaurant industry in Mexico for the past two years, was having dinner with two friends, Santiago Lastra, 22, and his girlfriend, Macarena González, 29, at a beachfront restaurant in the city of Laguna de Chacahua when they were hacked by Cruz Martínez, 21, on May 12.
Gammond suffered three head injuries and was flown to a hospital in Mexico City, where he died Monday.
Lastra, who suffered a broken shoulder, and González, who was being treated for an injured and broken shoulder, were released from a local medical facility and are recovering.