Logan woman stranded in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico after cartel unrest

SALT LAKE CITY — A Logan woman is sheltering in place in Puerto Vallarta after explosions and gunfire erupted across the region Sunday. The violence follows the reported killing of one of Mexico’s most notorious cartel leaders, known as El Mencho, by the Mexican military.

Stephanie Thornley has visited Puerto Vallarta for nearly a decade, and said she stepped outside on Sunday to watch whales breaching along the coasts. She noticed others along the beach were watching something else.

“Everyone was looking down the coast and not at the whales,” she recalled. “I yelled, ‘Did you see the whales? They’re so beautiful.’ And they yelled back, ‘Do you see the smoke?’ I looked over and thought, ‘oh—that’s not clouds. That’s smoke.’”

For the next few hours she watched plumes of smoke rise from the balcony of her condo. She heard gunfire and explosions echoing across the city.

“There were just car bombs everywhere,” Thornley said. “Gunshots everywhere. And I thought, ‘is this a movie?’”

Mexican officials announced Sunday that cartel leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, widely known as El Mencho, died during a military shootout. As news spread online, cartel groups responded with disturbances across multiple cities, including Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. Reports described blocked roads, burning buildings and vehicles, and explosions.

Thornley says that in the chaos, misinformation circulated rapidly.

“People were saying, ‘They’re taking hostages. Don’t let them see you. Don’t let them know you’re American,’” she said. “I was terrified at that point.”

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico advised American travelers in affected areas to remain sheltered in place. Several U.S. airlines suspended flights out of the region, including two planes Thornley was scheduled to take home.

Flights for later in the week are opening up as conditions appear to be stabilizing. Thornley is currently scheduled to return home on Saturday — five days away from the date of publication.

Her husband, Dave Thornley, says watching the situation unfold from Utah is unnerving.

“It was like a war zone there. She’s calling me on Face Time and there are bomb explosions going off,” he said. “I’m thinking, ‘get her out of there.’”

Stephanie Thornley said Monday was noticeably calmer than the day before. She remains hopeful that conditions will continue to improve so she can make it home safely and even return to a safer Puerto Vallarta soon.

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