A Utah father broke his silence and talked about how he was kidnapped and attacked with a machete during a couple’s vacation in Mexico.
After being robbed and injured, the man had to spend months in and out of the hospital when he returned to the United States.
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Dustan Jackson, 36, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was on a romantic vacation in Cancun, Mexico with his wife this Valentine’s Day.
Four hours before the flight home, on February 12, Jackson went to buy some chewing tobacco, so he called a taxi, he told Fox News Thursday.
He said that as soon as the taxi driver got to the grocery store, around 10 a.m., he got out of the car.
Then Jackson said, “Bam! The light went out.”
Jackson fainted and when he finally woke up, he was in a hole after sunset.
He told outlets that his front teeth were broken, he had a bruise on his head and machete wounds all over the left side of his body.
“They cut off my entire left side of my body, they ripped apart, they tried to sever my tendons or kill me or whatever they were trying to do,” he said.
And then they threw me in a hole.
“My shoulder is completely cut at this time.”
The outlet reported that the attackers seized Jackson’s mobile phone and Jackson’s credit card.
The tourist said he found himself in a rundown neighborhood in the middle of the desert.
“The first cops I came across, I swear it was at least a police station, they told me to go away,” he said.
He went out and shouted for help, but no one came.
“I decided to just give up,” Jackson said.
“Then for some reason, I don’t know how much later, I guess you can’t give up.”
He spent hours searching for help, bleeding, before a police officer wraps him up and drives him to the airport.
“You put some bandages on me,” said Jackson; “Why didn’t you take me to the hospital, I don’t know.
“Some horror stories I’ve heard, I’m happy about it [she] No because I could have been stuck there. Who do you know?”
‘my guardian angel’
Once at the airport, he begged people for help, looking like a “homeless person”.
Jackson initially found a wheelchair, but without a valid plane ticket, he said airport security forced him out of it and was stuck on the ground desperately searching for someone to help him.
He eventually found an English-speaking international traveler to call his wife for him, who had already returned home.
A good Samaritan, Kayla Jackson, also helped him get a hotel room for the night.
“My guardian angel,” Jackson said of Kayla.
His wife managed to transfer the money for the hotel bill and the flight back home.
Jackson’s passport and bags were still at the airport and he was able to return to the United States.
months of recovery
Once home, surgeons spent months trying to repair his injuries, including fitting an artificial joint.
Jackson spent February to late April in the hospital and returned in June as doctors discovered more nerve damage.
He said he has only been able to move freely for the past two weeks.
Jackson told the outlet that he now has severe nerve damage and is no longer able to work as a worktop contractor or play catch with his 14-year-old daughter playing softball.
While Jackson shared his traumatic experience, she told police in the tourist district of Cancun and at the port airport that they had no record of the attack or interactions with Jackson.
However, the attorney general in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo announced last week that they had launched an investigation into the attack.
A US State Department official also said the US government was aware of the attack allegations and was ready to help.
The State Department warned Americans visiting Quintana Roo, which includes tourist attractions such as Cancun, Tulum, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen, to “exercise extra caution” due to crime and kidnapping.
The US State Department declared that “criminal activity and violence may occur anywhere and at any time, including popular tourist destinations.”
“Travelers should maintain a high level of situational awareness, avoid areas where illegal activities are taking place, and immediately move away from potentially dangerous situations. [lawful permanent residents] They are victims of kidnapping.”
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