Family: Spokane native found dead in hotel room in Mexico
A Washington woman with Spokane ties was reportedly found dead in her hotel room while vacationing in Cancun, Mexico, according to the woman’s family.
The family of Sativa Transue, a 28-year-old Spokane native whose most recent residence was Milton, Washington, was told by authorities in Mexico on Saturday that she was found dead in her hotel room, according to a KHQ report.
Police in Cancun arrested Transue’s partner, “Taylor N.,” 31, on Saturday, according to the Yucatan Times.
The investigation is ongoing, with initial information indicating Transue’s death was a domestic homicide, according to the KHQ report.
Transue, who lived in Cheney for much of her life, left for Cancun on Thursday with her boyfriend, according to a Facebook post by her sister Mykayla Bolieu. Bolieu wrote that Transue texted her friends Friday about a fight she and her boyfriend had that resulted in her getting stitches.
“(Saturday) morning her friends were so concerned for her well being that they not only went to the police but then to the FBI to try to help my sister,” Bolieu wrote.
The family reportedly got a call from authorities around 9 a.m. Saturday that Transue was dead.
A GoFundMe fundraiser was started by the family to help with costs associated with returning her body to the U.S. for an autopsy and investigation, with any leftover funds going toward a domestic violence charity in Transue’s name, according to the fundraising page. As of about 6 p.m. Tuesday, over $23,000 had been raised on the GoFundMe page with a $40,000 goal. The top donation of $2,000 was from Brien Downie.
“Consider this a gift from the Downie, Evans, and Clark families, who collectively own Holman Logistics, where we so enjoyed working with Sativa for the past several years,” Downie wrote. “Sativa was a joy to have on the team, and in the Holman “family.” She will be sorely missed, never truly replaced.”