Questions Remain in Puerto Vallarta Student Death

It's been three weeks since a University of St. Thomas student died while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, but family members are still looking for answers about what happened.

On March 23, Josh Gunderson, St. Thomas classmate Ashley Jones and her friend Zachery Jensen had arrived in Mexico for a week-long spring break vacation. Less than 24 hours later, Gunderson was found dead.

"There is no reason to believe foul play, but there are questions that we have as a family that don't quite add up entirely," Brian Gunderson, Josh's uncle, said.

The Gunderson family has run into both personal and diplomatic road blocks, as Mexican authorities have provided limited details in their investigation, and Jones and Jensen have been unavailable or unwilling to talk about what happened in the hours leading up to Josh's death.

"We're frustrated," Brian said. "We don't understand why they won't talk to us."

When originally questioned by Mexican police, Jensen said he found Gunderson in the hotel bathroom and went for help, denying any wrongdoing. Ashley Jones left Mexico before she was able to be questioned by police.

"We just want to know what that day entailed," Liz Gunderson, Josh's mother, said.

An avid hockey player, Gunderson's mother says he was at the peak of physical condition.

Family members ordered an independent autopsy in the Unites States, with preliminary results showing Gunderson suffered a head injury, likely choking to death on blood or vomit.

With too many unanswered questions, Liz Gunderson is now appealing to the last two people to see her son alive -- Zachery Jensen and Ashley Jones.

"We're just so uneasy inside and I'm sure they are too," she said. "They went through a horrible thing, and I want them to be able to someday heal, just like we want to heal."

In Mexico, Gunderson's death is still considered an open investigation. Police would like Ashley Jones to return to Puerto Vallarta to provide a statement. The Gunderson family tried to help arrange that trip locally, but was unsuccessful.