(NECN: Justin Michaels, Mansfield, Mass.) - Family members of two Massachusetts women are still coming to grips this morning after learning that their loved ones were swept out to sea by a rogue wave.
It happened Tuesday night while the women were vacationing in Cancun, Mexico.
It seems a tropical vacation went terribly wrong.
Imagine going on a vacation with some friends only to have those friends swept out to see by a strong current or rogue wave. That seems to be the reality.
The Grand Park Royal Hotel in Cancun is a place Gail Binmore would go to relax in her time share. On her most recent trip, earlier this week, she took two friends, Donna Batta and Lisa Tondreault.
Late Tuesday night, the three went walking on the beach.
Binmore and Batta went knee deep into the water. Tondreault was with them, and that was the last time she saw her two friends.
“It was what they call a rogue wave,” said Joe Doherty, who is Binmore’s ex-husband.
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He knows now from the U.S. Consulate that a rogue wave washed Binmore and Batta out to sea. The vacation resort says there were rough seas because of a cold front that had just gone through the area.
“It’s just an incredible tragic accident that no one could foresee… and… it’s just tough… it’s just tough,” said Doherty.
Binmore and Doherty divorced years ago but have remained close. Their son, 19-year-old Brent, was the first to learn what happened to his mother.
“I was woken up in the middle of the night by a police officer who informed me about what had happened and I was actually the one who had to inform my father so it was pretty tough… yesterday was pretty tough day for me,” said Brent Doherty.
In addition to Brent, Binmore leaves behind a daughter, Cassidy, while Batta leaves behind a husband and three children ages 16 to 24.
“I know that she’s up there looking down on us telling us everything is going to be alright,” Brent said.
Both Binmore and Batta will be flown back to Massachusetts. Tondreault, the friend who survived, came back Thursday night.
