Midwest

Michigan couple detained in Mexico for over a month over timeshare dispute head home

Published

12 months ago

April 7, 2025

Michigan couple detained in Mexico for over a month over timeshare dispute head home

Two Michigan grandparents detained in Mexico for over a month because of a timeshare dispute are finally heading home after their daughter pleaded for their release.

Christy Akeo, 60, and Paul Akeo, 58, who live in Spring Arbor, Michigan, were held in a Cereso, Cancun, prison for 32 days since they traveled there for vacation earlier this month and were arrested by Mexican authorities, as their daughter and attorney previously told Fox News Digital.

“The Akeo family wishes to thank President Donald J. Trump, his Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler and Congressman Tom Barrett [R-Mich.] for working tirelessly for the release of Paul and Christy Akeo,” their daughter and son-in-law, Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke, said in a Thursday evening statement. “We also want to express our deepest gratitude to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mark Coolidge Johnson, Charge d ’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Mission Mexico and his dedicated team.”

They added that after “four straight weeks of uncertainty,” Rep. Barrett’s commitment to helping the Akeos return home safely gave them “hope and reassurance.”

MICHIGAN GRANDPARENTS IMPRISONED IN MEXICO OVER TIMESHARE DISPUTE AS DAUGHTER BEGS FOR THEIR RELEASE

Paul and Christy Akeo entered into a Mexico timeshare agreement in 2021. (handout)

“[Barrett] traveled to Cancun at great personal risk, camped out at the prison and made it clear that he would not return home without them,” the Hulls said. “His heroic efforts as a veteran represent the finest traditions of our nation’s military to never leave an American behind.”

“No American should be held hostage to the demands of a private company anywhere in the world”
— Lindsey Lemke-Hull and Michael Hull

Rep. Barrett previously told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that he traveled to Mexico to visit with the Akeos in prison and to push for their release after learning of their deteriorating physical condition.

AMERICANS TRAVELING ABROAD ON SPRING BREAK SHOULD KNOW 3 CRUCIAL THINGS TO STAY SAFE: EXPERT

An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued to facilitate the couple’s arrest. (FGE)

“Enough is enough. After spending nearly a month in a maximum security Mexican prison over what amounts to a contract dispute on a time-share, it’s long overdue for the Mexican authorities to release Paul and Christy,” Barrett said.

The Akeos are currently receiving care from physicians and therapists.

“We ask that their privacy be respected as they rest and heal. The family will have much more to say about this ordeal in the coming days,” the Hulls said.

AMERICANS CONSIDERING SPRING BREAK VACATION IN MEXICO WARNED OF MURDER SPIKE

On March 4, Christy and Paul were traveling to a resort at Isla Mujeres. Mexican authorities arrested them upon arrival and charged them with fraud for disputing credit card charges stemming from a timeshare they purchased in 2021 at a different resort in Cancun.

Aerial panoramic view of Cancun city hotel zone in Mexico. (iStock)

“The place they’re at is a hellhole,” attorney John Manly previously told Fox News Digital of jail conditions. “It’s filled with cartel members, drug dealers, rapists, murderers. Imagine what that’s like every day. For this grandmother and veteran who just wanted to go on vacation. And until today, until really the last couple of days, no one has helped them.”

They were detained over a dispute with their timeshare purchased through a resort company called Palace Elite Resorts, which owns various resort properties in Mexico and has offices in Florida. In 2021, the Akeos purchased a Cancun timeshare for $6,932 per month for a term of 11 years.

Paul and Christy Akeo have been detained in Mexico for weeks following a timeshare dispute. (handout)

In June 2022, Paul filed a complaint with American Express alleging that Palace breached their contract and failed to provide the goods and services they paid for via Paul’s American Express Card, which Palace Elite Resorts contested.

THE HIDDEN TRUTH ABOUT TIMESHARES

American Express investigated the complaint and sided with the Akeos, issuing a chargeback of more than $116,000 in September 2022, their attorney said.

US ISSUES MAJOR TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR MEXICAN BORDER STATE OVER CONCERNS WITH GUN BATTLES, IEDS

The Palace Company, local Mexican media and authorities in Mexico told a different story about the Akeos, saying they defrauded the hotel company out of more than $100,000.

Paul Akeo is a 21-year Navy veteran and an employee with the Michigan State Police. (handout)

Mexican officials say the Akeos signed their timeshare contract in 2021, but in 2022, the hotel received 13 canceled transactions stemming from Paul’s credit card totaling $116,587, or more than 2.4 million pesos, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Quintana Roo.

The Palace Company told Fox News Digital in a statement that “between 2016 and 2021, the Akeos knowingly and willingly entered into 19 separate membership agreements with Palace Elite (attached), investing over $1.4 million USD in exchange for exclusive benefits and rates intended strictly for personal use.”

OKLAHOMA COLLEGE STUDENTS SAY THEY WERE DRUGGED AT CANCUN RESORT POOL BAR IN VACATION NIGHTMARE

“In 2021,” the company continued, “they were found to be in material breach of those agreements after promoting and profiting from their benefits on social media—conduct explicitly prohibited under the terms they agreed to. They were formally notified of this violation and, in April 2022, signed a waiver acknowledging their breach and committing to refrain from any further use of Palace Elite branding or commentary about the company.”

The State Department is aware of Christy and Paul Akeos’ detention in Mexico. (handout)

After signing the waiver, the Palace Company alleged, the Akeos “began disputing their membership charges with their credit card companies.”

“These disputes—despite relating to services they had actively used—were granted, resulting in over $100,000 USD in reversed payments and substantial financial harm to Palace Elite,” the Palace Company said.

TROPICAL RESORTS POPULAR WITH AMERICANS NO LONGER ‘OFF LIMITS’ FOR CARTEL KILLERS: ‘THE RULES HAVE CHANGED’

Palace Elite filed a criminal complaint in August 2023.

Members of the National Guard patrol a beach in the Hotel Zone of Cancun, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Cesar Rodriguez/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Akeos’ attorney, responding to the Palace’s statement, said Christy wrote to a Palace representative on April 8, 2022, saying she and Paul “do still believe we have done nothing wrong to breach our contract but feel Palace has given us no other option but to sign the documents, even though this is against our better judgment.”

“We love Palace Resorts and would miss it if we could not go,” she wrote at the time.

Her attorney said there is dispute over whether the Akeos had the right to market and sell their timeshare “weeks” at the resort to third parties, but they believe the matter should be resolved in a civil suit and should not have resulted in the Akeos being sent to prison.

American Express did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.

Read the full article from Here

Detroit, MI

Mitch Albom: Detroit Opening Day tradition embraces the local perfectly

Published

5 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

Mitch Albom: Detroit Opening Day tradition embraces the local perfectly

To many people, it makes no sense. Here was the seventh game of a 162-game baseball season, the Detroit Tigers had lost four of the six already played, yet seemingly the entire city converged on downtown Friday, April 3, to get into the stadium, or sit outside the stadium, or just hang around the stadium.

They stuffed bars and restaurants. They drank beer despite the early hour. They wore orange or blue clothing and caps with an Old English “D.” There is no way to count how many total people swarmed the streets, or how many of them had called in sick to their jobs to be here.

We call it Opening Day, and in Detroit it is virtually a holiday. Not elsewhere. Other cities don’t make this fuss. To many of them, going wild for the seventh game of the season makes no sense.

And that’s OK.

In fact, it’s perfect.

Far from the only nonstandard tradition

Opening Day made me think about how many things we do around these parts that are uniquely ours, traditions that we cherish but which don’t necessarily travel.

The Dream Cruise. It began as a charity event, and is now is a fixture on the August calendar. But if you tell someone in Boston or San Diego that thousands of people sit in lawn chairs along a busy boulevard to watch old cars drive past, you’ll get laughed out of the room.

The Independence Day Fireworks. Yes, other cities have them. No, they don’t have them in late June. We do. Supposedly we do this because of our proximity to Canada, which celebrates on a different schedule. Of course, Canada Day is July 1, and America’s holiday is July 4, so someone should explain how June got in there.

But, hey, maybe they shouldn’t. It’s our tradition. And that’s what’s important.

Sweetest Day. Hate to break this to area lovers, but that’s not really a thing in the most of the country.

Paczki Day – yes, it’s a way to celebrate Fat Tuesday, but it’s much bigger here in the Midwest than in other regions.

The Charity Preview at the Detroit Auto Show. That’s like the Motor City’s Met Gala, but it doesn’t exist elsewhere. And auto shows in general are not the must-see events they are in our town.

Traditions like throwing octopi at hockey games, singing “born and raised in South Detroit!” chanting “Onward Down the Field” when the Lions score or yelling “DEEE-TROIT BAS-KET-BALLLLLL!” are things you will not witness anywhere else.

And it may be a hot dog everywhere else, but it’s a coney here.

If all of this makes us quirky, well, quirky we should be. Because in a world of increasing homogenization, local traditions are in peril.

A taste for tradition

Consider what the internet and multinational corporations desire. Everyone on the same page at the same time.

Apple wants the whole world to line up at a given hour for the new iPhone. Taylor Swift wants the whole world hanging on her latest release. Local coffee shops get swallowed by chains. Local eateries surrender to fast food.

As someone who travels for work, I can tell you, decades ago when you went to the South, you heard different music on the radio. You went out West, you saw different retail outlets. You felt like an outsider. You felt like you were someplace new and wondrous.

Today, Nashville looks like Austin looks like Raleigh looks like Phoenix. There’s your P.F. Chang’s next to your Cheesecake Factory. There’s your Best Buy alongside your Costco. The goal of global economies is scale, big numbers, national – even international – audiences. Everyone wants to be the Super Bowl.

But what of the joy of regional customs? Local traditions? The food you can only get here, the music you can only hear there. As the internet shrinks our distance, it also fades our individuality.

When I was a kid in Philadelphia, they had a parade every New Year’s Day, where string bands marched and people wore these crazy costumes, painted their faces, and competed in different categories. It was called the Mummers Parade, and in my youthful naivete, I thought every city did this. Later I realized it was unique to Philly, and in fact, many outsiders found it silly.

Well, as Paul McCartney sang, it isn’t silly at all. Local color shades who we are. Local activities give us a sense of identity. Local traditions bind us to our hometowns, and our shared memories with neighbors.

So we can ask “Did you go to Opening Day?” around here and people know what we mean. There’s something precious about that. In an age of everyone buying from Amazon and eating at McDonald’s, we should fiercely protect what makes us unique.

So yeah, wearing a “Trammell” jersey or telling your friends, “I’ll meet you at Mario’s before the game for the lobster buffet” may make no sense to outsiders. Good. It’s not supposed to.

Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates on his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow @mitchalbom on x.com.

Source link

Milwaukee, WI

Brewers fall to Royals, split doubleheader in Kansas City

Published

6 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

Brewers fall to Royals, split doubleheader in Kansas City

article

Maikel Garcia of the Kansas City Royals tagged out while stealing by shortstop Joey Ortiz during the second game of a double-header at Kauffman Stadium on April 4. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Salvador Perez’s solo homer highlighted a six-run sixth inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 to earn a doubleheader split Saturday night.

By the numbers:

After Perez’s second home run of the year snapped a 2-2 tie, the Royals chased Brandon Sproat (0-1) with three consecutive two-out singles. Kansas City took an 8-2 lead when eight straight hitters reached safely after two were out.

Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app

Sproat pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Royals starter Seth Lugo threw 103 pitches in five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out seven.

Nick Mears (1-0) earned the victory pitching a hitless sixth inning.

Eli Morgan recorded his second career save — and first since 2023 — with three scoreless frames, striking out five.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

In the doubleheader, Kansas City relievers tossed 10 scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out 13.

Maikel Garcia had three of Kansas City’s 10 hits.

In the second inning, Carter Jensen doubled in two runs against Brewers opener Logan Henderson.

Milwaukee promptly tied the game in the third with Brice Turang’s RBI triple and Garrett Mitchell’s RBI double.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

With three extra base hits Saturday, Mitchell collected six RBIs, including all of the Brewer’s five runs in their 5-2 victory in game one of the split doubleheader.

Sal Frelick exited the game with left side tightness while hitting a fourth-inning single.

What’s next:

Brewers LHP Kyle Harrison (0-0, 1.80 ERA) opposes Royals LHP Kris Bubic (1-0, 1.50) in the series finale Sunday.

The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.

Milwaukee BrewersSports

Source link

Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis kids ‘are not alright’ says frustrated mom over city’s recent events

Published

6 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

Minneapolis kids ‘are not alright’ says frustrated mom over city’s recent events

In a viral video, a Minneapolis mom says kids here “are not doing okay.” This comes after she heard a conversation between two sixth graders about some of Minnesota’s more recent traumas.

“God, it was so [exploitative] sad,” said Betsy Bissonette, a Minneapolis mom of two, while sharing vulnerability and tears. “There are these big girls, probably sixth graders, playing hot lava monster. I was overhearing their conversation. They were so cute.”

Bissonette describes overhearing the conversation between the two young girls at a park. One girl telling the other that she attends Annunciation, describing it as ‘the one with the school shooting.’

“She goes, ‘yeah, we don’t really like to talk about it. I’m sorry for being a downer. It was really scary.’ The other kid goes, ‘I understand scary. ICE took my dad away,’” said Bissonette in the video.

“We’ve just like failed the children,” she told WCCO.

Bissonette adds that she’s received a variety of messages since.

“Stories from moms from Annunciation and teachers from Saint Paul or Minneapolis saying this is the exact conversation I’m hearing every day on the playground.”

We spoke with a child psychiatrist to put this into perspective.

“The kids in Minneapolis are doing the very best they can under really complicated circumstances. My general answer is kids are not okay. They’re not,” said Jenny Britton, Chief Clinical Officer for Washburn Center for Children.

Washburn is an agency that’s been boots-on-the-ground for kids for years. Britton says this past year has changed and challenged them.

“There’s the settling in of what happened afterwards. That’s where kids are right now,” said Britton.

If you’re wondering what you should do, Britton says, “The honest truth is, you have to talk about it. You have to find a way to find out what’s going on. Authenticity as a parent is one of the best things you can do.”

She suggests keeping the three aspects of parenting in mind:

Laugh and play with kids
Owning when there’s a rupture, making sure you repair when you act out of place.
Help kids know when to ask for help.

“One of the hardest questions for kids to answer is ‘how are you doing?’ We’ve been trying to tell adults like ‘I’m so glad you’re here,” said Britton.

“I wanted to hug those kids so badly. Instead I said, ‘hey can I be the scary lava monster,’” Bissonette added in her video.

“I love how she responded. Went in and played lava monster,” said Britton.

“What we do in Minnesota is we keep us safe and we move forward together,” said Bissonette. “I did one tiny drop in the bucket. But if we all do one tiny act when we can, when we see it, I think that’s the only way forward.”

Bissonette says she recognizes being shocked by that interaction is a privilege and many children have to face traumas regularly. Britton says it’s healthy that the girls on the playground were talking about these tough topics.