College student dies after falling from a balcony after she got locked out of her Cancún Airbnb

A Massachusetts college student, 20, has died after falling three stories from a balcony when she got locked out of her vacation Airbnb rental.

Leah Pearse, 20, was in Cancún with her boyfriend Augustine Aufderheide, 21, and had spent the day at the beach and dining in the resort city.

But they had left the keys inside the apartment and were locked out when they returned. Aufderheide told cops the pair then had an argument before Pearse attempted to climb up the balcony to get inside. 

She was declared dead on the scene by paramedics after falling from the third floor of the building. 

Augustin Aufderheide was arrested by Cancún police moments after the tragic death of his girlfriend, Leah Pearse, on January 6 but was cleared of any wrongdoing after investigators were able to confirm that Pearse had accidentally fallen from the balcony she was trying to climb

Cancún authorities arrested Aufderheide as part of the investigation after the accident, Mexican news portal NotiCaribe reported.

Aufderheide admitted to police officers that he had argued with Pearse moments before she had gone over the balcony.

But he was cleared of any wrongdoing after the police confirmed the incident was an accident and he was released from custody Thursday.

Pearse was working as a nursing assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital while pursuing a master’s degree in nursing at Simmons College.

‘She worked her heart out and was receiving straight A’s. Leah was having a phenomenal time in college, making connections with everybody she met. If you knew Leah, you know she put everything on the table right off the bat,’ her obituary said. 

‘People felt they knew her after just the first interaction, and often they loved her immediately for the ease her presence brought to every room she entered. Her confidence, compassion, and amazing sense of humor had a magnetic effect and she tended to bring out the best in the people around her.’

Pearse was employed as a nursing assistant and Massachusetts General Hospital and was also pursuing a master’s degree in nursing at Simmons College

Augustine Aufderheide was taken into custody after his girlfriend accidentally fell from a third-floor balcony in Cancún on January 6. He was cleared by the police and released this week

Pearse’s death comes two months after three Americans died from carbon monoxide poisoning at their Airbnb rental in Mexico City.

Authorities found Jordan Marshall and Kandace Florence, both aged 28, and Courtez Hall, 33, dead inside the home after Florence’s boyfriend contacted the apartment’s host and requested a wellness check.

Florence reportedly informed her boyfriend during a conversation on the night of October 30 that she was not feeling well.

The phone call suddenly dropped out and after failing to get her back on the phone, he reached out to the Airbnb host and asked them if they could visit the residence to check on her.

Security at the apartment complex requested the assistance of the Mexico City police after detecting a strong gas odor from the trio’s apartment, according to the Mexico City prosecutor’s office.