Father of Laos poisoning victim reflects on daughter’s life

Shaun Bowles, father of 19-year-old Holly Bowles, stated he was in “disbelief” upon realizing his daughter would not survive after her death from suspected methanol poisoning in Laos last month. Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Bowles characterized Holly as “everything you’d want your daughter to be.” The Australian teenager had been journeying through South East Asia with her best friend Bianca Jones when they became unwell after consuming alcohol believed to be contaminated with methanol, a toxic substance sometimes added to bootleg drinks. They were among six foreign tourists who died over several days in Vang Vieng, a small riverside tourist town. “They were having an unbelievable time, just having so much fun, doing what two 19-year-old girls should be doing,” Shaun Bowles informed the BBC’s Today Programme. He mentioned that the grieving process has been eased because he is “best friends” with Bianca’s father, Mark. Mark and Shaun had previously traveled through Thailand on their own backpacking journey 25 years prior. “It’s just bizarre to be going through the same thing with your best friend. Just being together and just talking helps us get through the days,” he commented. Holly and Bianca had organized their trip to commemorate their school graduation. While they were abroad, Shaun had communicated with his daughter every few days, and Holly’s mother, Sam, had spoken to her “every second.” “They were just having an absolute blast,” he stated. The two teenagers were hospitalized after they did not check out of the Nana Backpacker hostel, their accommodation, and were discovered unresponsive. Shaun and his family learned of their illness via a friend, prompting both mothers to fly to Thailand that same night. Shaun remarked, “When you’re getting second hand information… it was really hard to process exactly what sort of condition that they were in.” He and Bianca’s father, Mark, departed the following day, by which time the girls had been admitted to a hospital in Udon Thani, located across the border from Laos in Thailand. Bianca passed away on 21 November, with Holly dying the subsequent day. “She was just full of life. She was confident, she was loving, she was just a true friend of people. She was everything you want your daughter to be,” Shaun recounted. Currently, Shaun states his primary objective is to increase awareness of methanol poisoning among other young individuals backpacking in South East Asia. He asserted, “We absolutely want whoever is responsible for this brought to account and brought to justice, and we’re going to do everything that we can to make sure that is the case.” The four additional victims have been identified as Simone White, a 28-year-old lawyer from the UK; James Louis Hutson, a 57-year-old American; and Danish citizens Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21. Eight individuals have been arrested in connection with the case. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.