A MUCH loved daughter who died while travelling in Mexico was repatriated to the UK with all of her internal organs apart from her intestines missing, an inquest has heard.

Amanda Gill, of Crag Road, Shipley, died from diabetic ketoacidosis - diabetes complications - while travelling in Central America last December, an inquest at Bradford Coroners’ Court was told.

The 41-year-old had suffered from mental health issues including bipolar from a young age, and also suffered from Type 1 diabetes and suspected but not diagnosed epilepsy.

A keen traveller, Ms Gill travelled to India, where she converted to Hinduism, and has spent a lot of time travelling to temples around the world.

She was travelling to temples in Mexico last December when she fell ill. A friend she was travelling with had messaged her family saying Ms Gill could not retain water and was vomiting, and had been taken to hospital, where she later died.

When her body was returned to the UK, pathologists found her internal organs had been removed during a post-mortem in Mexico, but not returned.

Ms Gill’s sister, Katie Miller-Gill, told Assistant Deputy Coroner Oliver Longstaff the UK Foreign Office had assured the family her organs would be returned, and were shocked to find they had not been.

Pathologist Dr Lisa Barker said she “knew right away” she would not be able to find a cause of death in a post-mortem.

She said: “I don’t know the practice in Mexico, but the cause of death is so vague and not acceptable in this country.

“My only hope of finding the cause was looking at their notes and trying to work out what they meant.”

The post-mortem results and clinical notes had to be translated from Spanish into English before Dr Barker could try and reach a conclusion.

“There was evidence of a heart attack and kidney damage typical of someone with diabetes, and high levels of acetone usually seen in untreated diabetes,” she said.

“They said her cause of death was a heart attack. But in the clinical notes it said she had ketoacidosis as a results of gastroenteritis.

“But, there was no record of her blood sugar level - which should have been checked - or if she had been treated with insulin.

“Ketoacidosis causes organs to fail, and her friend’s recollection did not sound a heart attack.

“It leads me to think she probably had diabetic ketoacidosis, and the problems with the heart were caused by this, and that is my best interpretation of the clinical notes.”

Mrs Miller-Gill added: “The Foreign Office said Mexico is not the type of country to withhold organs, that’s why we were really shocked and have found that quite difficult.”

Elaine Hynes, Ms Gill’s mother, said: “We just want to know where she is.

“She came back empty. When we buried her there was nothing left of her. We just want to know what happened to her organs, but I guess we will never know.”

Coroner Mr Longstaff said: “There is frequently complications obtaining information from other countries which in the UK we would expect as a matter of course.

“Such an onset had it been in the UK would have been spotted and dealt with.

“On the balance of probabilities I find it more likely than not the immediate cause of death is diabetic ketoacidosis, and I think it’s appropriate to include reference to a heart attack.

“What is clear is it is more likely than not this was natural causes, but that still leaves a number of unanswered questions, and one’s heart can only go out to you being left without a complete picture and incomplete information.

“Whether more can be done I don’t know, because an unanswered question of this nature must be so hard to bear. It is a great regret this court cannot provide you with what you came to get.”

A spokesperson from the Mexican Embassy in the UK said it did not know anything about the case.