Mexico Community Reeling After Iowa Family-of-Four Found Dead Inside Their Vacation Condo

Local residents of the Mexican community where the bodies of an Iowa family-of-four were found on Friday in a condo they were staying at while on vacation are reeling from the family’s death.

“It’s so sad. We’re all talking about it, they were such a beautiful family. All of their money and belongings were there so it wasn’t a crime. We can’t believe this happened,” a local condo manager at a different complex in Akumal, Mexico, tells PEOPLE.

Akumal, located just 13 miles north of Tulum, is a popular vacation spot on the Yucatan peninsula.

According to a news release from local police, Kevin and Amy Sharp, who were traveling with their children Adrianna and Sterling, had been reported missing just after midnight on Friday by relatives. Amy’s sister told the Creston News Advertiser that relatives had not had any contact with the Sharps shortly after the family arrived in Mexico.

Police on Friday quickly contacted the U.S. State Department, according to the news release. In an ensuing welfare check, authorities discovered all four Sharps dead in their Akumal condo: Kevin, 41, Amy, 38, 12-year-old son Sterling and 7-year-old daughter Adrianna.

There is no evidence of foul play at this time, authorities say.

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Continuing, the condo manager tells PEOPLE, “We are really shaken up in the community. We wonder why no one came to clean if they had to check out on [March 21] but assume it’s because no one was renting that unit right away so they took care of the other units first.”

Speculating how the family could have died, the condo manager says, “We all think they had tried to use the stove at night, and when it didn’t light they assumed it didn’t work and accidentally left the gas on. We don’t have pilot lights because of the wind so you light them with matches or a button.”

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Mark Williams, the chief dispatcher for Creston police — the city in Iowa where the Sharps were from — previously told PEOPLE he does not have information about where the bodies were found or for how long it appears they were dead before being discovered.

A State Department official also told PEOPLE the American consulate in Mérida, Mexico, is supporting the Sharps’ relatives and “we extend our sincere condolences to friends and family.”

The official declined additional comment “out of respect for the family during this difficult time.”