METRO VANCOUVER -- Despite enduring a horrific experience that included a jail cell and an apparent shakedown that cost them about $1,500, a Tri-Cities MLA and her husband say they will return to Mexico.

Coquitlam-Maillardville MLA Diane Thorne and her husband Neil Edmondson have vacationed in Mexico more than a dozen times over the past 30 years without incident, but during their most recent trip Edmondson spent eight tense hours in a city jail following a car accident. The experience nearly sent the 78-year-old retiree, who has severe asthma and has suffered a couple of strokes, to the hospital.

"We've never had any family or friends that have had a bad experience, that we know of, in Mexico," Edmondson said.

"We've never had a bad experience, but this time."

Until the morning of Jan. 10, both Edmondson and Thorne, 67, have had nothing but glowing words to describe the country and its people. Then, three-quarters of the way into a five-week trip, in the Yucatán port city of Progreso, the rental car Edmondson was driving was hit by two motorcycles.

They were travelling in the left-hand lane of a one-way street, preparing to turn off. Fellow Coquitlam residents Larry Talson and Fran Miller were with them. The motorcyclists raced up on Edmondson's left before hitting the car. Both riders and their passengers were sent flying, but two got up and quickly sped off.

The others remained, with one young man nursing his shoulder.

"The first thing I did when I got out of the car was I went up and asked them if they were okay," Edmondson said.

"He seemed to be fine, but they were moaning and groaning a bit."

A witness from across the street caught their attention, confirming in halting English what had happened.

"She was yelling immediately from her corner [to Neil], 'Not your fault, not your fault,'" Thorne recalled.

Within moments, an ambulance and police arrived, as did an American who offered his interpreting skills. Although police would not allow Thorne to accompany Edmondson to the station, they did permit the man, who introduced himself as Pedro, to join them.

"The first thing that I saw inside [the police station] was a guy lying face down on the floor in handcuffs," Edmondson said. "

There were five or six policemen standing there, all with guns or rifles. One had a rifle aimed at this guy's back. Another was kicking him, not hard, but enough to get his attention."

Ushered into an interrogation room, Edmondson waited anxiously. He was questioned once and, after a couple of hours, was allowed to take a bathroom break, while an armed officer watched over him.

"It was the worst experience of my life, being in a jail," he said. "All I'm thinking about is you hear about people being put away in a Mexican jail, and five years later they are still there because the law is, well, there is no law."

After four hours of waiting and worrying and not hearing from her husband, Thorne called the station and learned Edmondson needed $2,000 US to secure his release. With the assistance of Talson and Miller, Thorne gathered enough pesos. She was shocked to find her husband, exhausted and shaking, in a small dingy room in the cellblock.

"Neil was in total shock. I could see that," she said. "He was weak from the strain, but I had all of his medicine with me ... When I came in, I had a moment of rage and began swinging Neil's bag of medicine in the face of one policeman. Neil asked me to just stop, to calm down and I had to, because I could see it wasn't helping."

The money covered a litany of expenses that supposedly included $1,000 (all figures in U.S. dollars) to the family of the injured man, and a $25 impound fee. Pedro also claimed to have paid the police $250 to release Edmondson, which would be reimbursed the next day, plus another $200 for their assistance during the ordeal.

Altogether, they estimate the experience cost them $1,520.

"I think it was all part of one great big scam," Edmonson said. "I hate to say Pedro was part of it, but it's funny he came around when he did and funny he had, supposedly, 2,500 pesos in his pocket to pay off the cops. I never gave the cops any money ... It was a horrible, horrible experience, but I felt [Pedro] was my lifesaver. Even if he was in on it, I got the feeling that I may not have survived the evening without him there.

"After a lot of soul searching and thought, I'm definitely going back to Mexico again," he said. "I won't hold it against the people, who are wonderful. Ninety-nine-point-nine per cent are just trying to make a living."

In a statement, Alberto Lozano, press attaché for the Mexican Embassy based in Ottawa, said:

"We will contact authorities in the state of Yucatán to find out what happened, and we will try to contact Mr. Edmondson and Mrs. Thorne in order to let them know that every Canadian travelling into Mexico is very important for us. Among our higher priorities right now is ensuring that Mexican visitors have a safe and enjoyable stay."

With files from Jennifer McFee Coquitlam Now