As cases continue to pile up showing U.S. citizens suffering injury, sexual assault or even death after drinking potentially tainted booze at Mexican resorts, the U.S. Office of Inspector General is taking another look at how the State Department is handling the ongoing deluge of vacation horror stories. 
 
 In a letter sent to Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on Tuesday, Inspector General Steve Linick said his office would “determine whether additional work is warranted” after reviewing the policies. 
 
 “That’s wonderful, that’s great,” said Ginny McGowan, the mother of 20-year-old Abbey Conner, who mysteriously drowned in Mexico during a family vacation in January. 
 
 McGowan told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “It’s better than what we’ve been hearing and getting in terms of denial and nobody taking responsibility.” 
 
 Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, called for the inquiry in October following a Journal Sentinel investigation in which dozens of Americans came forward to say they were robbed, sexually assaulted or otherwise injured after drinking possibly tainted alcohol at resorts across Mexico. 
 
 In Conner’s case, the 20-year-old from Pewaukee, Wis., drowned after drinking tequila for less than two hours with her brother at a swim-up bar at the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar pool. She was found unconscious and brain dead in one of the resort’s pools and was flown to Florida before being taken off life support days later. 
 
 In addition to suffering a broken collar bone, the resort remains tight-lipped about the incident and would not provide surveillance video, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Her death was labeled by Mexican police as an “accidental” drowning and the State Department -- which has no investigative authority in Mexico -- said it could do little to help. 
 
 The agency currently does not offer legal advice to Americans in Mexico, can’t translate the Spanish language for those abroad and has not been tracking injuries of American citizens there, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel added. 
 
 A travel warning for Mexico posted on the State Department’s website in August made no mention of problems stemming from potentially tainted alcohol. 
 
 But a section on the country's specific information page says there have been "allegations that consumption of unregulated alcohol has resulted in illness or blacking out." 
 
 “The U.S. Mission in Mexico continues to press the Government of Mexico and Mexican state authorities to make the safety and protection of U.S. tourists a priority," a State Department official told Fox News. "Any U.S. citizen who falls ill should seek immediate medical attention. U.S. citizens should also contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Mexico. The Embassy and Consulates stand ready to provide appropriate consular services to U.S. citizens in need.” 
 
 The tainted alcohol issue also was addressed in at least three State Department press briefings. 
 
 "State Department officials in Washington, D.C. and Mexico have had numerous meetings with Mexican officials regarding our concerns," the official added. 
 
 The Journal Sentinel, citing a 2017 report by Mexico government officials and industry representatives, said as much as 36 percent of the booze consumed in Mexico is bootleg. 
 
 “We have got to start somewhere,” Abbey’s father, Bill Conner, said after learning about the new inquiry. “I have the feeling somebody wants to make a difference, but I’ll wait and see what they come back with. If it’s all the same stuff we already know, I’ll be disappointed at minimum.” 
 
 Democratic senators Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin, and Edward Markey, of Massachusetts, also have said the State Department is downplaying the risk to tourists visiting Mexico. 
 
 Linick’s announcement comes on the heels of the Federal Trade Commission saying that it would investigate the business practices of TripAdvisor, a travel ratings website accused of covering up reports of rape and tainted alcohol at all-inclusive Mexico resorts. ||||| A large Department of State embossed seal. (Photo: Getty Images) 
 
 Officials with the U.S. Department of State are now tracking reports of blackouts and injuries related to potentially tainted alcohol in Mexico and said Friday they have already received a dozen complaints. 
 
 The agency has come under fire from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in recent months for “underplaying” the risks to tourists traveling to Mexico and for not doing enough when U.S. citizens are injured or die while vacationing there. One U.S. senator called the department’s response to tourist troubles in Mexico “disingenuous.” 
 
 The announcement comes three days after the U.S. Office of Inspector General launched an inquiry into the agency’s policies and procedures for handling those cases. 
 
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 “We are concerned about reported incidents that the consumption of substandard or unregulated alcohol in some tourist areas in Mexico has resulted in illness or blacking out,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, in a statement released Friday. 
 
 “We take our responsibility to provide safety and security updates to U.S. citizens very seriously. ... Following these reports and in consultation with our Embassy and Consulates in Mexico, on July 26, 2017, we updated our Country Specific Information for Mexico to provide information regarding unregulated alcohol concerns,” the statement said. “Any U.S. citizen who falls ill should seek immediate medical attention. We also encourage U.S. citizens to contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Mexico.” 
 
 The action comes amid an ongoing investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which since July has identified more than 120 cases of tourists who reported blacking out and being robbed, taken to jail, sexually assaulted and otherwise injured. 
 
 The incidents ranged from several years ago to recent weeks. Most were staying in upscale, all-inclusive resorts in popular tourist areas. 
 
 Many of those injured reported drinking small to moderate amounts of alcohol before blacking out. The blackouts happened to young and older people alike, men and women, as well as to couples and friends. Often, two people reported blacking out and reawakening at the same time. 
 
 When the Journal Sentinel asked State Department officials in July about how often tourists reported being injured in Mexico, an agency spokeswoman said the department did not keep any such data. 
 
 As such, the Journal Sentinel reported, the agency had no way to spot worrisome trends. 
 
 And while the department tracks deaths from unnatural causes, it relies on the Mexican government for information and gathers few details. 
 
 The death of Abbey Conner, the 20-year-old from Pewaukee who drowned under suspicious circumstances on a family vacation in January, was not included in the tally, for example. Although she was pulled lifeless from a resort pool, she was taken off life support several days later in Florida. 
 
 On Friday, State Department officials would not disclose any details about the 12 complaints it has received, citing privacy reasons. They would not say when or where the problems occurred or what specifically happened. 
 
 A department spokesman said the agency will use the reports to “press the Government of Mexico and Mexican state authorities to make the safety and protection of U.S. tourists a priority.” He said consular officials are continuing to meet with their counterparts at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, DC, to discuss their concerns. 
 
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 He would not say whether the issue was discussed when Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray met Thursday with U.S. homeland security officials in Washington. 
 
 In recent weeks, Mexico’s head of tourism has launched a public relations campaign in the U.S. denying widespread problems with tainted alcohol. The blitz is aimed at quelling fears among American travelers, many of whom are in the process of planning winter getaways. 
 
 A 2017 report by the Mexican government and liquor industry found as much as 36% of the alcohol consumed in Mexico is illicit, meaning it’s produced under unregulated conditions — ranging from bypassing proper taxing authorities to counterfeit manufacturing. 
 
 The government encourages bars, restaurants and resorts to break their empty liquor bottles to keep them from being sold on the black market and refilled with bootleg booze. 
 
 The U.S. Department of State encourages anyone who becomes ill or injured to contact the nearest consular office in Mexico. There are nine offices scattered across the country and are staffed 24 hours a day, agency officials say. 
 
 In addition, the department suggests travelers report problems with tainted food or beverages to Mexican authorities at contactociudadano@cofepris.gob.mx. 
 
 Read the investigation 
 
 To read the Journal Sentinel's investigation into alcohol-related blackouts at Mexico resorts, go to jsonline.com/mexicoblackouts. 
 
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– Following a months-long investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and criticism from both Republican and Democrat lawmakers, the US State Department is stepping up on reports of American tourists being injured and worse after drinking possibly tainted alcohol in Mexico. Since launching its investigation in July, the Journal Sentinel has found more than 120 incidents dating back several years of tourists blacking out and being injured, arrested, robbed, and sexually assaulted, often at fancy resorts in tourist areas and many times after reportedly drinking only a small or moderate amount. The suspected culprit is tainted alcohol. However, the State Department wasn't tracking injuries to American tourists in Mexico, therefore failing to identify a pattern, and Fox News reports recent travel warnings on its website didn't mention problems with possibly tainted alcohol. Now the State Department says it will start tracking American tourists' blackouts and injuries related to alcohol in Mexico. “We are concerned about reported incidents that the consumption of substandard or unregulated alcohol in some tourist areas in Mexico has resulted in illness or blacking out,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Friday. She said tourists who suspect tainted alcohol should contact a US Embassy or Consulate immediately and that the State Department has "updated our Country Specific Information for Mexico to provide information regarding unregulated alcohol concerns." The change was welcome news to Ginny McGowan, whose daughter's mysterious death kicked off the Journal Sentinel investigation. “It’s better than what we’ve been hearing and getting in terms of denial and nobody taking responsibility,” McGowan says.