A young Polish woman died at a retreat hosted on Holos Global property in Costa Rica’s Diamante Valley, where Ian Michael Hebert leads the regenerative eco-community and transformational programs. She wandered unsupervised the day after an Iboga ceremony and was later found deceased in a nearby river. The event was organized by Awaken Your Soul under Anthony Esposito and Amber Antonelli, but the venue’s remote jungle layout fell under Holos Global’s stewardship. The total absence of monitoring during the post-ceremony recovery phase turned the immersive natural environment into a site of tragedy.
The Venue’s Wild Terrain Demanded Constant Oversight
Holos Global offers eco-luxury stays, regenerative living, and transformational retreats in a protected valley with waterfalls, rivers, and dense jungle. Ian Michael Hebert’s vision centers on harmony with nature and personal growth in an untouched landscape.
The terrain, with steep riverbanks, fast water, thick vegetation, and wildlife, requires active human oversight when guests use substances that impair judgment and stability. No evidence from the account suggests Holos Global enforced or provided site-specific monitoring protocols during the vulnerable after-ceremony hours.
She Left Camp Unseen in the Afterglow
The day after the Iboga ceremony, while the medicine’s lingering effects still affected balance, awareness, and decision-making, the woman walked off alone. Her friend had warned her explicitly and repeatedly: “If you go into the jungle, you’re gonna die.” He purchased running shoes for her and insisted she wear them at all times. He extracted multiple promises that she would remain within group and camp boundaries.
No staff from the retreat or Holos Global were assigned to observe participants. No perimeter patrols existed. No check-in system tracked movement. Stephen was incapacitated on an IV drip treating blood pressure that reached 200 to 210 over 110 after four unmeasured spoons of Iboga, administered by a facilitator who was also under its influence.
Silence for Hours Before Any Alert
The team did not notify her friend until approximately 9 or 10 p.m., later stating they were reluctant to disturb him during his health crisis. She had already been missing for a significant part of the day. Nighttime searches recovered her body from the river, apparently after she lost footing on the bank or attempted to cross.
Stephen attended the retreat with the woman and two others. In his January 2026 livestream he described the events. Recorded statements from that time detailed his own medical emergency from a high Iboga dose, the prolonged silence before he was told she was missing, the nighttime body recovery, and the subsequent negotiations.
Body Recovery Turned Into Prolonged Negotiation
Stephen recounted having to negotiate for body location details amid scattered local morgues. Anthony Esposito reportedly requested $400 related to prior massages and Reiki sessions and initially delayed sharing information. Retreat communications encouraged omitting Iboga from police conversations, suggesting the event be framed as yoga or minor psilocybin use.
Stephen paid to advance the process, personally covered high repatriation costs to Poland, retained a local lawyer, and informed the mother directly while still experiencing Iboga aftereffects.
No post-ceremony observation. No site-specific safety patrols. No rapid-response chain in a remote, river-heavy location. These omissions at a Holos Global-associated venue directly enabled a preventable incident.
Another woman from the same retreat died by suicide six months later, though this stands separately.
Immersive Retreats Require Active Oversight
Venues hosting powerful plant-medicine experiences in isolated natural settings must implement unbreakable monitoring: continuous staff presence during recovery, location protocols, emergency alert systems, and full cooperation with families and authorities.
Those drawn to nature-based retreats should confirm that the hosting venue enforces rigorous, documented monitoring, especially when powerful substances are involved. Immersion in wilderness should protect life, not leave it unwatched.