updateThe two Australians and an American who went missing during a surfing holiday to Mexico were shot dead by thieves who mainly targeted their truck and its tires. The authorities announced this on Sunday. Prosecutors in the Mexican state of Baja California have released shocking details of the murders. Family members confirmed the victims’ identities on Sunday.
Relatives of the missing surfers, the two Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, arrived in Mexico on Sunday. They have confirmed that the bodies found last week are indeed the Australians and the American.
The bodies were already decomposing after the thieves threw them into a remote, 50-foot-deep well. Another body was also found in that well, which had been there for much longer.
Murder for tires
The three men went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip in Baja California, a Mexican coastal region bordering the United States. The area is known for its beautiful beaches, but violent criminal organizations are also active.
When the Australians did not show up at their booked Airbnb and the American did not show up for work, the alarm was raised and a search was launched.
Shortly before their disappearance, they had posted idyllic photos on social media of waves and secluded beaches along the coast south of the city of Ensenada. However, the prosecutor, Maria Elena Andrade Ramírez, described the terrible moments that ended the journey for the men.
She said the killers passed by, saw the foreigners’ pickup truck and tents and decided to steal their tires. “Of course they resisted,” she said of the victims. The thieves then shot them dead. “They were all shot in the head,” said Andrade Ramírez, adding that the trio had visited Mexico before without any problems.
The perpetrators then went to a place they described as “extremely difficult to reach” and dumped the bodies in the well. The pickup truck was found burned out not far from the well.
Andrade Ramírez said it cannot be ruled out that the same suspects also dumped the first, older corpse in the well during a previous theft. According to the prosecutor, the thieves had covered the pit with planks. “It was literally next to impossible to find.”
Three suspects
The site where the bodies were found, near the municipality of Santo Tomás, was near the remote seaside area where the missing men’s tents and truck were found earlier that week. Their latest photos showed a trip that seemed wonderful and hassle-free. Local expats are now wondering whether it is still safe to camp along the largely deserted coast.
Baja California prosecutors said they are questioning three people in the case. It concerns two men and a woman. One of those arrested is believed to have a history of violence, drug trafficking and theft, authorities said.
On Friday, the Public Prosecution Service announced that the three detainees were being held on suspicion of kidnapping. However, this was before the bodies were discovered. It is still unclear whether additional charges will be filed against them following this discovery. At least one of the suspects is suspected of being directly involved in the murders.
Last week, the mother of the missing Australians, Debra Robinson, posted an appeal on a local Facebook page for help searching for her sons. She had not heard from Callum and Jake since April 27. Robinson reported that one of her sons suffered from diabetes. She also mentioned that the American traveling with them was named Jack Carter Rhoad, although this was not immediately confirmed by the US embassy in Mexico City.
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Tags: Missing surfers identified Mexico believed killed truck tires dumped
