Two Australians and an American missing for more than a week while on a surfing trip in Mexico were likely killed by thieves who stole their car, local police said Sunday.
Brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, from Perth, and their American pal Jack Carter Rhoad were camping and surfing near Ensenada, but they disappeared on April 27.
Investigators announced Saturday that they found three bodies in a remote area of Baja California, but they could not positively identify them.
“The probability that it’s them is very high,” chief state prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez said. She said relatives of the Robinsons and Rhoad were in Mexico in hopes of identifying the bodies.
AP
In this image made from video, Mexican security forces frisk men at a checkpoint in Ensenada, Mexico, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP)
Three people have been arrested in the case. They were charged Friday with kidnapping, before the bodies were found. Police said one of the detainees was directly involved in the murders and identified him by his first name, Jesus Gerardo.
Investigators believe the thieves spotted the Robinsons and Rhoad driving a pickup, then approached with the intention of stealing the vehicle and jacking the tires to put on their own old-model truck. The travelers were venturing off the beaten paths, visiting isolated beaches and pitching tents, according to their social media activity.
The thieves “took out a gun and first they killed the one who was putting up resistance against the vehicle theft,” Andrade Ramirez said. “Then others came along and joined the fight to defend their property and their companion who had been attacked, and [the attackers] killed them too.”
Searchers found the three bodies down a well at “a site that is extremely hard to get to,” Andrade Ramirez said. A fourth body was also found in the well in an advanced state of decomposition, according to authorities. Cops do not believe the fourth body is connected to the disappearances of the foreigners but did note the same thieves could’ve pulled off a similar attack in the past.
The case has triggered outrage around Ensenada, a city of 440,000 about 50 miles south of Tijuana. Dozens of people demonstrated in the town center carrying signs that read “Ensenada is a mass grave” and “Australia we are with you.”
With News Wire Services