Mexican authorities said thieves killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip to Mexico in order to steal their truck, particularly because they wanted the tires.
Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and American Jack Carter Rhoad were last seen on April 27 in the Mexican province of Baja California.
Prosecutors released grisly details of the slayings, but have not yet officially confirmed the identification of the bodies. They said family members of the victims are viewing the bodies to see if they can be identified by sight.
The corpses were decomposing after the thieves dumped them into a remote, 50- foot deep well. If relatives can’t identify them, further tests will be conducted. The well also contained a fourth cadaver that had been there much longer.
‘The probability that it’s them is very high,’ said chief state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez on Sunday, noting the corpses still appeared to be identifiable by sight.
Andrade Ramírez described the moments of terror that ended the trip for brothers Jake and Callum Robinson from Australia and American Jack Carter Rhoad.
She said the killers drove by and saw the foreigners’ pickup truck and tents, and wanted to steal their tires.
‘Surely, they resisted,’ she said of the victims, and the thieves shot them to death.
The thieves then went to what she called ‘a site that is extremely hard to get to’ and dumped their bodies into a well they apparently were familiar with. She said investigators were not ruling out the possibility the same suspects also dumped the first, earlier body in the well as part of their thefts.
‘They may have been looking for trucks in this area,’ Andrade Ramírez said.
The site where the bodies were discovered near the township of Santo Tomás was near the remote seaside area where the missing men´s tents and truck were found Thursday along the coast.
Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota, alias El Kekas, and his partner Ari Gisel García Cota have been charged after police found four bodies at the bottom of a well on a ranch in northern Mexico. Cristian Alejandro García, the brother of Kekas, was also charged.
All three of the suspects were in possession of an assortment of methamphetamines and other illegal drugs at the time of their arrest, according to Zeta and Talk Baja.
The trio was arrested during two police operations on Wednesday, May 1 – with 23-year-old Ms. García Cota reportedly found in possession of one of the missing men’s mobile phones.
The bodies discovered in the well have not been formally identified by police; however, Border Report and FOX 5 San Diego are reporting they are the bodies of the missing tourists, citing a source in the Baja California Attorney General’s office.
TV network Milenio is also reporting physical characteristics, including hair and clothes, means there is a ‘high likelihood’ the bodies are those of the three surfers.
The fourth body is reportedly the ranch owner who had been missing for several weeks, according to Zeta. No cause of death has been made public.
‘It is presumed [the bodies] are the ones being investigated,’ a state prosecutors’ office employee told Milenio.
‘A fourth body was located. It is not related to the three foreigners. The fourth body had been there for a long time.’
Baja California state Attorney-General Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez said a murder investigation had commenced and indicated investigators believe the three men were killed in an attempted robbery.
‘When they tried to get the vehicle, the victims opposed the robbery, the robbers were armed with a firearm and apparently shot the victims,’ she told 7News.
Shell casings were found at the campsite were the three men were last seen, a surfing spot known as La Bocana at Santo Tomas, local media reported.
Prosecutors have confirmed three people – two brothers and a 23-year-old woman – who were arrested earlier this week have now been charged with a crime equivalent to kidnapping on Friday.
Forensic tests will be undertaken by the local laboratory to identify if the bodies are the missing trio, the Baja California prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The remains were found in a well more than 15 meters (49ft) deep next to a cliff at Punta San José in Santo Tomás, in the municipality of Ensenada, near a remote surfing spot known as Lighthouse, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.
It took rescuers about 20 hours to pull the bodies out of the well.
The Perth brothers and their San Diegan surfing buddy were on holiday in Ensenada, about an hour and a half south of the U.S.-Mexico border, when they vanished.
Before the discovery of the bodies, local police had suspected foul play as Jack Rhoad’s burned-out truck was found as well as an abandoned campsite with traces of blood and ‘dental parts’, reported Zeta.
Australia’s 7News has also reported a tooth was discovered.
Hours before the remains were found, Australian media reported Callum and Jake’s parents were flying out to Mexico to look for their missing sons. It is unclear if they made it on a flight before police announced the discovery of the bodies.
It comes after the three young men shared eerie final social media posts from their trip, where they were seen having the time of their lives on the beach.
Baja California, where the men shared their vacation snaps, is known as one of Mexico’s most violent, cartel-controlled states.
The disappearance of the men has not been linked to organized crime, but investigators are not ruling anything out.
Investigators continue to search the rugged area where the bodies were found for additional evidence, the prosecutor’s office said.
Ramirez has not said if the arrested parties were believed to be involved in the men’s disappearance, and insisted before the bodies were found that ‘all lines of investigation are open’.
In social media posts shared by Callum just before they vanished, the trio was seen relaxing at Rosarito Beach, where they were said to be surfing and camping as they moved up and down Mexico’s west coast.
They reportedly planned to move on to Ensenada, about 50 miles (80km) down the coast, but concerns were raised when they failed to check into an Airbnb on Sunday.
The last image posted to Callum’s Instagram showed the group had made it to San Miguel beach in Ensenada before vanishing without a trace.
One chilling picture showed their white Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck at a beach in Rosarito, which police believe was the same vehicle later discovered burned out.
‘… and it begins,’ Callum had captioned an image of the truck at the beach, alongside an emoji of the Mexican flag, at the start of the trio’s doomed trip.
The Robinson brothers had attended Coachella before going to Mexico to surf.
Callum was based in the U.S. where he was an accomplished lacrosse player known as ‘the Big Koala’, and Jake, who worked in regional hospitals across Australia, had flown out to San Diego two weeks ago to visit him.
Rhoad worked in technology services in San Diego.
While the bodies are yet to be formally identified, Callum’s college team Stevenson University Lacrosse claimed in a social media post he had been killed.
‘It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of our dear teammate and friend, Callum Robinson,’ the club said.
‘From his days leading us to victory on the field to his unwavering commitment to academic excellence, Callum was a true inspiration to us all.
‘But, beyond his accolades, Callum will be remembered for his infectious spirit and larger-than-life personality.
‘With his beautiful long hair and charming smile, he truly embodied the nickname ‘big koala’ – warm, friendly, and always there to lend a helping hand.
‘Though he may be gone, Callum’s legacy will live on in our hearts forever.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time. Rest easy, Callum. You will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.’
In an Instagram post, his teammate Will Manny thanked Callum for ‘showing everyone how to smile big, laugh hard and enjoy life’.
‘Callum Robinson, Jake Robinson and Jack Rhoad, rest in peace. And to your families, the lacrosse community is here for you,’ he said.
Brett Hiken described the young player as ‘one of one’, adding that he was lucky to have ‘gotten to love and know’ him.
‘You made everyone feel like family and everyone was your best friend,’ he said.
‘Our best memories were always with you. Truth is, everyone wanted to be like you but no one was even on the same planet.
‘It was a honor to get be your friend. The room turned every time you entered without even opening your mouth.
‘Love you like the brother you are and most importantly thank you. Everyone gets to live, but man not everyone truly lives. You certainly lived.’
Police also say they found three abandoned tents south of Ensenada, with local media reporting that blood was found on them.
The trio had been actively sharing images of their trip right up until they failed to show up at their Airbnb.
It is understood police were able to make the arrests after one of the brothers’ mobile phones was turned back on, and pinged a local mobile tower.
‘A working team [of investigators] is at the site where they were last seen, where tents and other evidence was found that could be linked to these three people we have under investigation,’ prosecutor Andrade Ramírez said in a statement before the bodies were found.
Ramírez said her office was in contact with Australian and U.S. officials but suggested it would be difficult to find the men given the time that had already passed.
‘Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the last few days that they were reported missing. So that meant that important hours or time was lost,’ she said.
Baja California has been plagued by cartel violence in recent months.
In 2015, two Australian surfers, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, were killed in western Sinaloa state, across the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez, from the Baja peninsula.
Authorities say they were victims of highway bandits. Three suspects were arrested in that case.
The mother of the Robinson brothers, Debra Robinson, spoke of her anguish after her sons vanished, as she appealed for help before the bodies were found.
She stressed Callum was a diabetic as she asked anyone with information to come forward.
Debra wrote on social media: ‘Australian friends Jake and Callum Robinson have gone missing around Rosarito/Ensenada region of Baja California Norte Saturday morning.
‘They were likely surfing. Callum is diabetic – this is a very dire situation.’
Moral of the story….STAY THE F OUT OF MEXICO.