The state prosecutor’s office in Baja California, Mexico, revealed on Saturday that three bodies recovered in the area are believed to be those of two Australians and an American who went missing during a camping and surfing trip over the weekend.
While forensic confirmation is pending, the physical characteristics of the bodies, including hair and clothing, strongly suggest they are the missing tourists, according to María Elena Andrade Ramírez, the chief state prosecutor.
An employee of the state prosecutors’ office, speaking anonymously to The Associated Press, confirmed, “It is presumed that (the bodies) are the ones being investigated.”
The bodies were discovered in a well, alongside another unrelated body, and were found near the seaside area where the men’s tents and truck were located earlier in the week.
The missing men, identified as brothers Jake and Callum Robinson from Australia and American Jack Carter Rhoad, failed to arrive at their planned accommodations and were reported missing on Saturday.
The U.S. State Department stated, “We are aware of those reports and are closely monitoring the situation. At this time we have no further comment.”
Three individuals were being questioned in connection with the case and were later arrested on charges related to kidnapping, according to Baja California prosecutors. Evidence found near the abandoned tents linked the suspects to the missing foreigners.
Reports indicated that the suspects had allegedly stolen the surfers’ truck, with some of its parts discovered in another vehicle belonging to one of the suspects.
In an appeal for help posted on a local community Facebook page, the mother of the missing Australians, Debra Robinson, mentioned that her sons had not been heard from since April 27. She also identified the American accompanying them as Jack Carter Rhoad.
While the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City did not immediately confirm Rhoad’s identity, the State Department acknowledged reports of a U.S. citizen missing in Baja.
This incident brings to mind a similar tragedy in 2015 when two Australian surfers were killed in western Sinaloa state, across the Gulf of California, believed to be victims of highway bandits.
