Mexican authorities said on Sunday the bodies believed to be those of two Australians and an American missing in the Pacific coast state of Baja California showed the trio had been shot in the head.
The state’s attorney general, Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez, said family members of the missing had arrived in Tijuana to verbally identify the bodies. Authorities expect official confirmation soon.
The initial hypothesis of the investigation is that the missing man was attacked by someone who wanted to steal the car.
Dr. Ramon Alvarez Martinez said injuries on the bodies indicated resistance.
Three Mexican nationals have been detained, one of whom has been charged with kidnapping.
Two others were taken into custody for possession of methamphetamine, but Andrade Ramirez wasn’t giving up on the possibility that they were connected to the crime.
“In fact, we are convinced that more people were involved in the attack,” Andrade Ramirez said. He said officials would soon be able to provide more information on the progress of the investigation.
Perth siblings Callum and Jake Robinson, both in their 30s, were on holiday surfing in the area with friend Jack Carter Rhoad, a US citizen. The three were reported missing over the weekend after they failed to check into prearranged accommodation near the city of Ensenada.
Friends and family appealed on social media for any information about their whereabouts, saying it would be “out of character” not to contact them.
A missing man’s tent and burned-out truck were found on a remote stretch of coastline on Thursday.
Four bodies were discovered on Friday in a covered well on a remote ranch six or seven kilometers from where the missing man’s car was found.
Three of the bodies had been there for five to seven days before they were discovered on Friday. A fourth body was also found in the well, estimated to have been there for 15 to 30 days.
Andrade Ramirez said authorities did not believe the attackers knew the victims were tourists, stressing that Baja California remained safe for tourists.
In 2023, there were more than 30,000 homicides in Mexico for the sixth consecutive year. More than 100,000 people are still missing.
In 2015, West Australian surfers Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas were murdered, believed to have been shot by gang members in the neighboring Sinaloa region, before their van and bodies were burned.
