Three bodies found dumped in a well with gunshot wounds to the head have been confirmed as missing tourists, including a US citizen, Mexican authorities said Sunday.
Relatives of American Jack Carter Rhoad and Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson identified their bodies without having to perform genetic tests, the Baja California Attorney General’s office said in a statement on Sunday.
Three Mexican citizens previously questioned in relation to their disappearance have been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, the attorney general’s office said. One of the suspects was identified as Jesús Gerardo “N,” alias “El Kekas.
The three friends were on a surfing and camping trip near the town of Ensenada, about 60 miles south of the border city of Tijuana, when they went missing on April 29, and are believed to have been murdered, according to authorities.
Baja California Attorney General Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez met with parents of the victims on Sunday and “reaffirmed the institution’s total commitment to continue the investigation into these unfortunate events until those responsible are fully prosecuted by the law,” she said.
The surfers may have been attacked in an attempted vehicle robbery, officials said, citing preliminary investigations. Baja California has been plagued by cartel violence in recent years, though it rarely occurs in tourist areas like Ensenada.
A burned-out white pickup truck was found at a ranch in Santo Tomas, about 40 miles from where the bodies were found, a local police source told CNN. The vehicle was confirmed to be the same one Callum Robinson posted an image of on Instagram a week before the trio went missing.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry expressed its condolences in a statement Sunday.
“The Foreign Ministry stands in solidarity with the families of the victims in this tragic event and deeply regrets the outcome of the events,” it said.
While parts of Mexico are established tourist destinations, violent crime including kidnapping and human trafficking plague parts of the country, particularly in border areas. Mexico’s homicide rate is among the highest in the world, and more than 100,000 people remain missing in the country.
In 2015, the bodies of Australian surfers Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman were found in a burned-out van in Sinaloa state. Authorities said they were killed by low-level drug dealers who had been robbing motorists.
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