The trio are believed to have been murdered during an attempt to steal their truck.
Tijuana, Mexico:
Relatives on Sunday identified the bodies of two Australians and an American shot dead in an alleged robbery in Mexico, authorities said, marking a tragic end to the search for the missing surfers.
The bodies were found with gunshot wounds to the head, according to authorities in the state of Baja California, affected by the crime, suggesting a triple execution-style homicide.
The news confirmed the worst fears of the families and friends of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, and their American friend Jack Carter, who were on a surfing trip on the Pacific coast of Mexico.
The trio are believed to have been murdered during an attempted theft of their truck, state prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade said at a press conference.
The vehicle – which had been burned – was found nearby.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office later confirmed that the bodies were formally identified as those of the missing surfers.
“The victims’ families were able to identify them without the need for genetic testing,” a statement said.
Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the news as “horrible” and said “the whole country’s heart goes out to all their loved ones”.
“It has been an absolutely horrible, absolutely horrific ordeal and our thoughts are with them all,” the government minister said.
Three suspects, two men and one woman, were detained on suspicion of involvement in the case, according to Mexican prosecutors.
One of the inmates has a history of violence, drug trafficking and theft, authorities said.
Investigators previously said the bodies were recovered from a cliff-top well in an “advanced state of decomposition.”
Another body found at the scene had been there longer and had no connection to the others, authorities said.
AFP journalists saw authorities use a pulley system to extract the mud-covered bodies from the well on Friday, near the city of Santo Thomas, about 45 kilometers southeast of Ensenada.
‘Tragic loss’
The Australian brothers’ mother, Debra Robinson, sounded the alarm on a Facebook page for Baja California tourists several days ago after the young people lost contact.
“Contacting anyone who has seen my two children. They have not contacted us since Saturday April 27th,” she wrote, attaching a poster of friends desperate for news of their whereabouts.
A missing poster shared on social media said Callum Robinson was 33 and his brother Jake was 30. It named his friend as 30-year-old Jack Carter Rhoad.
The friends had already visited Mexico several times without any problems, Andrade said.
Callum Robinson’s Instagram page showed several images from the trio’s trip to Mexico: enjoying beers with their feet up in a bar, relaxing in a jacuzzi, eating tacos on the side of the road, watching the waves.
The 6ft 3in Callum played in the US Premier Lacrosse League, which left a message on its website saying the lacrosse world was “heartbroken by the tragic loss” of the trio.
“We offer our hearts, support and prayers to the Robinson and Rhoad families, as well as everyone who loved Callum, Jake and Jack,” it read.
Jake Robinson was a doctor in Perth, according to Australian media.
Baja California is known for its inviting beaches and its resorts are popular with U.S. tourists, in part due to its proximity to the border.
It is also one of the most violent states in Mexico due to organized crime gangs, although cartel activity does not typically affect foreign tourists.
Dozens of surfers protested in Ensenada on Sunday with messages written on their boards including “beaches, safety, freedom, peace” and “no more deaths.”
The case echoes that of two Australian surfers who were murdered and their bodies burned while traveling in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa in November 2015.
Criminal violence in Mexico has claimed 450,000 lives and led to more than 100,000 disappearances since late 2006, when the government launched a controversial anti-drug strategy involving the military.
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