.-') _ .-') _ | |
( OO ) ) ( OO ) ) | |
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,' | |
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\ | |
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | ) | |
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/ | |
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ | | |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ | | |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--' | |
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
/ | |
Bodies found in Mexico confirmed as those of missing American and | |
Australian tourists | |
By Kathleen Magramo and Karol Suarez, CNN | |
Updated: | |
4:03 AM EDT, Mon May 6, 2024 | |
Source: CNN | |
Three bodies found dumped in a well with gunshot wounds to the head | |
have been confirmed as missing tourists, including a US citizen, | |
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. | |
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. 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. | |
‘Infectious spirit’ | |
The confirmation of the surfers’ deaths is heartbreaking news for | |
desperate relatives who had flown to Mexico hoping for better news – | |
and for their friends back home. | |
Jake Robinson, a 30-year-old doctor, had left Australia about two | |
weeks ago for “a trip of a lifetime” with his brother, his parents | |
previously told CNN affiliate Seven News. | |
The siblings went to Coachella music festival a week before they | |
crossed into Mexico with their American friend, planning “to surf for | |
a few days,” parents Martin and Debra Robinson said last week. | |
“Callum and Jake are beautiful human beings. We love them so much and | |
this breaks our heart,” they said in a statement before departing | |
Perth, Western Australia. | |
Callum, 33, was a member of Australia’s national lacrosse team and a | |
Stevenson University alumnus. He was based in San Diego, California. | |
In an Instagram post, the Maryland college said, “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,” the post said. “Though he may be gone, | |
Callum’s legacy will live on in our hearts forever.” | |
Callum’s friend Hayley Jacobs told CNN affiliate Nine News that he | |
“lit up a room.” | |
She said she saw him on the morning he left for Mexico, but quickly | |
felt something was wrong when she didn’t hear from him. | |
“I don’t know what’s going on but I think he’s mad at me, like | |
something doesn’t seem right,” she said. | |
‘We need security’ | |
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 is among the | |
highest in the world, and | |
Drug cartels have terrorized the country with ever-increasing levels of | |
violence and cruelty, fueled in part by huge demand for drugs from US | |
consumers and armed with an arsenal of weaponry from north of the | |
border. | |
In 2015, the bodies of Australian surfers 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. | |
The latest suspected murders sparked outrage in the surf community of | |
Ensenda, where about 500 people marched on Sunday to call for justice | |
and better security, Australian public broadcaster ABC reported. | |
“We are here in solidarity with our friends from Australia and the | |
United States,” local surfer Héctor Estrada told the ABC. | |
“We are a big community of surfers all over the world and we need | |
security, we need the beaches to be safe [for] camping around, surfing | |
or just playing with your family, friends.” | |
Another resident, Ana Acosta, told the ABC: “I’m asking for justice | |
and security from the government and for the state to provide to us | |
surfers.” | |
In a statement Sunday, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry expressed its | |
condolences over the suspected killings. | |
“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. | |
This story has been updated with additional information. | |
<- back to index |