SAN MIGUEL BEACH, Mexico (NewsNation) — The bodies of an American and two Australian brothers who went missing nearly a week ago while on a surfing trip in Mexico have been found, according to Mexican authorities.
The Baja California Attorney General’s Office confirmed Friday the bodies were located in La Bocana, about 130 miles south of San Diego, California.
Jack Carter Rhoad, Jake Robinson and Callum Robinson were last seen April 27. Their last known location was San Miguel Beach in Mexico.
Evidence discovered on beach
Police confirmed that the three men were driving a white Chevrolet pickup truck, which has been recovered by police. Police also discovered a cell phone and tents along the beach where the three men were last seen.
María Elena Andrade Ramírez, Baja California’s chief public prosecutor, said evidence found along with the abandoned tents was somehow linked to three suspects. Those three people have been arrested in connection to the three men’s disappearance, Mexican police said.
“At this moment, a team of investigators is in the location where it seems they were seen for the last time, where tents were found along with some evidence that could be related to these three people included in the investigation,” Andrade Ramírez said Thursday.
Robinson’s, Rhoad reported missing
Rhoad and the Robinson brothers were officially reported missing Monday after they never arrived at their Airbnb and Callum Robinson didn’t show up for work.
“We do not know what condition they are in,” Andrade Ramírez said. “All lines of investigation are open at this time. We cannot rule anything out until we find them.”
Callum Robinson posted multiple pictures to his Instagram account at locations in northern Baja California, including a popular surf spot called KM 38 Surf Point and a restaurant called La Hoguera.
The last photo he posted showed the men at San Miguel Beach about 70 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana.
On Wednesday, the missing Australians’ mother, Debra Robinson, posted on a local community Facebook page an appeal for helping in finding her sons, Jake and Callum.
Robinson said one of her sons, Callum, is diabetic.
Andrade Ramírez said her office was in contact with Australian and U.S. officials. But she suggested that the time that had passed might make it harder to find them.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the last few days that they were reported missing. So, that meant that important hours or time was lost,” she said.
The area where these men vanished is known as a hotspot for cartel violence.
‘Hotspot’ for cartel violence
Víctor Clark Alfaro, director of the Binational Center for Human Rights in Tijuana and professor at San Diego State University, says through the end of March, the Baja California’s Attorney General’s Office was investigating 415 homicides in Tijuana.
By comparison, Ciudad Juárez, just south of El Paso, Texas, had 219, and León, Guanajuato had 152.
“Two groups with organized crime are in dispute for the region generating violence. On average, six murders take place daily, all revenge killings for the most part,” Clark Alfaro said. “There’s no glimpse of a solution in the short term, and it shows signs of getting worse and more intense.”
In 2015, two Australian surfers, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, were killed in western Sinaloa state, across the Gulf of California — also known as the Sea of Cortez— from the Baja peninsula. Authorities say they were victims of highway bandits. Three suspects were arrested in that case.
NewsNation affiliate Border Report contributed to this report.
