Bodies of murdered tourists Carter Rhoad, Callum & Jake Robinson identified by families as Mexican cops promise justice
MISSING tourists Callum and Jake Robinson as well as their friend Carter Rhoad have been identified as the bodies that were pulled from a well on Friday.
The victims’ family members confirmed the awful truth on Sunday in Mexico after a week-long search.
There will be no need to identify the bodies with genetic testing, the state attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Brothers Callum and Jake were accompanied by Rhoad, an American, when they went missing in Baja California while they were on a surfing trip.
They were reported missing by Debra Robinson when they never showed up to their Airbnb over the weekend and she had lost contact with her sons.
Their bodies were found in a 50-foot well next to a cliff at Punta San José in Santo Tomás, in the municipality of Ensenada, near a remote surfing spot known as Lighthouse, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.
It was about four miles from where the trio was camping and believed to have been killed.
Investigators believe the men were attacked by people who wanted to steal their truck for tires.
“The attackers drove by [the travelers’ campsite] in their vehicle,” Baja California prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade Ramírez said, according to The Guardian.
“They approached, with the intention of stealing their vehicle and taking the tires and other parts to put them on the older-model pickup they were driving.
“Upon approaching and surprising [the missing men], there was surely resistance and these people, the attackers, took out a firearm they had and took their lives.
“When what was meant to be a robbery had got out of control, they tried to dispose of the bodies by throwing them into a well.
“They were not attacked because they were tourists, the intent was to steal their vehicle.”
The men were shot in the head and the suspects allegedly dragged their bodies into a pick-up truck to transport them to the well, according to El Financiero.
On Thursday, Ramirez said police found the tourists’ white pickup truck on fire while searching for the men.
They also found tents that were said to have belonged to the men and boards over the well where their bodies were later found.
The location of their campsite was hard to access with no cell service or internet, thus pointing towards a robbery, according to Ramirez.
That also was a factor in ruling out that the area was controlled by the Mexican cartel, according to El Financiero.
In about six to seven days, their bodies already began to show signs of decomposition, according to the general director of forensic sciences of the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Baja California.
Ramírez said she was committed to investigating “these unfortunate events until those responsible feel the full weight of the law,” according to The Guardian.
“The investigation has only just begun.”
POSSIBLE SUSPECTS
Two brothers and a 23-year-old woman are currently being questioned by police, according to ABC News Australia.
One of the individuals has been charged with kidnapping, while the other two are being held for crystal meth, according to The Guardian.
A picture of a woman was released as she was found with one of the missing men’s phones and a bag of drugs, according to Ramirez.
They were not attacked because they were tourists, the intent was to steal their vehicle.
Maria Elena Andrade Ramírez
The prosecutor is certain that more people took part in the attack.
“In fact, we are sure that more people took part in the attack,” she said.
One of the suspects, identified him only by his first name, Jesús Gerardo, or “el Kekas”, a slang word that means quesadillas, is believed to have directly participated in the murders, according to The Guardian.
TRIBUTES FROM THE COMMUNITY
Mourners in Ensenada, the nearest city, came together to share their sadness about the deaths.
Surfers wrote messages on signs and surfboards, in Spanish, reading, “Ensenada is a mass grave” and “Australia, we are with you.”
On Sunday evening, surfers gathered in San Miguel for a paddle out, a vigil performed on the water.
“I’m just shaken to my core,” said Gino Passalacqua, the vice-president of the Baja Surf Club who said he had lived in Baja since 2009, according to The Guardian.
People collected at the beach as surfers paddled out to sea with flowers on their boards to honor the lost men.
Surfboard maker Eduardo Echegaray said, “We’re all brothers. In the water, it doesn’t matter what country we’re from, we’re all brothers,” according to The Guardian.
The Baja California Surfing Association made a statement on the horrific events.
“This atrocious act has not only deeply impacted those of us who practice this sport, but has also shaken the foundations of our coastal community, which has always been a haven of peace and camaraderie among surf lovers,” the association shared in a statement.
“We urge the competent authorities to carry out a thorough and transparent investigation to bring those responsible for this act of violence to justice.”