Three bodies have been discovered in a popular Mexican tourist area where an American and two Australians suddenly disappeared last week after apparently going camping and surfing, the local prosecutor's office said in a statement Friday evening.
American Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, as well as Australian brothers Callum Robinson, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, were last seen on April 27, the Lower State Prosecutor's Office announced. California. They did not show up to their planned accommodation last weekend.
Investigators discovered three bodies dumped in a pit while searching for the trio Friday, although authorities have not confirmed whether the bodies were those of the missing men.
2 AMERICANS FOUND DEAD IN HOTEL ROOM IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
Australian brothers Callum Robinson and Jake Robinson, top left, and U.S. citizen Jack Carter Rhoad, right, missing in Mexico. (Reuters)
Forensic analyzes of the remains will be carried out by a state laboratory, which will allow positive identification of the bodies, the prosecutor's office said in its statement.
Investigators continue to search the crash area where the bodies were found for additional evidence, the statement added.
The bodies were found in a rugged hillside area in Baja California, near the popular tourist town of Ensenada, about 90 minutes south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Video from the scene shows rescuers setting up ropes to enter the pit where the bodies were discovered. The site is cordoned off by police while a navy boat was also visible in the sea nearby.
The site where the bodies were discovered near the municipality of Santo Tomás was near a remote seaside area where the missing men's tents and burned Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck were found Thursday on a remote stretch of coast.
Members of a rescue team work at a site where three bodies were found in Baja California. The team is searching for an American and two missing Australian tourists. (Reuters)
It is not clear what types of injuries the victims suffered or how they died.
“There is a lot of important information that we cannot make public,” said María Elena Andrade Ramírez, the state attorney general.
Prosecutors in Baja California said Friday that three people were arrested and charged with a crime amounting to kidnapping. It was unclear whether they could face further charges.
Ensenada Mayor Carlos Ibarra Aguiar said in a press release that a 23-year-old woman was arrested with drugs and a cell phone with a wallpaper photo of one missing men, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. Officials did not say how the three people were connected to the investigation, saying only that some were directly involved and others indirectly.
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A missing persons poster of the trio was distributed earlier this week. (Reuters)
Investigators said a missing person's report was filed 48 hours after the men were last seen, although the prosecutor's office began investigating as soon as the messages began circulating on social media.
María Elena Andrade Ramírez, state attorney general, said that although drug cartels are active in the region, “all avenues of investigation are open at this time. We cannot rule out anything until We have not discovered them.”
The Baja California attorney general's office said it had maintained contact with the FBI and the victims' relatives through consular agencies.
Members of a rescue team work at a site where three bodies were found in the state of Baja California, where an American and two Australian tourists were reported missing.
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On Wednesday, the mother of the missing Australians, Debra Robinson, posted on a local community Facebook page a plea for help in finding her sons and noted that Callum was diabetic.
Australian media reports that Jake is a doctor, while Callum lives in San Diego and is a member of the Australian national lacrosse team.
The State Department's travel advisory lists Baja California as “reconsider travel” due to crimes and kidnappings.
In 2015, two Australian surfers, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, were killed in the western state of Sinaloa, across the Gulf of California – also known as the Sea of Cortés – from the Baja Peninsula. The authorities say they were victims of highwaymen.