Three bodies found in Mexico where Australian, US tourists went ...
Mexican authorities have located three bodies in an area of northern Mexico where two Australians and one American were reported missing in Baja California, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.
Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and their friend, American Jack Carter Rhoad, were last seen on April 27, according to Baja California’s prosecutor’s office.
A missing persons poster for Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and American Jack Carter Rhoad.
The three were on holidays surfing in the municipality of Ensenada, about an hour and a half south of the US-Mexico border.
The Australians and the US national were travelling when the trio failed to make it to pre-arranged accommodation. The Robinson brothers’ parents have now travelled to North America to be as close as possible to where their sons were last seen.
Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states.
Earlier, a white ute matching the description of a vehicle the three men had used to travel around north-west Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula was found burnt-out on a farm in the Santo Tomas area.
A woman and two men, all Mexican, have been arrested in relation to the disappearance of the three men.
According to an internal briefing seen by this masthead, police on Wednesday spotted the woman, 23, with a black cloth bag walking down the street in the town of Maneadero, about eight kilometres south of Ensenada city on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
As officers approached the 23-year-old, she allegedly threw the bag to the ground and tried to run.
Inside the black cloth bag, police allegedly found a transparent plastic bag filled with a substance believed to be crystal meth, and a grey iPhone with a picture of a man matching the description of one of the missing men.
The US embassy in Mexico did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Friday, before the three unidentified bodies were found, Callum and Jake’s parents, Martin and Debra Robinson, released a statement saying their sons were travelling to the US and Mexico.
“Callum and Jake are beautiful human beings,” the statement said. “We love them so much and this breaks our heart.”
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Callum, a professional lacrosse player, was living in the US after moving there to pursue the sport at college.
“He is widely known in the US as the Big Koala. We think of him as our big soft friendly giant,” the parents said.
Jake Robinson was visiting his brother, shortly before taking up a new role at a hospital in Geelong in Victoria. His parents said he was “such a gentle soul and would want no harm”.
According to Martin and Debra’s statement, their sons had attended Coachella music festival the week before they drove across the US-Mexico border from San Diego to go surfing.
“Surfing is a passion they both share. Our only comfort right now is that they were together doing something they passionately love,” the parents said. “We ask people to keep them in their thoughts and prayers and to continue to respect our privacy at this distressing time.”
From left: A burnt-out ute found in the search for missing Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson in Mexico and a picture of the ute they were travelling in that Callum posted on Instagram.Credit: Patrulla646, Callum Robinson’s Instagram
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was in regular contact with the family.
“The Australian Embassy in Mexico City is working closely with the Australian Federal Police and local authorities regarding the two Australians reported missing in Mexico,” the spokesperson said. “Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”
-with Reuters
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