Three bodies located in Mexico near where three surfers — two Australians and one American – disappeared last weekend and were found with gunshot wounds, Baja California state prosecutors said Sunday.
While authorities await the results of DNA tests to officially confirm the identity of the victims, there is a high probability that the bodies are those of the missing men, María Elena Andrade Ramírez, attorney general of the state of Baja California, said Sunday. . The bodies were found in the town of Santa Tomás in the Mexican state of Baja California.
The FBI confirmed that three bodies were found on Friday. Mexican authorities said the bodies were found in a well more than 50 feet deep. A fourth body was found in the hole, but authorities said they do not believe the final body is related to the missing surfers.
The missing Australians and their American friend were last seen in late April, authorities said. Investigators examined the area where the surfers had been camping in Mexico. They found tent poles, a cartridge casing, one-gallon plastic bottles, blood stains and drag marks.
Andrade Ramírez said the victims are believed to have been attacked by his truck. He said that the murderers passed by and saw the foreigners’ truck and tents and wanted to steal their tires.
“The attackers were passing by in their vehicle,” said Andrade Ramírez. “They approached, with the intention of stealing their vehicle and removing the tires and other parts to put them on the old model truck they were driving.
“When they (the foreigners) approached and captured them, they surely resisted,” he said. “And these people, the assailants, took out a weapon and first killed the one who was resisting the theft of the vehicle, and then others came and joined the fight to defend their property and their partner who had been attacked, and they were also killed. “they killed.”
The attackers then apparently burned the foreigners’ tents.
Jesus Gerardo, an alleged suspect in the case, is currently in prison while two others are being held in pretrial detention while authorities further investigate the case, authorities said. Jesús Gerardo, alias “El Kekas”, has a criminal record.
Authorities do not rule out that the other two, a man and a woman who have not been identified, may be “directly or indirectly related to this case,” Andrade Ramírez said.
The Pacific coast state of Baja California is a popular tourist destination that is also plagued by cartel violence. The US State Department warns that Americans should reconsider travel to the region due to crime and kidnappings.
On Wednesday, the mother of the missing Australians, Debra Robinson, posted on a local community’s Facebook page an appeal to help find her children. Robinson said she had not heard from her son since Saturday, April 27. They had reserved accommodation in the nearby city of Rosarito, Baja California.
Robinson said one of his sons, Callum, is diabetic. He also mentioned that the American who was with them was named Jack Carter Rhoad, but the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City did not immediately confirm this. The US State Department said it was aware of reports of a US citizen missing in Baja, but did not provide further details.
AFP contributed to this report.