Three surfers were killed during a ride in Mexico – and according to police, the motive was simple
A pair of Australian brothers and an American have disappeared while on a surfing trip in Mexico. Now their bodies have been found. The alleged killers appeared to be going after the tires of their pickup truck.
Mortuary site in Baja California.
France Press agency
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The search for two Australian brothers missing in Mexico and their American friend has come to a sad end. After the bodies were found, prosecutors in the state of Baja California believe that the three men, who were on a surfing trip, were shot by thieves who were pursuing their car – especially its tires. Authorities announced on Sunday (local time) that relatives of the missing had identified the dead.
According to information, the bodies were already in a state of decomposition after the thieves threw them into a remote well about 15 meters deep. There was also a fourth body in the well, which was said to have been lying there for a long time. “The possibility that it is them is very high,” prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez said before the identification was made.
Idyll on social media, horror in real life
The three men suddenly disappeared during a camping and surfing trip last week. From their trip, they posted idyllic photos of the waves and remote beaches along the coast south of Ensenada on social media.
The men's remains were disposed of in the well.
France Press agency
Andrade Ramirez described how the journey of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and American Jack Carter Rudd came to a horrific end. The subsequent killers drove up, saw the trio's pickup truck and tents and decided to steal the tires. “They definitely defended themselves,” she said of the victims shot by the robbers.
The criminals then went to the site where the bodies were found, which was “extremely difficult to access” – and threw them into a well, which they apparently knew about in advance. Andrade Ramirez said investigators do not rule out that the suspects may have dumped the other body there. “It's possible they were looking for trucks in this area.”
Three people were interviewed
The site where the bodies were found near the city of Santo Tomas is not far from where the missing people's tents and cars were found on Thursday. The men's recent social media posts gave the impression of a perfect trip. But even experienced Mexico expats doubt whether camping on the largely deserted coast is still safe.
The Baja California Public Prosecutor's Office recently announced that three people would be questioned in this case. She said on Friday that the three were arrested in connection with a charge amounting to kidnapping. But that was before the bodies were found. At least one of the people interviewed was suspected of direct involvement in the killings. The mother of the two Australians asked for help finding them on a Facebook page on Wednesday.
Department of Political Affairs/Ig
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