Dark Turn in Case of Missing American, Australian Tourists: Bodies Found Near Where They Disappeared
Three bodies have been found in Mexico near where three tourists had been reported missing, according to Reuters, which cited a local prosecutor’s office in the Mexican state of Baja California.
The bodies will undergo forensic testing to determine whether they are indeed those of Australian brothers Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, and American Carter Rhoad, 30.
Authorities also reportedly found a burned-out white pickup truck that the New York Post said was “similar to the white Chevrolet Colorado pickup the men were driving” that had been shown on a missing persons poster.
Tents were also found abandoned in the same area.
Authorities were searching the area near the location of the bodies for additional evidence, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
The three friends had been on a surfing vacation about 90 minutes south of the U.S. border near Ensenada, a popular tourist destination.
The men had been missing for about a week, having last been seen on April 27, Reuters said, but they had not officially been reported as missing for several days after that — on Wednesday, according to multiple outlets.
“On Thursday, state prosecutor Socorro Ibarra said that three people were being investigated in connection with the case,” the outlet reported. “Her office noted on Friday that arrest warrants have been obtained for the crime of forced disappearance.”
It was unclear whether the warrants were for the three individuals being investigated, or for others. It was also unclear whether the three mentioned were suspects or merely witnesses.
The three being investigated are citizens of Mexico, according to The U.K.’s Telegraph, one of whom had in her possession drugs as well as cellphone with an image of the three missing men as its wallpaper.
Reuters said that even though Baja California is considered “one of Mexico’s most violent states,” the area around Ensenada is generally considered safer.
The U.S. State Department in August issued a travel advisory listing six Mexican states under the category of “Do Not Travel To,” but Baja California is listed under the next category, “Reconsider Travel To,” because of the levels of “crime and kidnapping” in the state.
“We are aware of those reports and are closely monitoring the situation,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters when asked about the three bodies found in Baja California.
The three men had made a number of social media posts during their trip, but those stopped on April 27, according to the Post. They were also scheduled to show up at an Airbnb that day, but never arrived.
“There is a lot of important information that we can’t make public,” Baja California’s chief prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez said, according to the Post.
“Baja California has long been a hub of drug cartel activity,” The Telegraph reported Friday. “The state’s largest city, Tijuana, which is separated from San Diego by a wall, is notoriously violent. It also hosts raucous nightlife and offers cheap plastic surgery for Americans who often take a daytrip across the border.
“The drug gangs usually avoid targeting tourists, something that is not part of their lucrative core operations and would trigger repercussions from Washington,” the outlet added. “But Baja California is awash with guns bought north of the border and foreigners there can often fall prey to common crime.”
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