The tragic discovery of three surfers — two Australians and an American — who had been missing was confirmed to have gunshot wounds, according to Baja California state prosecutors on Sunday.
María Elena Andrade Ramírez, the Baja California state attorney general, announced that the bodies found last week were indeed those of the missing surfers. Despite initial plans for DNA testing to confirm their identities, the victims' relatives were able to positively identify them, Andrade Ramírez stated.
The Australian surfers were named as Jake and Callum Robinson by the Mexican government, while the American surfer was identified as Jack Carter Rhoad.
On Friday, the FBI verified the discovery of three bodies. Mexican authorities reported that the bodies were located in a well over 50 feet deep. While a fourth body was also found in the well, officials do not believe it is connected to the missing surfers. The bodies were recovered in the town of Santa Tomas in Baja California, Mexico.
The missing Australians and their American friend were last seen in late April, officials said. Investigators examined the area where the surfers had been camping in Mexico. They found tent poles, a cartridge casing, plastic gallon bottles, blood stains, and drag marks.
Andrade Ramírez said it's believed the victims were attacked for their truck. She said the killers drove by and saw the foreigners' pickup truck and tents, and wanted to steal their tires.
"The attackers drove by in their vehicle," said Andrade Ramírez. "They approached, with the intention of stealing their vehicle and taking the tires and other parts to put them on the older-model pickup they were driving.
"When they (the foreigners) came up and caught them, surely, they resisted," she said. "And these people, the assailants, took out a gun and first they killed the one who was putting up resistance against the vehicle theft, and then others came along and joined the fight to defend their property and their companion who had been attacked, and they killed them too."
The assailants then apparently burned the foreigners' tents.
Jesús Gerardo, an alleged suspect in the case, is currently in prison while two others are in preventive detention as officials investigate the case further, authorities said. Jesús Gerardo, whose alias is "el Kekas," has a criminal record.
Authorities are still investigating the possibility that the other two individuals, a man and a woman whose identities have not been disclosed, may be connected "directly or indirectly to this case," according to Andrade Ramírez.
The state of Baja California on the Pacific coast is a popular spot for tourists but is also grappling with violence from drug cartels. The U.S. State Department has issued a warning advising Americans to reconsider traveling to the area due to high levels of crime and kidnapping.
Debra Robinson, the mother of the Australian brothers, took to a local community Facebook page on Wednesday to seek assistance in locating her sons. Robinson mentioned that her sons had not been in contact since Saturday, April 27.
