US surfer killed in Mexico was due to get married in three months: ‘Heartbreaking loss’

World News

From Nika Shakhnazarova

An American surfer, one of three people found dead during a surfing vacation in Mexico, was due to marry his fiancée in August.

Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, was just months away from tying the knot with Natalie Wiertz when his body was found along with brothers Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, almost a week after they disappeared from Baja province California was discovered.

All three bodies were found in an abandoned well overlooking the sea, each with gunshot wounds.

Rhoad’s wedding to Wiertz was scheduled for August 17, but now she must mourn the death of her fiancé, a week after the horror.

According to a Zola online wedding registry, the couple had booked a venue in Columbia, Ohio, for their summer wedding.

The website currently displays a photo of the smiling couple, along with the date of the wedding and the option to register.

The couple had planned to host a welcome party for family and friends the night before the ceremony.

“Following the heartbreaking loss of Carter Rhoad, Callum Robinson and Jake Robinson, our hearts are aching with grief for their families, friends and community,” organizer Aubrey Byers wrote on GoFundMe on Sunday.

“Her presence brought immeasurable joy, love and kindness to those around her and left a mark on our lives.”

Wiertz, 32, celebrated her bachelorette party with friends in Florida last month.

She and the California-born surfer announced their engagement in a post on Facebook in July 2023.

Alongside the announcement, the pair shared a series of pictures of the proposal, including snaps of Rhoad on his knee as he popped the question as the sun set.

After news of the trio’s disappearance broke last week, authorities theorized that the idyllic trip turned tragic when local bandits approached the men while they were at their beach camp at a popular surfing spot called La Bocana.

The killers didn’t even take the car they likely murdered the trio for, but instead set it on fire in the camp.

Police have not confirmed how the men died, but noted that bullet casings were found at the campsite.

Police later arrested Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota, alias El Kekas, his partner Ari Gisel García Cota, and Jesus’ brother Cristian Alejandro Garcia in connection with the men’s disappearance, but were not charged with murder.

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, although tourist areas like Ensenada are considered safer.