Mexico files first charges in the case of American and Australian tourists killed on a surfing trip

CNN
—

A suspect has been charged in connection with the deaths of two Australian brothers and an American who died during a surfing trip in Mexico, according to the Baja California prosecutor’s office.

The suspect has been charged with enforced disappearance in the case of the three tourists whose bodies were found last week in a 50-foot-deep well with gunshot wounds to the head.

Prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday that they would also file murder charges.

Brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend Jack Carter Rhoad were on a surfing and camping trip near the city of Ensenada, about 60 miles south of the border city of Tijuana, when they went missing.

Mexican authorities believe that sometime between the afternoon of April 27 and the following morning, several people approached the surfers to steal their vehicle and “took their lives due to the victims’ reaction.”

Authorities said the suspect – one of three Mexican nationals arrested in the case on suspicion of kidnapping – was captured “several hours” later.

“Other evidence was also collected at the location where they were believed to be camping, such as poles from tents, gun casings, gallon plastic bottles, blood stains and drag marks,” authorities said.

While Baja California has been plagued by drug cartel violence in recent years, it is rare in tourist areas like Ensenada.

Dozens of people protested in Ensenada last week, calling on authorities to do more to address the violence facing tourists and locals alike. Many held up surfboards bearing slogans in memory of the three killed tourists.

Drug cartels are terrorizing Mexico with ever-increasing violence, fueled in part by huge drug demand from U.S. consumers and armed with an arsenal of weapons from north of the border.

While parts of Mexico are established tourist destinations, parts of the country, particularly in border areas, are plagued by violent crime such as kidnappings and human trafficking. Mexico’s murder rate is among the highest in the world and more than 100,000 people remain missing in the country. Studies show that only about seven percent of murders in Mexico are ever solved.

Additional reporting by Jessie Yeung