Mexico brings first charge in case of American and Australian tourists killed on surfing trip

By Karol Suarez and Abel Alvarado, CNN

(CNN) — A suspect has been indicted in relation to the deaths of two Australian brothers and an American, who died during a surfing trip in Mexico, according to Baja California’s Prosecutor’s Office.

The suspect was indicted on a charge of forced disappearance in the case involving the three tourists, whose bodies were found last week dumped in a 50-foot well with gunshot wounds to the head.

The prosecutor’s office said in a statement Wednesday that it would also press charges of homicide.

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

Mexican authorities believe that at some point between the afternoon of April 27 and the following morning, several people approached the surfers intending to steal their vehicle, and “due to the reaction of the victims, they deprived them of their lives.”

Authorities said the suspect – one of three Mexican citizens who have been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping in the case – was captured a “few hours” later.

“Other evidence was also collected, such as rods from tents, firearm casings, plastic gallon bottles, blood stains, and drag marks, in the place where they were presumably camping,” authorities said.

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

Dozens of people held a protest last week in Ensenada calling on authorities to do more to tackle violence facing tourists and locals alike. Many held up surfboards with slogans written on them in tribute to the three slain tourists.

Drug cartels have terrorized Mexico with ever-increasing levels of violence, fueled in part by huge demand for drugs from US consumers and armed with an arsenal of weaponry from north of the border.

While parts of Mexico are established tourist destinations, violent crime including kidnapping and human trafficking plague parts of the country, particularly in border areas. Mexico’s homicide rate is among the highest in the world, and more than 100,000 people remain missing in the country. Studies show only around seven percent of murders in Mexico are ever solved.

Additional reporting by Jessie Yeung

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