By Lizbeth Diaz
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican authorities have located three bodies in the state of Baja California, where two Australians and an American were missing, according to two sources close to the investigation.
Australian brothers Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, and American Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, were last seen on April 27, according to the Baja California prosecutor’s office.
The three were on vacation to surf in the municipality of Ensenada, about an hour and a half south of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Prosecutors did not immediately respond Friday to a request for an update on the case.
State Attorney Socorro Ibarra said Thursday that three people were being investigated in connection with the case, although it was unclear whether they were involved in the men’s disappearance.
Tents were found in the area where the missing men were last seen, Ibarra said, adding that they were officially reported missing days after they actually disappeared.
A burned white pickup truck was also found in the area, authorities said.
Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, although tourist areas like Ensenada are considered safer. The U.S. State Department is advising Americans to reconsider travel to the state due to crimes and kidnappings.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; writing by Brendan O’Boyle; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Sandra Maler)
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