More suspects sought in murders of one American and two Australian surfers in Mexico
The exact number of potential suspects is unknown
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Mexican authorities are looking for more suspects in connection with the killings of three surfers.
Three tourists – Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad – were reported missing in Baja California on Saturday 27 April.
The three men, who were on a surfing trip together, are believed to have been caught in a carjacking-turned-violent, that resulted in them being shot in the head. Three suspects have already been arrested and charged in relation to their disappearance – now there could be more.
On Tuesday, the Baja California attorney general Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez withheld the exact number of additional suspects, but told Mexican newspaper Milenio that law enforcement is looking into others potentially linked to the tragic case.
The news comes after the prosecutor announced that three Mexican citizens had been detained in connection to the trio’s deaths, naming Jesús Gerardo “N”, aka “El Kekas”, as one of the people charged.
The three bodies were found covered by boards in a 50ft-deep well in a “rugged” area in the southern part of Ensenada.
“It was literally almost impossible to find it,” the prosecutor said, adding that there is a “high degree of probability” that the recovered bodies belong to the missing tourists.
Their car was found burned out, and their three tents were left abandoned.
Investigators believe that the tourists were approached by a group of thieves, who were trying to take their white pickup truck. When they resisted, they were met with bullets in the head.
During their investigation, authorities recovered a fourth body in the well that is not believed to be linked to the case, police said.
Dozens of mourners, surfers and demonstrators gathered in a main plaza in Ensenada over the weekend to mourn the deaths of the surfers and express sadness that similar killings happen all too frequently in the area.
“Ensenada is a mass grave,” one sign carried by protesters read.
Rhoad was just months away from marrying his fiancée, Natalie Wiertz, when he joined the two Australian brothers for the surfing trip.