GUILLERMO ARIAS-AFP
Relatives on Sunday identified the bodies of two Australians and an American shot dead in a suspected robbery in Mexico, authorities said, marking a tragic end to the search for the missing surfers.
The corpses were found with bullet wounds to their heads, according to officials in crime-hit Baja California state, suggesting an execution-style triple homicide.
The news confirmed the worst fears of the families and friends of Australian brothers Callum, 33 and Jake Robinson, 30 and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, who were on a surf trip to Mexico's Pacific coast.
The trio were believed to have been murdered during an attempt to steal their pick-up truck, state prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade said at a press conference.
The vehicle, which had been burned, was found nearby.
The state prosecutor's office later confirmed that the bodies had been formally identified as those of the missing surfers.
"The victims' relatives were able to identify them without the need for genetic tests," a statement said.
Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the news as "horrendous" and said the "whole country's heart goes out to all their loved ones.
Three suspects, two men and one woman, have been detained on suspicion of involvement in the case, according to Mexican prosecutors.
One of those arrested has a history of violence, drug dealing and robbery.
Investigators said earlier that the bodies were recovered from a cliff-top shaft in an "advanced state of decomposition."
Another corpse found at the site had been there longer and was unconnected to the others, officials said.
AFP journalists saw authorities use a pulley system to extract the mud-covered bodies from the shaft on Friday near the town of Santo Thomas.
Baja California is known for its inviting beaches, and its resorts are popular with US tourists, partly because of their proximity to the border.
It is also one of Mexico's most violent states because of organized crime gangs, although cartel activity doesn't commonly affect foreign tourists.
Dozens of surfers protested in Ensenada on Sunday with messages written on their boards including "beaches, security, freedom, peace" and "no more deaths."
The case echoes that of two Australian surfers who were murdered and their bodies burned while travelling in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa in November 2015.
Criminal violence in Mexico has claimed 450,000 lives and led to more than 100,000 disappearances since the end of 2006 when the government launched a controversial anti-drug strategy involving the military.
© Agence France-Presse
