Mexico: Surfer found dead in well had been shot in the head

The bodies of three tourists found in a well in northwestern Mexico all had gunshot wounds to the head, authorities said.

Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, 30 and 33, and their American friend Jack Carter Lord, 30, went missing on April 27 during a surfing trip in Ensenada. .

Relatives of the three men identified the bodies on Sunday after traveling to Mexico to assist authorities, state prosecutors said.

Authorities believe the men were attacked while trying to avoid an attempted theft of a pickup truck.

Baja California State Attorney Maria Andrade suggested that the attackers wanted car tires and shot the tourists who resisted.

Their bodies were discovered on Friday in a four-metre-deep well, about six kilometers from the scene of the attack in the town of Santo Tomas.

An abandoned tent, a burnt out white pickup truck and a telephone linked to the missing tourists were found nearby.

A fourth body was found in the well, but it had been there longer and was unrelated to the incident, officials said.

Three suspects were arrested on suspicion of direct or indirect involvement in the incident.

Earlier, the FBI said it was investigating the incident and was in contact with international partners.

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, with local drug gangs fighting over turf.

But the Ensenada region, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the U.S.-Mexico border and known for its surfing, is considered safer and has long attracted tourists from California. .