"All lines of investigation are open at this time."
The tragic story of Callum and Jake Robinson, originally from Western Australia, and San Diego-based Jack Carter Rhoad has dominated news media this week. The three men, in their lower 30s, had traveled south of the border for an all-too-typical surf trip, camping just south of Ensenada then planning on spending a few nights at K38. When the trio failed to show up at their vacation rental near Rosarita, the Robinson family took to social media pleading for any information.
Days later, three bodies were discovered dumped in a pit near Santo Tomás on the coast. The men’s abandoned tents and torched pickup truck were nearby.
Now, Mexican authorities are saying a fourth body has been found nearby though it is unclear if they are connected. Forensic tests are being conducted by a state laboratory. “There is a lot of important information that we can’t make public,” María Elena Andrade Ramírez, the chief state prosecutor told the press.
The site is cordoned off by police with a navy boat protecting it from the sea.
Thus far, three persons of interest have been arrested in relationship with the case. A 23-year-old woman, who officials say was in possession of drugs and a cellphone that had wallpaper of one of the surfers, and two men. They have been charged with kidnapping so far with more, possibly, on the way.
Surfers, everywhere, have followed the very sad arc with particular attention as the Baja surf trip is ubiquitous, particularly for those living in Southern California. Driving over the border into Tijuana, grabbing tacos then pointing to the coast and camping for a few days of adventure a right of passage.
While danger levels in Baja have clearly escalated over the past years, Ramírez declared that it is too early to assign blame to the drug cartels active in the area, stating, “all lines of investigation are open at this time.”
The State Department currently lists heading to Baja under its “reconsider travel” category.
Evergreen comment
Todays west oz news says they fought back against getting their truck taken, gunshot wounds to the head, dumped in a well….already badly decomposed so need DNA identify, 4th body was the Rancher who,s property the bodies were found on, he went missing 2 weeks earlier so not directly connected .
RIP fellas
Yeah may not be the ‘cartels’, but shit like this is very cartel adjacent. The complete devaluation of human life is the culture the cartels have created first in Columbia and now in Mexico. It’s not shocking that it would bleed into society.
So….no different than the tens of thousands of murders in the U.S. each year. I will admit that U.S. murders tend to be investigated more capably than Mexican ones.
And the response of thoughts and prayers, especially to slaughtered school kids, has done wonders to deter future massacres in schools.
“Tend to be”?? If by “tend” you mean “way fucking more legitimately & competently” then I agree. Yes, American law enforcement has its own set of issues with incompetence – especially when you get into backwoods towns & shitboxes in FloriBama – but overall it is several orders of magnitude better than in Mexico. Most local law enforcement in many parts of Mexico is merely an extension of whichever cartel controls that particular plaza, with little justice anywhere to be found.
I’m guessing 25% of Mexico is engaged in in some sort of criminal activity. Everybody from lawyers to politicians to the military to the police to business owners. It’s been that way for decades. But in the VERY RARE instance tourists are victims the coverage gets blown way out of proportion. Yahoo news mentioned two Australian blokes that were murdered 8 years ago. They were also foolishly driving at night in an area with which they we’re unfamiliar. Meanwhile I’ve seen a few recent stories of folks stabbed and murdered in Australia the last 2 weeks or so. I’d still visit Australia just like I’ll keep visiting Mexico. It’s Baja Norte where you have a million+ residents, many in extreme poverty, and a 1000+ murders per year. A short drive away you have the valle de Guadalupe with 200 per night boutique hotels and 100 dollar prix fix tasting menus. Learn some Spanish. Don’t drive at night. Don’t buy drugs. Don’t buy women. Dont. sleep on a beach. Don’t show off your wealth. Don’t be a pendajo gabacho. Enjoy.
I spent last year working in Mexico for an oil company. Had absolutely no issues at all in Mexico City, though the office was in Polanco and we only really frequented Roma Norte and Condesa and downtown. Fantastic city. But I speak reasonable Spanish and obvs with relos in Colombia I am not completely clueless as to what to look out for. Down on the gulf coast it was a bit more sketchy (we actually had pirates board one of our supply boats) but the cartels tend to steer clear of the oilfield towns from what I understand. Puerto Escondido had some shady characters but I was there solo so did not venture out alone at night. Good way to put a target on your back. Mind you that can happen if you go to Roppongi in Tokyo too.
That’s a completely diff topic. Unless you want to talk about the cartel’s reach into the US. I mean we are their target market.
The rancher had refused cartel members to use his property the month before. He was a missing person, they found his body with the stralians, and the san dawg guy.
I thought they said the 4th body was the rancher who’s land it was
The mf’s did for almost (2) years. LoL
Can I still safely enjoy the overhyped lobster in Puerto Nuevo? Come for the lobster, stay for the sublime manteca laden beans and handmade tortillas.
Depends, is it last meal worthy?
If you like shorts(illegal bugs in the states).
Border crossing guy told us to go during the week rather than the weekend. He said they were bigger. In the end it’s just fried lobster and butter. But those beans and tortillas are amazing!
That place next to Splash is pretty good. Encanto
Yeah that’ll help
This forum has gone soft as fuck suddenly. If you go to mex, don’t:
-Run your mouth
-Get blacked out drunk in public
-Think the random girl in the bar actually likes you and doesn’t have a hothead boyfriend.
-two of the above
-three of the above.
You’ll be fine. Maybe they were really unlucky which sucks, but I imagine there’s a reason three young bros ended up getting in such a bad situation, but not my wife and her friends on a girls trip. As someone who is down with guns, bringing them south and thinking you can cowboy up is admirable but likely not gonna play out well because other dude with a gun give less fucks. I feel for the families. I’m 42 trying to learn to not be a tough guy (except on BG maybe)
The news today says that the robbers demanded the truck and they refused.
Shitty. Didn’t know that. Scary for sure. I’m still down for Mexico wine country and surfing. Maybe not the camping for a while. I worry what I would do if someone tried to steal my truck.
Give them the truck
lol. Yeah, that’s what the attorney general said. How the fuck would she know? Dead men tell no tales; and we know whatever the ice heads are saying can’t be trusted. The rancher had been missing for weeks.
Of note, that area is many many miles from the main road. Nobody goes out there, except people who are going to surf and camp, the few fisherman that live on the point, and the very few people who live out that way. It’s very isolated. my guess is there’s a meth cookhouse out there and the cooks sometimes get a little crazy.
That’s the saddest part of this type of thing— the family will likely never know what the fuck really happened. Hell, it’s 50/50 whether the meth breath shitheels they rounded up actually have anything to do with this, they’ll have to live with that too. Sadly, at the end of the day it’s just another 3 justice-less deaths in a land that has thousands of them every year.
Because the chick with the victims cellphone talked
she was holding a drug bag and their phone?
I’ve been driving/flying down there for decades, ALWAYS hot! Especially after I became a big boy, and did my Service. The only sweat I ever had, was crossing back into home. But, my credentials and commitment made it a non challenge.
Fuck this is a funny comment.
He’s the hardest of hard men on the internet.
re: men on planet agree it’s Rich Pryor v John Wayne vs Witch’s & Drugs…i’m seeing spiders on mars w/ Bowie. Not. Iggy Pop! Tom Brady? live roast…
I thought you said you’d never been in the military (maybe it was some other guy). What other ind of service is there?
“Independent contractor” or some BS like that.
Your better off in a crowded bar shooting your mouth off drunk. Witnesses etc. Alone in camp away from everyone minding your oen business not so much.
not many bars, random girls or public settings where they were.
everything from Ensenada to San Quintin is nowhere land, the bad lands of Northern Baja….with lots of banditos that prey on naive travelers.
One cadaver, two cadaver, three cadaver, four
you might get murdered if you surf south of the border
I just like mind-surfing the internet anyways…I’m the best!
I got a mate who doesn’t even leave metro to surf, he just goes to the wavetub once a week He’s the king!
That’s it ! I’m moving to fawkner!
Cemetery
Best kebabs in town down the road too
03 a group of us went 4 vehicles deep. 6 men 4 women, camping, fishing, surfing, kayaks, etc whole 9 yards. Same stretch of baja. We felt safe then.
I feel to make that same trip today id want to be packing some heat… Some funky board shorts holster.
Punta Cabras was always a chill go-to spot when the ladies were joining us.
My friend that moved to O Side does regular trips to a surf spot that that requires jets skis to access. He always asks me to go.
Seems like he’d be looked at like a target to rob. Maybe the further south you go the safer it is.
For sure. They could ride those skis to SD 3 large all carrying backpacks of fentanyl.
As far as looking for bodies goes, maybe they should call it a day.
The chances of them finding unrelated homicide bodies in the same ravine is pretty darn slim.
The bodies were found in a well. The well is about 60 feet deep. The whole area is many miles off the main road down a bunch of dirt and rock roads and some four-wheel-drive paths. There is very little in the way of permanent habitation, except for the tiny fishing village by the lighthouse and the guarded compound of the Tvind. Basically, there isn’t shit out there. The fourth body of the rancher – he was a guy who had been missing for a few weeks. my guess is that there’s a meth cookhouse out there somewhere and things occasionally get a little bit out of hand.
They start poking around Baja, and A LOT of people get nervous. Been dumping grounds for a long time.