Mexico deeply regrets the death of Australian brothers

The family of two Australian brothers who went missing during a surfing trip in Mexico have identified their bodies.

The remains of Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, and their American friend Carter Rhoad, 30, were found in a well, with authorities investigating their deaths as murder.

Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena offered condolences to the men’s parents and her office said it “expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims in light of this tragic event and deeply regrets the outcome of events” .

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the identification of the bodies was “nothing short of terrible news.”

“I think the heart of the entire country goes out to all their loved ones. It has been an absolutely terrible, absolutely horrific ordeal and our thoughts are with them all,” he said.

The Robinson brothers, originally from Perth, were on a surfing holiday in northern Mexico when they failed to check into pre-arranged accommodation near the town of Ensenada.

Western Australia Prime Minister Roger Cook said the situation was incredibly sad for the family and friends.

“Everyone from Western Australia is hurting as we hear more aspects of this story, the violence they were subjected to and of course the loss of life,” he said.

Callum was a member of Australia’s national lacrosse team and Lacrosse Australia said his thoughts were with the loved ones of all three victims.

“Lacrosse Australia is deeply saddened by the deaths of player Callum Robinson, Callum’s brother Jake Robinson and their friend Jack (Carter) Rhoad and extends our deepest condolences to their families, friends and teammates,” the association wrote on Facebook.

About 150 people gathered for a vigil in San Diego, where Callum lived, the US ABC network reported.

Callum also played lacrosse at Stevenson University in Maryland and former coach Paul Cantabene said he got along with everyone while being “big, fast, stiff and just plain good” on the playing field.

The family had traveled to the state of Baja California in northern Mexico and were taken to view two bodies found at the bottom of a well.

The remains were found along with a third body and a corpse in a cliff pit on the Baja Peninsula on Mexico’s west coast on Saturday, Australian time.

Baja California prosecutors said relatives from the two countries witnessed the bodies recovered from the remote 50-foot-long well.

Thieves apparently killed the three men to steal their truck because they wanted the tires, then allegedly disposed of the bodies about four miles away.

Three suspects are being held in connection with the case, which locals say was solved much faster than the disappearance of thousands of Mexicans.

Baja California prosecutors confirmed last week that they were questioning three people.

On Saturday, criminal charges of enforced disappearance, which is equivalent to kidnapping, were filed against one of the three.

Mexican authorities’ preliminary hypothesis is that the suspects attempted to carjack the trio and the surfers resisted.

They found a burnt-out white ute, believed to be the vehicle the men were driving when they disappeared.

The chief prosecutor said evidence found along with abandoned tents at a burned-out campsite was linked to the three people questioned.

Local news outlet Zeta reported that the fourth body in the well was believed to be that of the missing property owner.