- author, hannah richie
- role, bbc news
- Reporter sydney
Mexican police have arrested three people in connection with the disappearance of two Australians and an American in Baja California, one of the country's most violent states.
The Robinson family said Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, and American brother Jack Carter Lord, were on a surfing trip and had not been seen since Saturday.
Authorities found abandoned tents, vehicles and phones associated with the missing foreigners.
Search operations are underway along Mexico's northwest coast.
The tourists were last seen near a popular campsite in Punta San Jose, near the port city of Ensenada, local media reported.
Debra Robinson raised the alarm over the disappearances in a Facebook post Thursday, pleading for information on the whereabouts of her two sons, both in their 30s.
“They were scheduled to book into an Airbnb in Rosarito after a camping weekend but never showed up,” she wrote.
“There are also medical concerns as Callum is a type 1 diabetic,” she added.
Baja California's chief prosecutor, MarÃa Elena Andrade RamÃrez, confirmed that one woman and two men are being investigated in connection with the case.
He told media on Thursday that all investigations remained ongoing and that investigators had recovered “a tent and other evidence” at the scene where the three were last seen.
He added that Australian and US authorities had been contacted about the incident, but warned that “vital time” was lost in the investigation as it took several days for the three to be officially reported missing. did.
Jorge Algudo, Ensenada's deputy director for security, also told reporters that a “mobile phone and vehicle believed to belong to one of the missing persons” had been found.
Australian media reported that the phone belonged to one of the Robinson brothers and was found in the possession of a woman arrested in connection with the incident.
ABC News said police used her cell phone's GPS to determine her location. He also added that she was in possession of drugs and that she was in a romantic relationship with one of the two men who were later taken into custody.
Located about an hour and a half drive south of the U.S.-Mexico border, Ensenada's surfing environment has long been a draw for tourists from California.
However, Baja California is also known for its high levels of violent crime due to ongoing conflicts between local drug cartels, prompting travel warnings from foreign governments.