Monument Unveiled to Celebrate Australian Surfers; Tribute Also to American Killed in Baja

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SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Callum Robinson, his brother Jake and friend Jack Carter Rhoad were murdered a little more than a year ago during a robbery at a desolate surfing spot in Northern Baja, according to the Baja California Attorney General’s Office.

On Wednesday morning, their lives will be honored when a statue is unveiled at the spot where they were killed.

The Robinson brothers, from Australia, and Rhoad who was from San Diego, had driven down to Punta San Jose near the La Bocana surf break.

While only 100 miles south of the border, the area is hard to get to, about 3.5 hours by car.

According to Baja attorney general, the Robinson brothers and Rhoad were killed when they refused to give up their truck to robbers.

All three had been shot in the head. Their bodies were dumped in a well about 4 miles from the area where they were killed.

Three men and one woman are in custody charged with the murders, but have yet to be tried. Their trails are expected to begin later this summer.

In this image taken from video, Australia’s Debra Robinson with her husband Martin, address the media on the beach in San Diego, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 following the deaths in Mexico of their two sons during a surfing trip. The sons, Callum and Jake, and U.S. friend Jack Carter Rhoad, were allegedly killed by car thieves in Baja California, across the border from San Diego, somewhere around April 28 or 29. (Channel 9/POOL via AP)

Days after the murders, Debra and Martin Robinson, parents of Jake and Callum, spoke to reporters in Ocean Beach, California, saying their “world has become a darker place.”

Debra described Callum as “lovable, larger-than-life character” who played professional lacrosse in the United States, where his nickname was “the “Big Koala.”

She said Jake was a “happy, gentle and compassionate soul, who was pursuing a career in medicine.”

“They were young men enjoying their passion of surfing together,” Debra said. “Now it is time to bring them home to family and friends and the ocean waves in Australia.”

Surfers throw flowers during a tribute to 3 missing surfers in Ensenada, Mexico, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)

The Australian government, its counterparts in Baja California and the surfing community from both sides of the border, are behind the statue that will honor the Robinson brothers and Rhoad.

After the dedication, surfers will have a paddle-out ceremony, which entails paddling out to a designated spot in the ocean, forming a circle, and then sharing memories, prayers, or tributes as they release flowers or other items into the water.