“They were my friends for half a day”: this is how they remember Jake, Callum and Carter, surfers murdered in Ensenada, BC

In an interview with Infobae México, a surfer from Ensenada told details about his brief meeting with young foreigners

One of Callum Robinson’s last social media posts showed his visit to a well-known taqueria in Ensenada, Baja California. She was accompanied by her brother Jake and her friend Carter Rhoad.

They had arrived in Mexico just a few hours before. Their first stop was San Miguel Bay, where they shared their passion for surfing with several Mexican athletes. In that group was Miguel Alcázar, a surfer and architect who surfed some waves with foreigners and spoke with Infobae México to tell what his relationship with the boys was like.

By April 26, 2024, the date Callum, Jake and Carter arrived in Baja California, Miguel had been practicing this sport for just over two years, after a long 18-year break that he had to take to give priority to other matters in his life. Currently, at 52 years of age, he is affiliated with the Baja California A.C. Surfing Association. and the Mexican Surfing Federation.

“They picked on us, there were about five of us, five surfers, and they got on. Look, very kind, very polite,” were the first words with which Miguel referred to the American and the Australian brothers.

Jack and Callum adhered to the unwritten rules of surfing, which consists of taking turns for each member of the group to tackle the waves. Carter, on the other hand, tried not to let the water knock him down with each attempt, since he did not have the same experience as his friends.

“They were having fun, they were laughing at Carter because he was falling into the waves. “He brought a soft board to learn on and he fell every so often,” Miguel recalls, laughing during the conversation.

Sensing that the tourists were friendly, he approached them to share some advice with Carter. “I told him to try to stay low when he stood on the wave and to step on the tail [back] of the board,” the Mexican suggested. After a couple of attempts, Carter successfully glided across the water.

“When he was still riding the wave he turned to look at me with a face of astonishment and happiness, as if to say ‘I already got it.’ “Callum and Jake started applauding him and I started screaming.” Carter’s feat was cause for great celebration at the time. “It’s what we do, we motivate each other when someone does something. There is a very nice camaraderie among surfers no matter where we come from,” adds Miguel.

Later, Miguel chatted to Callum as they rinsed his wetsuit in the beach showers. As part of a casual chat, they talked about the climate, the foreign origin of the young people and the anecdotes that this sport has left them.

Jake joined the conversation minutes later and, because he had some cuts on his feet caused by the stones, Miguel recommended that he buy some boots to protect himself. In that interaction, he also shared a playlist with ranchera music, so that visitors could soak up Mexican folklore.

During the talk, the young people shared their intentions to travel to the Punta San José lighthouse, almost 100 kilometers south of San Miguel. Because he had not been to that area in more than 20 years, Miguel got a fellow surfer to give them directions.

Before leaving, Jack, Callum and Carter stopped in their truck in front of the shower where Miguel was still and shouted “Hey, we’re in Mexico, we have to listen to Mexican music!” Next, they raised the volume of their truck’s speakers, while the playlist that Miguel had just shared with them played.

“Friends of them have written to me and what I tell them is that that day for me they were my friends for half a day. Very nice people, very friendly, very noble, very gentle. They brought a very positive energy, there was a brotherhood between them but it was also felt with us,” Miguel added.

“I saw photos that they did get to eat tacos [in a place I had recommended] and I also found out that they did go to the surf shop to look for their boots […] The next day they told me that they had disappeared” .

Reports indicate that Callum, Jack and Carter would have camped at a point known as La Bocana de Santo Tomás. The plan was for them to return to an Airbnb that they had rented on the beaches of Rosarito, but they did not return.

Their tents were found burned on May 2 in La Bocana and, a day later, the authorities found the bodies of the surfers in a well, located in an unpopulated area six kilometers away.

“Everyone in the surfing community was affected by this event and we are very concerned about security, access and surveillance of the places. “We are still very shocked,” says Miguel.

The bodies of Callum, Jake and Carter were identified by their families on May 5 at the Forensic Medical Service (Semefo) and two days later they were released by the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) to be repatriated.

Jake Robinson was a doctor who lived in Australia and enjoyed traveling. Callum Robinson lived in the United States and was a prominent basketball player on the Atlas Roster team. Jack Carter Rhoad worked at a technology services company and was planning to marry his girlfriend Natalie Weirtz in August 2024.

Source: infobae