EXCLUSIVE
An Australian athlete was on a surfing trip to Mexico with his brother and another friend to celebrate his birthday when the three were allegedly shot dead and thrown into a well.
Callum Robinson, 32, and his younger brother Jake, 30, were on the trip of a lifetime in Baja California with their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, when they disappeared on April 27.
An international search was launched after they failed to reach their Airbnb in Rosarito that night, before police found their last campsite covered in blood.
On Saturday, his remains were found near the city of Ensenada – about 2 kilometers from his accommodation – at the bottom of a well. Each had a single gunshot wound to the head.
It can now be revealed that Callum did not live long enough to celebrate his 33rd birthday on May 1, just four days before the alleged triple murder.
His sporting director, Gary Shipman, told Daily Mail Australia that he had texted Callum on Wednesday to say a happy birthday, but never got a response.
Callum Robinson is pictured with his girlfriend, Emily Horwath. She died on April 27.
Sporting director Gary Shipman texted Callum Robinson on his birthday but he was dead.
The bodies were found near the city of Ensenada in Baja California, on the west coast of Mexico.
“It was a text message he never received,” Shipman said.
Shipman said Callum had planned to return home to San Diego and turned his attention to lacrosse, “the sport he loved” while working for the youth lacrosse organization, PLL Play.
“He joked that he was ‘retired’, but there was nothing ‘retired’ about Callum – he was constantly moving forward, improving himself and those around him,” he said.
Shipman said Callum was passionate about lacrosse and tried to spread it to as many kids as possible.
‘The most notable thing about Callum was the fact that he so embraced the joy of life.
“Unlike many of us, he gave more than he received, but he never bothered to worry about it; his main goal in life was to work as hard as he could for the joy of others, and secondly, for himself.”
Shipman also rejected comments from some people who attributed the tragic deaths to “the will of God,” saying, “God had nothing to do with this except welcoming this larger-than-life man into the Kingdom of Heaven.” “.
Callum Robinson, 33 (left) and his brother Jake (right) were traveling in the Baja California region when they disappeared on April 27.
Jack Carter Rhoad (pictured) was traveling with the brothers. All three were found allegedly with a single gunshot wound to the head.
Debra and Martin Robinson are pictured paying a heartfelt tribute to their children in San Diego on Tuesday.
Three Mexican citizens, Jesús Gerardo García Cota, his girlfriend Ari Gisel García Cota and his brother Christian Alejandro García, were arrested last Wednesday and charged with kidnapping.
Jake, who worked in Perth as a doctor, had flown to the United States two weeks earlier to visit Callum, who was living in San Diego with his girlfriend Emily Horwath.
Their parents, Martin and Debra Robinson, broke down in tears as they spoke about their children’s deaths in San Diego on Tuesday.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Callum and Jake have been murdered,” Mrs Robinson said.
‘Our hearts are broken and the world has become a darker place for us.
‘We are also saddened by the loss of Carter Rhoad, a close friend.
‘They were young people who enjoyed their passion for surfing together.
‘Now is the time to bring them home, to family and friends, and to the waves of the ocean in Australia. Please live bigger, shine brighter and love stronger in her memory.’
He said he thanked those who offered their condolences and said they had been “overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotions and support.”
It took rescuers up to 20 hours to remove the men’s bodies from the well (pictured)
Police believe the trio’s vehicle was later found burned in the Santo Tomas area (pictured)
“We have always been very proud of their academic and sporting achievements and admire their life choices,” Mrs Robinson said.
He spoke of Callum’s “larger than life character” and his sporting achievements, including playing professional lacrosse in the United States, and said Jake was a “happy, gentle and compassionate soul” with a career in medicine.
“Jake’s passion was surfing and it was no coincidence that many of the hospitals he worked at were near surfing beaches.”
On Sunday they visited a morgue in Ensenada to identify the bodies of their children.
Prosecutors in the state of Baja California believe that the alleged murderers were passing by when they saw the foreigners’ truck.
The state attorney general, María Elena Andrade Ramírez, alleged that they tried to steal the tires and other parts of the car.
She said the men were allegedly shot not because they were tourists, but because they resisted the robbery.
The alleged murderers attempted to destroy the evidence, burning the tent and driving the white van to Santo Tomás and setting it on fire.
The bodies were dumped in a four-meter-deep pit about 6 kilometers away, on top of a fourth body that prosecutors said had been there much longer.
It took rescuers 20 hours to remove the bodies from the well.
