Mexican authorities say Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson — along with their American friend Jack Rhoad — were shot execution-style in Mexico.
Baja California Attorney-General Maria Elena Andrade Ramírez said a murder investigation was underway following the grim discovery.
Three suspects — Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota (alias El Kekas), his partner Ari Gisel García Cota, and his brother Cristian Alejandro García — have been arrested and charged in connection with the killings.
The bodies, which are yet to be formally identified, were found 15m down a well on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This discovery came nearly a week after the group was reported missing. They had last been in contact on April 27 and failed to arrive at accommodations they had booked in the nearby city of Rosarito.
The alarm was first raised by the men's mother Debra Robinson, who posted on a local community Facebook page inquiring if anyone had seen her sons, noting that one of her sons, Callum, was diabetic.
The brothers were on a camping and surfing trip in Mexico, sharing photos on social media of waves and secluded beaches along the coast south of Ensenada.
According to Andrade Ramírez, the authorities believed the victims were "executed" during an attempted robbery. She said the killers drove by and saw the foreigners' pickup truck and tents and wanted to steal their tyres.
"When they tried to get the vehicle, the victims opposed the robbery, the robbers were armed with a firearm and apparently shot the victims."
The burnt-out truck was found near where the bodies were discovered.
Debra and her husband Martin have since arrived in Mexico to formally identify the bodies of their sons.
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