‘High probability’: DNA test to confirm if bodies found are missing Australians

Three people have been charged after Mexican authorities found bodies they said were a “very, very high probability” to be two missing Aussie brothers and their American friend.

Officials are waiting for DNA results, with the parents of the brothers, Martin and Debra Robinson, on their way to Mexico from Perth.

The bodies were found 10m down a well.

“I’m saying it’s a very, very high probability that it is them,” Baja California’s chief prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez told 9News.

“They were in a state of decomposition. That is why we have to run the genetic tests.”

Baja California prosecutors had said on Thursday (local time) that they were questioning three people in the case.

On Friday, the office said the three had been arrested and charged with a crime equivalent to kidnapping.

It was unclear if they might face more charges.

Ramírez said evidence found along with the abandoned tents was linked to the three people being questioned about the missing foreigners

“A working team (of investigators) is at the site where they were last seen, where tents and other evidence was found that could be linked to these three people we have under investigation,” Ramírez said on Thursday.

“There is a lot of important information that we can’t make public.”

While drug cartels are active in the area, she said, “all lines of investigation are open at this time.”

The US State Department said: “We are aware of those reports (of bodies) and are closely monitoring the situation. At this time we have no further comment.”

Earlier, one of the three Mexican people arrested in connected to the trio’s disappearance was named as 23-year-old Ari Gase.

She was found in possession of one of the missing men’s mobile phones.

It’s understood she turned the phone on, which caused it to ping a local cell tower and allowed authorities to track her down.

Surfers in the area told 9News they had seen increased drug-running activity on the beaches by the cartels but they couldn’t speak on camera for fear of retribution.

9News understands that three bodies were found on a cliff by the ocean, about 2km away from what is believed to be the men’s campsite.

It’s understood the fourth body was found deeper down the well and had been there longer.

“The Mexican authorities running the search say that is the last place they were seen,”  the Santo Tomas police commander told 9News.

9News’ Alison Piotrowski travelled to the site, and described the road nearby the campsite as “very treacherous”.

Three abandoned tents were also discovered along with the remains of a campfire.

“There was a very heavy police presence and an army presence. There were at least 100 soldiers and officers there,” Piotrowski said.

“None of them were authorised to confirm whether or not it is the bodies of the three men.”

Mexican authorities told 9News that once they have retrieved the bodies and transported them back into town, they will provide media with an update.

Callum had moved to the USto pursue lacrosse at college, later playing the sport professionally.

Jake was visiting his brother before taking up a new job at a hospital in Geelong, Victoria.

The friends had been to the Coachella Festival in California before heading to Mexico.

In 2015, two Australian surfers, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, were killed in western Sinaloa state, across the Gulf of California — also known as the Sea of Cortez — from the Baja peninsula.

Authorities said they were victims of highway bandits.

Three suspects were arrested in that case.