San Diego, CA
Surfers' deaths in Mexico 'eerily' similar to San Diego couple's murders: 'Anyone can be killed for anything'
The case of three surfers killed in Mexico “is eerily similar” to the murders of a San Diego couple in the same Mexican state four years ago, a private investigator said.
Jay Armes III, who specializes in kidnappings in Mexico and works cases all over the world, immediately remembered Ian Hirschsohn and Kathy Harvey, a couple in their 70s who were slain in their longtime vacation home in El Socorrito, a tiny beach town in Baja California.
Their bodies were dumped down a well, just like Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, and American Jack Carter Rhoad, who were killed near Ensenada in Baja California during a carjacking over the weekend.
“The story is they (the suspects) wanted the tires, not even the truck,” Armes said. “They burned the truck. That’s how little regard for life there is in these remote areas of Mexico. Anyone can be killed for anything.”
MEXICAN AUTHORITIES REVEAL BIZARRE REASON THEY BELIEVE AUSTRALIANS, AMERICAN WERE MURDERED ON SURFING VACATION
Jack Carter Rhoad, who was killed in a Mexican carjacking, was engaged to be wed to Natalie Weirtz this summer. (GoFundMe)
The San Diego couple were killed during a home invasion by a man who stole their bedding, according to a 2021 statement by Baja California Attorney General’s Office, which said they believed the burglar thought the home was empty.
He was likely startled when he encountered Hirschsohn and Harvey before fatally stabbing them both and dumping their bodies, the Mexican prosecutor’s office said at the time.
TRIPLE MURDER SUSPECT IN MEXICO SURFER DEATHS ALLEGEDLY CONFESSED TO GIRLFRIEND HE KILLED ‘3 GRINGOS’: REPORT
They were ultimately found in a well “in the middle of nowhere,” Hirschsohn’s daughter, Ava Setzer, told The San Diego Union Tribune in a January 2021 story.
That case, Armes believes, was on the minds of Mexican authorities, as their search for the missing surfers included area wells along the country’s northwest coast.
Australian brothers Callum Robinson, left, and Jake Robinson. (Reuters)
All three victims were found in a 50-foot well with gunshots to their heads, according to Mexican authorities.
A fourth, unrelated victim – a woman whose name wasn’t released – was found with the U.S. and Australian victims. Prosecutors haven’t ruled out that the same suspects killed her.
“I’m not taking away anything from good police work, but I think the idea to look in the well came from that case,” Armes told Fox News Digital. “At least they used their heads and made the effort to look. The extra body that was found was likely another one of their victims.”
FOURTH BODY FOUND IN SEARCH FOR US AND AUSTRALIAN SURFERS WHO MYSTERIOUSLY VANISHED IN MEXICO
Rhoad was slain just three months before he was going to tie the knot with his sweetheart, Natalie Weirtz, in August. Their wedding information was on Zola, which has since been taken down.
“In the wake of the heartbreaking loss of Carter Rhoad, Callum Robinson and Jake Robinson, our hearts ache with grief for their families, friends and community,” Rhoad’s and Weirtz’s “close friend,” Aubrey Byers, wrote in a GoFundMe post.
“Their presence brought immeasurable joy, love, and kindness to those around them, leaving a mark on our lives.”
A truck being used by the trio was found burned. (PR Image via Reuters Connect)
Armes said there are so many beautiful tourist attractions in Mexico, but many destinations are either brutally violent cartel battlegrounds, or remote areas where people “just vanish.”
“And most are never found,” Armes said.
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The surfers went missing last weekend and were found within days, a turnaround that’s almost unheard of in Mexico, according to Armes.
Three suspects were identified, and two are being held on drug charges after law enforcement allegedly found them in possession of meth.
WATCH: INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF SURFER’S FRIENDS
How quickly the dead surfers’ bodies were found sparked protests from locals and loved ones of the tens of thousands who are still missing.
The Mexican government reported in March there were about 100,000 people missing, according to a report by The New York Times, but the United Nations believes that’s well under the real total.
AMERICAN KIDNAPPED IN MEXICO, LEFT TO DIE IN JUNGLE WITH EYES, WRISTS TAPED
“It is very difficult, except for high-profile cases like the one that just happened, for the authorities to immediately trigger the search,” Adriana Jaén told The Times.
Jaén, a Mexico-based sociologist who helps families missing loved ones, said cases like the missing surfers are essentially salt in the wounds.
“The message those of us who work on these issues get is that there are lives that matter, and there are others that don’t,” she said.
Locals march to protest the disappearance of foreign surfers in Ensenada, Mexico, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)
Two male suspects were allegedly caught with methamphetamines, according to Mexican authorities, and are being held pending that case. A woman, one of the suspect’s girlfriends, is also a person of interest.
She allegedly sold out her boyfriend, Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota, in court on Wednesday, according to a report by the BBC.
She said Garcia Cota allegedly showed up at her house on April 28 and told her that he killed “three gringos,” a slang term that describes English-speaking foreigners.
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Fox News’ Stepheny Price and Bradford Betz, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
The U.S. military identified a Minnesota Marine stationed in Southern California who went missing off San Diego last week, and confirmed his death.
Lance Cpl. Armando Ortiz Canseco was declared deceased Saturday. It is believed he was lost at sea after a training exercise.
“On behalf of the Marines and sailors of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Lance Cpl. Ortiz Canseco,” Col. Richard Alvarez, the commanding officer of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said in a statement.
Ortiz Canseco was reported missing from the amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage early Thursday morning. His disappearance resulted in an extensive search and rescue operation, with efforts beginning around 1:20 a.m. Thursday.
The search spanned roughly 2,400 square miles and involved officials from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force who used three surface ships and 12 aircraft, according to the military.
The Marine went missing during a training operation involving the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group.
After nearly two full days of searching, the Navy transitioned to recovery operations.
“He earned the title of United States Marine and served his country with honor and commitment,” Alvarez said. “We mourn alongside his family, and we remain committed to bringing him home.”
This incident marks the second time in recent weeks that the U.S. military has searched for missing service members.
The remains of two Army soldiers who went missing while off duty from military exercises in Morocco were recovered in May, according to the Army.
Officials did not initially identify Ortiz Canseco on Thursday or disclose the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, saying his family needed to be notified first.
His death continues to be under investigation.
Ortiz Canseco enlisted in the Marine Corps in April 2023 and reported for training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
His individual awards include the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Times staff writer Alene Tchekmedyian contributed to this report.
Blink, and you might miss it.
Adobe Falls isn’t Niagara Falls — or anything close — but after winter rains, a seasonal waterfall briefly appears in a narrow Del Cerro canyon, hidden beneath streets, homes, and San Diego State University property.
The waterfall forms along Alvarado Creek, which drains parts of eastern San Diego, including the SDSU area and surrounding neighborhoods. In wet months, runoff moves through a steep canyon and drops over a short rock ledge known locally as Adobe Falls. In dry periods, the flow often fades to a trickle or disappears entirely, leaving exposed sandstone and a shaded canyon bed.
What makes the site stand out is its setting. Above the canyon are Del Cerro residential streets and university property tied to San Diego State. Below it, Alvarado Creek continues west as part of the Mission Valley watershed, eventually feeding into the San Diego River system. Like many urban drainages in San Diego, its flow is shaped by stormwater runoff, paved surfaces, and altered drainage patterns tied to development.
Access is restricted. The canyon sits on a mix of SDSU and city-managed land and has long been closed to the public due to safety concerns, including steep terrain, erosion, and unstable footing after rain. Although widely referenced in maps and online posts, it is not an official trail or recreation site.
The canyon itself pre-dates modern development in Del Cerro. It is part of a broader network of inland waterways and canyon corridors used for thousands of years by the Kumeyaay, whose presence shaped movement and settlement patterns across the region.
In the mid-20th century, as Del Cerro developed, homes and roads were built along canyon rims rather than through them, leaving Alvarado Creek intact as a drainage system. Adobe Falls remained within that corridor even as surrounding hillsides filled with residential and institutional development.
Today, Adobe Falls remains a small but persistent reminder that San Diego’s natural drainage systems still function within a heavily built environment — appearing briefly after storms, then receding back into the canyon until the next rain.
Read more history stories here, and do you have a story to tell? Send an email to DebbieSklar@cox.net.
Sources:
City of San Diego – Stormwater & Watershed Division (Alvarado Creek / Mission Valley watershed)
San Diego State University – planning and environmental impact documentation for adjacent canyon areas
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – San Diego County watershed and hydrology mapping (Alvarado Creek / San Diego River system context)
San Diego History Center – Kumeyaay regional land use and inland canyon corridor history
City of San Diego Planning Department – land use records and access restrictions for Adobe Falls area
California State Historic Landmark files – Adobe Falls (Landmark No. 80)
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