THERE ARE GRAVE worries for the health of two missing Australian surfers after the van they were travelling in was found burnt out in Mexico.
Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, both 33, have been missing since 20 November.
The burnt-out van reportedly contained two badly-burned bodies, but these have not been positively identified as Coleman and Lucas.
The two men, both from Perth in western Australia, had been on a surfing trip from Canada to Mexico.
The two had been due to arrive in the Mexican city of Guadalajara on 21 November but never showed up.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that two men matching the missing men’s description were seen entering an all-night convenience store in the city of Los Mochis on the night of 20 November. They were looking to buy a map, according to a witness.
The following day a Chevrolet van identical to the one the men had been driving was found about 200 km south of that convenience store, in an area notorious for the power of the local Sinaloa drug cartel, made infamous by its chief Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
The men had reportedly been en route to meet Coleman’s girlfriend Andrea Gomez in Guadalajara.
Lucas’ girlfriend, Josie Cox, has flown to Mexico to assist in identifying the bodies found in the van.
“On my way to get some answers,” she said in a Facebook post, which accompanied a photo of herself and Lucas.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs told CNN that the “families and partners are aware the van in which they were travelling has been located by Mexican authorities and that a tragic event has occurred”.
“The families hold deep fears for the safety of their sons but stress that they are still waiting for details to be confirmed.”
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