Bodies of three missing tourists identified in Mexico

Family members of three tourists who went missing in northern Mexico last month have identified their bodies, the state prosecutor's office in Baja California said in a statement on Sunday.

The remains of Australian brothers Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, and American Carter Rhoad, 30, were found in a well earlier in what authorities are treating as a murder investigation.

The three foreigners went missing while on a vacation surfing near the popular tourist town of Ensenada, about 90 minutes south of the US-Mexico border on the Pacific coast.

The bodies were found in an advanced state of decomposition at the bottom of a well more than 15 meters (50 ft) deep and a source from the attorney general's office confirmed that all three bodies had a shot in the head.

The three surfers were last seen on 27 April and were reported missing a couple of days later, when authorities launched a multi-day search with the help from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Baja California is one of Mexico's most violent states, although the Ensenada area is considered safer. The US State Department advises Americans to reconsider travel to the state due to crime and kidnapping.