The families of two Australian surfers missing in Mexico "hold deep fears" after two bodies were found in a burned van in a region dominated by a prominent drug cartel.
The van — identical to one belonging to Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, the two surfers — was found in Navolato on Nov. 21, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Mexican authorities were unable to identify the bodies immediately because they were too badly burnt.

Navolato is in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, home of the deadly Sinaloa Cartel. The cartel's leader, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, escaped from federal prison in July.
The DEA believes the Sinaloa cartel is the United States' greatest supplier of illegal drugs.

The Associated Press reported that Lucas and Coleman were planning to meet Coleman's girlfriend Andrea Gomez that day in Guadalajara in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

Gomez and Lucas' partner Josie Cox each took to social media following the disappearance on Nov. 21, posting photos of the two men and the van they drove from Alberta, Canada.

According to a post on Cox's Facebook page, Lucas and Coleman were last seen disembarking a ferry from Cabo to Topolobampa on Nov. 20.

However, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the two men were last seen in Los Mochis, across the Gulf of California from Cabo in Sinaloa. The newspaper reported that a witness said the two men looked as if they were in a hurry and were trying to purchase a map.

The two bodies and the van were found roughly 130 miles south of Los Mochis the next day.

A GoFundMe page started by user Kaye Maytum has raised almost $40,000 as of Monday afternoon to "help support both families in getting over to Mexico and bringing Dean and Adam back home."

The page says that the surfers' families and partners are aware of media reports that the two surfers went missing during a trip to Mexico and that the van has been located by Mexican authorities. "They hold deep fears for the safety of their sons but stress that they are still waiting for details to be confirmed," the GoFundMe page reads.

The Associated Press reported that Cox and Gomez will travel to Mexico City and meet at the Australian Embassy. They plan to provide DNA evidence to help identify the bodies.

"Never felt so alone and useless," Cox said in a Facebook post made from Edmonton International Airport on Sunday. "On my way to get some answers."

seems exceedingly unwise to kill paying tourists, though it could have been an accident, I guess.

The cartel's customers don't come down to Mexico.

Or they were looking fer some weed and pissed off the wrong guy.......

You don't even have to piss off the wrong guy in Sinaloa.

That crap's been going on for decades down there.

Why would anyone go to Mexico, for any reason?

Surfing?

That's where people are wrong about the problem in Mexico. The bad guys don't care about tourist money, they've already got plenty of money. And they don't care about the local economy either, because that's not where their money comes from.

Plenty of reasons.. if pristine, unspoiled, natural, beautiful, rural or remote are adjectives you find interesting.

Some places I fish(ed), you may not see another human all day.

Most likely killed for the money in their wallets.

Lord knows there's nothing like that in this country. Too many mesicans

You could head North and find the same.

Public parks and lakes would agree with you.

Thanks. Won't be long, I'll be doing that permanently.

PS- If you think MX'cans are bad, wait til the SA's migrate to your area and a theater near you.

Well like I have always said... Play stupid games, Win stupid prizes..... Going to Mexico is playing a stupid game...

Been 36 times and still counting. I know what and where to stay away from. No different than hunting bear country or wade fishing in the ocean. All have risks. But for these guys, they ended up way out of their element. Sinaloa isn't somewhere I would want to be with a surfer van and long hair. Just sayin', and I'm really sorry if anything bad happened to them. As a gringo, there are certain areas you go and certain areas you don't go. Period.

I'm not crazy about the idea of hunting in griz country, but that could be due to my lack of experience. Lot of you guys do it all the time and I can appreciate that. I only know about black bears. Not crazy about getting up close and personal with one, but at least I know the territory. Same with the DIY fishing I do in MX. Most guys from different geographical areas than mine wouldn't be comfortable doing what I do, but I've done it that way damn near all my life.

Long story short, stay out of known dangerous areas in MX, and that does not mean the whole f'in country.

Been to Mexico many many times and don't care to ever go back.

Mexico:





Not saying the next guy who posts pictures of decapitated druggies doesn't have a point, and a good one, but, Mexico has more than Margaritas and señoritas.

And Puerto Escondido and Todos Santos are world-class surfing destinations, as well.

Bring your own weed, I'd say.

I'd be more concerned going to Illinois.

THAT.... was funny raht there. Good twist on the words there!

I've spent a lot of nights in Mexico and I've never had an issue. I love it down there but finding deer like this for my clients makes it easy to go back

I love threads like this. The majority of people that post almost always feel that the death was somehow deserved if a person traveled OCONUS, or was anywhere near grizz country.




Travis

Beat me to it... Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances..


....or North Murderapolis...

Yes but if you do he will probably be carrying an AK and looking to kill your gringo Ass. quote=local_dirt]

Plenty of reasons.. if pristine, unspoiled, natural, beautiful, rural or remote are adjectives you find interesting.

Some places I fish(ed), you may not see another human all day. [/quote]

"Fear is the thief of dreams"

Some people choose not to challenge themselves and defend their limited aspirations.


mike r

A person could aspire large, without including Mexico.

..often without first-hand experience in either.

It's the 24HCF way.

^^ Truth

Well said. I took a guy wading Sian Kaan Preserve/Boca Paila with me one year that was a very experienced Florida fisherman. He at first didn't want to wade through a mud flat near a bunch of mangroves that had been rumored to possibly have crocodiles. I pointed to the miles of open flats and underwater rivers that ran through the section we were going to fish and said to him that is the promised land, you just have to get through this muck to get there. Long story short, he decided to come with me and saw some things that day that you don't ever get to experience unless you're in this type of environment and you're out there.

Best to stay diligent and alert no matter where you are in these times.