Former Stevenson lacrosse player Callum Robinson, two others found dead in Mexico
Former Stevenson University and professional lacrosse player Callum Robinson was found dead along with his brother and another companion in Mexico on Friday, Mexican officials said.
Last weekend, Robinson, his brother Jake and his friend Jack Carter Rhoad went missing during a camping and surfing trip on Mexico’s Baja California coast. In a search on Friday, Mexican authorities discovered their bodies.
Robinson, 33, was born and raised in Perth, Australia, and graduated in 2008 from Sacred Heart College in Perth. He played club lacrosse in Australia for Wembley Lacrosse Club.
In 2013, Robinson started all 24 games as the Stevenson Mustangs went 22-2 and won the NCAA Division III national championship, defeating RIT, 16-14, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. He totaled three goals and two assists from his defensive position that season while leading the team with 35 caused turnovers and ranking fourth with 73 ground balls. Robinson started 41 games over the next two seasons, helping the team advance to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 2014 and second round in 2015.
In 2015, Robinson was named a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Academic All-American and the Middle Atlantic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year.
“We have so many special memories of Cal,” Stevenson men’s lacrosse coach Paul Cantabene said in a statement. “The funny thing about him was that he was everyone’s best friend and got along with everyone. But on the field, he was a problem. Big, fast, rigid, and flat-out just good. We are all so thankful that he was a part of our lives.”
Robinson graduated from Stevenson in 2015 and was drafted by the Chesapeake Bayhawks with the 27th pick in the Major League Lacrosse draft. He later played with the MLL’s Atlanta Blaze and with Atlas in the Premier Lacrosse League in 2019 and 2020.
“The PLL family and entire lacrosse world are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Callum Robinson, Jake Robinson, and Jack Carter Rhoad,” Paul and Mike Rabil, co-founders of the league, said in a news release. “During these unimaginably difficult times, we offer our hearts, support and prayers to the Robinson and Rhoad Families, as well as all who loved Callum, Jake and Jack.”
On Wednesday, the missing Australians’ mother, Debra Robinson, posted on a local community Facebook page an appeal for help in finding her sons. Robinson said Callum and Jake had not been heard from since April 27. They had booked accommodations in the nearby city of Rosarito. Robinson said one of her sons, Callum, was diabetic.
The state prosecutors office for Baja California said the bodies were discovered during the search for the missing men. It also announced that three people who were being questioned in the case of the missing men had been arrested on charges of a crime equivalent to kidnapping. It was unclear if they might face more charges.
“Three bodies were found south of the city of Ensenada, and they were recovered in coordination with other authorities during a specialized operation because they were found in a zone of difficult access,” the office said in a statement.
“This was done as part of the search for two Australians and one American reported missing,” the office said.
The site where the bodies were discovered near the township of Santo Tomás was near the remote seaside area where the missing men’s tents and truck were found Thursday on an isolated stretch of coast.
The U.S. 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.”
Baja California prosecutors had said Thursday 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.
María Elena Andrade Ramírez, the chief state prosecutor, 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,” Andrade Ramírez said Thursday. “There is a lot of important information that we can’t make public.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.