Missing Australian surfers update: Mexican authorities confirm the charred vehicle belonged to Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman
The registration number of the burnt out van, which had two charred bodies in it, has matched the one driven by missing Australian surfers Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, confirmed a senior Mexican government official on Monday.
The announcement has been made by the Attorney-General of Sinaloa, a state located to north-west of Mexico where the bodies were discovered in the burnt out van more than a week ago. Investigators probing the case of the missing duo are, however, still carrying out the DNA tests of the samples found inside the van.
Lucas and Coleman were travelling from Edmonton in Canada to Guadalajara in Mexico by road in the Chevrolet van that they bought in Canada. There were supposed to meet Coleman’s Mexican girlfriend Andrea Gomez in Guadalajara on Nov. 21. The duo were last spotted at an all night convenience store on Nov. 20 in Los Mochis, which is 200 kms away from where the truck was discovered.
According to a witness, the duo seemed to be in a hurry and were looking to buy a map.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has also confirmed that the vehicle had belonged to one of the missing men and that the Department of Foreign Affairs is gravely concerned about their fate.
“A vehicle registered in the name of one of the West Australian men has been located,” she said on the “Today” show. “There are human remains and these are yet to be formally identified.”
She added that Australia is working closely with the Mexican law enforcement to find out what could have happened to the men.
The relatives of Lucas and Coleman are on their way to Mexico to help in the investigation process.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade released a formal statement on Sunday confirming that the family of the missing men are aware of their disappearance but are still not sure of what exactly happened.
"The families hold deep fears for the safety of their sons but stress that they are still waiting for details to be confirmed," the families said in a statement released by DFAT on Sunday.
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