DNA tests on charred bodies in Mexico in search for missing Australian surfers

Mexican authorities will run DNA tests on two charred bodies found in a camper van, in a state infamous for narcotics gangs and about 100 miles from where two missing Australian surfers were last spotted.

Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, who were in Mexico surfing, were due to travel to the western city of Guadalajara on November 21 but they did not arrive, according to a message posted on social media site Facebook.

A burnt-out van that was similar to the pair’s was found in Sinaloa state not far from the Pacific coast, about 200km south of where they were last seen and about 716km north of Guadalajara, according to an official in Sinaloa’s local prosecutor’s office.

The official said the bodies were too charred to identify. The girlfriends of the two men are helping with DNA testing, he said. The families of the two men issued a statement that said “a tragic event has occurred” and the families feared for their sons, but stressed that they were waiting for details to be confirmed.

Mr Coleman’s girlfriend, Andrea Gomez, initially said that she and Josie Cox, the partner of Mr Lucas, would go the Sinaloa capital of Culiacan yesterday with items that could provide DNA for testing to see if the two bodies reportedly found inside the van were the Australians.

Ms Gomez said she had “pieces of dreadlocks” given to her by Mr Coleman, while Ms Cox arrived in Mexico on Sunday with Mr Lucas’ dental records.