On Saturday, local surfers of Ocean Beach, San Diego, held a paddle-out to honor Jake Robinson, Callum Robinson, and Jack Carter Rhoad. The three men were recently on a surf trip to Baja California, where they went missing and were subsequently discovered executed and hidden in a well. The tragic loss has since incited not only grief for friends and loved ones at home, but also protests abroad.
Though the Robinsons were Australian, Callum had made Ocean Beach his home for the past few years. Rhoad, an American friend of the brothers, was also a San Diego resident. As the day went on, their deep connection to the community became apparent, with hundreds of surfers arriving to participate in the event at Dog Beach in Ocean Beach on Saturday afternoon, as CBS 8 reports. The paddle-out was accompanied by a lacrosse game, as Callum was a former Stephenson University Lacrosse player and still played locally.
“Nobody was a stranger,” Cara, a surfer who participated in the paddle-out, told CBS 8. “The second time I met him, we had a conversation, he walked away and made a point to come back later and give me a hug before he left. Just that kind of human, ya know.” Later on, she added, “[During the paddle-out] there was a wave that went through, right as Josh was speaking, and it was so powerful and just felt like they were there with us.”
