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New Details of Night Shanquella Robinson Was Killed Revealed in Documents Submitted to President Biden

Shanquella Robinson, 25, was vacationing at a luxury resort in Cabo San Lucas with six others when she was killed, reports say

Digital News Writer, PEOPLE

Nearly five months after North Carolina woman Shanquella Robinson was allegedly beaten to death while on a Mexican getaway with a group of people, her family's attorneys are demanding President Joe Biden put pressure on authorities to make an arrest.

Attorneys Ben Crump and Sue-Ann Robinson, who are representing Robinson's family, sent a letter to Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for "swift diplomatic intervention" on the victim's behalf, according to a press release.

In October 2022, Robinson, 25, was vacationing at a luxury resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with six others when she was killed, according to reports.

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Her travel mates allegedly insisted she died of alcohol poisoning , but an autopsy conducted by Mexican authorities showed that her death was caused by violence — specifically, "atlas and medullary dislocation," according to the autopsy.

"In our letter to President Biden and Secretary Blinken, we clearly stated that one of two things needs to happen: either the U.S. extradites Shanquella's killer to Mexico or the U.S. takes jurisdiction of the case and her killer is prosecuted here," Crump said, per the release. "Inaction is not acceptable in this case. Shanquella's family deserves swift justice for her death."

The letter states attorney Sue-Ann Robinson went on a "fact-finding mission" in Mexico where she met with local authorities to discuss the case.

According to Crump and Sue-Ann Robinson, the letter to Biden and Blinken was accompanied by witness statements, Shanquella's autopsy and field reports conducted by local authorities.

Included among these witness statements is an account submitted to authorities in Mexico from an employee at the resort where Robinson stayed.

"She seemed to not fit in with others," the employee statement said, referring to Robinson's demeanor before she joined her travel mates for dinner. "When I introduced myself, she did not greet me or smile. She was indifferent, nothing to do with the atmosphere of celebration. She was out of place at that party."

According to WCNC-TV , the letter also identifies a murder suspect.

Previously, Mexican authorities said they were waiting on the U.S. to extradite an unnamed person who was allegedly involved in Robinson's death before they could move forward with their investigation, per WBTV-TV .

According to The Charlotte Observer , a video appears to show Shanquella being physically assaulted by another woman in a hotel room.

At least two others were present at the time of the alleged beating, ABC News reports.

The State Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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U.S. Won’t File Charges in Death of American Woman in Mexico

Shanquella Robinson, 25, of Charlotte, N.C., had traveled last fall to Mexico with six friends. A widely circulated video appears to show her being beaten by another woman.

By Eduardo Medina

Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that they did not have enough evidence to bring charges in connection with the death of an American woman last year near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in a case that prompted outrage after a video online appeared to show her being beaten by another woman.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said that its prosecutors and officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation had met recently with the family of the woman, Shanquella Robinson, 25, of Charlotte, N.C., to deliver the news.

Ms. Robinson had been vacationing last fall in Mexico with six friends when she was found unconscious in a living room at an address in San José del Cabo, according to Mexican authorities and statements from her father last year. A death certificate issued by Mexican officials listed the cause of death on Oct. 29 as “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation,” or the dislocation of a ring-shaped bone that supports the skull.

A widely circulated video that appeared to show Ms. Robinson being punched in the head and kicked by a woman during that trip prompted suspicions about her death and triggered an F.B.I. investigation. The authorities did not name the assailant in the video.

An autopsy and an investigation by American authorities found that “the available evidence does not support a federal prosecution,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement . The F.B.I. and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not elaborate on their findings or answer questions emailed on Wednesday afternoon.

“It is important to reassure the public that experienced federal agents and seasoned prosecutors extensively reviewed the available evidence and have concluded that federal charges cannot be pursued,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

It was not immediately clear how the decision by federal prosecutors in the United States to not bring charges would affect the investigation by Mexican authorities into what happened.

The state attorney general’s office of Baja California Sur, in Mexico, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Wednesday.

The announcement by U.S. prosecutors drew condemnation from Ms. Robinson’s family and their lawyer, Sue Ann Robinson, who said in a news conference on Wednesday that while “we’re disappointed — we’re not deterred.”

Ms. Robinson, no relation to the woman who died, said that her team had been in communication with F.B.I. officials and learned from them that, while the Mexican autopsy had listed a spinal cord injury, U.S. officials had not found evidence of such an injury after performing their own autopsy.

F.B.I. officials also told the family’s lawyers that there was swelling detected on Ms. Robinson’s brain, but that the cause of death could still not be determined, according to Sue Ann Robinson.

She added that if Ms. Robinson’s death “had been taken serious from the very beginning” and an autopsy and investigation expedited by U.S. officials, there may not have been discrepancies between the autopsies of both countries.

“Because it was the death of a young, Black, beautiful, brilliant, educated woman who was on vacation,” she said, “justice was delayed.”

The video related to the case appears to show Ms. Robinson in a bedroom, being attacked by a woman as a man stands nearby and says, “Quella, can you at least fight back?”

Ms. Robinson’s father, Bernard Robinson, told The New York Times last year that it was his daughter in that video and said: “She’s not a fighter. She didn’t believe in drama. She wasn’t raised like that.” He did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

The state attorney general’s office in Baja California Sur said last year that it was seeking to extradite a female assailant who was “the likely responsible” person in the case, adding that an investigation had indicated that the death was the result of a “direct attack, not an accident.”

It’s unclear how the findings from the Mexican authorities were factored in to the F.B.I.’s investigation.

Sue Ann Robinson said she had learned from the F.B.I. that its agents interviewed Ms. Robinson’s travel friends and people who had stayed at a house in the Fundadores Beach Club area in San José del Cabo.

The Charlotte Observer reported last year that it had obtained a police report showing that a doctor had attended to Ms. Robinson after someone called for medical help at a vacation home at 2:13 p.m. on Oct. 29.

The doctor was told that Ms. Robinson had “drunk a lot of alcohol” and found her with stable vital signs, but dehydrated, unable to communicate and appearing to be inebriated, the police report stated, according to The Observer.

The report stated that the doctor wanted Ms. Robinson to be taken to a hospital but that her friends insisted she be treated at the home, according to The Observer.

After the doctor tried unsuccessfully to give Ms. Robinson an intravenous line, she began to have a seizure, prompting a friend to call for an ambulance, the police report stated, according to The Observer.

Ms. Robinson was declared dead at 5:57 p.m., the report stated.

Eduardo Medina is a reporter covering breaking news. More about Eduardo Medina

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Suspect arrested in death of Mexico ‘tummy tuck’ tourists as US vows ‘justice will be done’

The group was taken hostage on friday after entering the state of tamaulipas in matamoros – an area dominated by the gulf cartel, article bookmarked.

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The FBI and Mexican authorities have made an arrest in the deaths of two American citizens killed in the state of Matamoros.

The tragic news was revealed on a televised call between Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villarreal and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Tuesday. Another person was found wounded while a fourth was unharmed — they are back in the US, according to the Tamaulipas Attorney General.

The group was identified by family on Monday as Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, who were killed in the abduction, and Eric James Williams and Latavia “Tay” McGee . They were taken hostage on Friday (3 March) after entering the state of Tamaulipas in Matamoros – an area dominated by the Gulf cartel.

Ms McGee was unharmed while Mr Williams suffered a gunshot wound on his leg but is expected to recover. They’ve both returned to the US.

A suspect, 24-year-old Jose “N,” has been arrested. The man was tasked with making sure the victims didn’t escape during the three-day kidnapping and he was captured at the scene on Tuesday, Mr Villareal said.

• Mexico kidnapping — live: Two Americans kidnapped in Matamoros on ‘tummy tuck’ trip are found dead
• Four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico identified as group of friends who travelled for tummy tuck
• Two of four Americans kidnapped in Mexico ‘tummy tuck’ trip are found dead

The American citizens came under fire from a group of armed men and were then bundled into the back of a pickup truck. A family member of one of the victims has said that they travelled from South Carolina to Matamoros because one of them was getting a tummy tuck there.

US officials familiar with the investigation told CNN that authorities believe a Mexican cartel mistook the victims for Haitian drug smugglers.

They were found at a stash house in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Longoreño on the way to the local beach known as Playa Baghdad, a source close to the investigation told the AP. Pictures by the AP showed the rescue.

Mr López Obrador said that one person has been arrested and the FBI continues to work along with Mexican authorities in the case. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby decried the attack on the American citizens and vowed to get justice for their families.

“We appreciate the hard work of the Justice Department the FBI and the DEA and the Department of Homeland Security … we’re grateful for their swift response to this dreadful incident and for their continued collaboration with Mexican authorities,” Mr Kirby told reporters.

“We’re going to work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is done in this case.”

When asked whether the White House was considering policy changes in response to the attack, Mr Kirby said that there were no immediate remedies but insisted US authorities are working extensively to get the fatal victim’s bodies and the survivors back on American soil.

”Right now our focus is very squarely on these four Americans and the families that have been affected by the attack and I think you’ll hear more from the Justice Department as they learn more and can have more to share,” he added. “But it’s just too soon for me to be able to speak to any policy changes or, or vectors as a result of this attack.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that any attacks on American citizens under any circumstances were unacceptable.

Ms Jean-Pierre said more information will be released after family members of the two fatal victims and two kidnapping survivors are updated by US officials on any developments made in the case.

She also noted that the Biden administration remains committed to “disrupting transnational criminal organizations including Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers.”

“We remain committed to applying the full weight of our efforts and resources to counter them,” Ms Jean-Pierre said.

“Right now. our immediate concerns are for the safe return of our citizens, the health and well-being of those who survived this attack, and the support which must be rendered to the families of those who need it.”

Mexican officials said that the two surviving Americans are back on US soil.

Mr Lopez Obrador also claimed that the tragedy will be seized by the American media to portray Mexico as a dangerous country, in stark contrast with their “silence when Mexicans are killed in the US.” He went on to say that GOP politicians will also use the crime as an opportunity to push “their agenda.”

“We continue to work every day towards peace and are very sorry that this has happened in our country,” President López Obrador said during the press conference.

“We send our condolences to the victims’ friends and family and the American people. And we will continue to work towards peace.”

The group of four were travelling in a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates when they crossed the US border into Mexico on 3 March.

Ms McGee’s mother Barbara Burgess said she was worried about her daughter going and warned her it might not be safe. But, her daughter brushed off her concerns telling her: “Ma, I’ll be okay”.

Ms Burgess last heard from Ms McGee on Friday when she called to say that they were just 15 minutes from the cosmetic surgeon’s office where she was scheduled to have the procedure that day. She never heard from her daughter again.

Ms Burgess said she tried calling Ms McGee later that day but her phone went straight to voicemail.

Not long later, she said she received a visit from an FBI agent, revealing what had happened.

Mr Brown’s sister Zalandria Brown told the AP that the situation felt like a “bad dream” as she revealed that her younger brother had voiced concerns about travelling to such a dangerous place.

“Zindell kept saying, ‘We shouldn’t go down,’” she said.

But Mr Brown, a 28-year-old living in Myrtle Beach, still went on the trip with his three friends – in part because they had all agreed to help share driving duties.

“This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,” said Ms Brown. “To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.”

Mr Brown’s mother Christina Hickson told WPDE she “immediately” recognised him in the disturbing video circulating on social media.

The video, which has not been verified, shows armed men loading four people into the bed of a white pickup truck.

While one individual is moving and sitting upright, the other three are merely dragged limp into the vehicle.

Mr Williams’ North Carolina diver’s license was found at the scene of the abduction, reported ABC News.

The US State Department is advising Americans not to travel to Tamaulipas due to the risk of crime and kidnapping. The region is on the “Level 4: Do Not Travel” list.

The border city of Matamoros is largely controlled by the Gulf drug cartel, with violence and migrant smuggling rife.

A reward of $50,000 had been offered for information leading to the return of the victims and the arrest of the kidnappers.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741 or to submit tips anonymously online at https://tips.fbi.gov

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Bodies found in Mexico where Australian, US tourists missing, sources say

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Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Sandra Maler

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Live updates, american tourists killed after being kidnapped in mexico id’d as shaeed woodard and zindell brown.

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LAKE CITY, S.C. —The two Americans who were found dead in Mexico after  being kidnapped at gunpoint  during a terrifying shootout between rival cartel gangs were identified Tuesday as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown.

Woodard and Brown had traveled from South Carolina to Mexico with Latavia “Tay” McGee and Eric James Williams so McGee, a mother of six, could undergo a tummy tuck procedure, relatives said.

But shortly after the foursome crossed the border Friday into the crime-ridden city of Matamoros, located in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, realized they were lost.

The group couldn’t find the doctor’s office where McGee, 33, was due for surgery that Friday,  CNN reported , and poor cell service in the region made it harder for them to communicate with the doctor’s office.

While trying to sort out their location, the four became caught in the middle of a violent cartel showdown.

Four US citizens from South Carolina were abducted in Matamoros

• Gulf Cartel apologizes, turns over 5 members tied to Americans’ deadly kidnapping
• Mexico kidnapping survivor saw friends ‘killed right in front of him’: cousin
• Friend of kidnapped Americans reveals how she dodged Mexico ordeal

Harrowing video of the shootout shows the moment the group was forced into the back of a pickup truck in broad daylight after being shot at.

Tamaulipas state chief prosecutor Irving Barrios said he believes the deadly ambush was a result of “confusion, not a direct attack.”

Matamoros’ sinister reputation for ruthless organized crime had led to initial speculation that the abduction was drug-related, but a source close to the investigation told the Dallas Morning News on Monday that the Americans may have been mistaken for Haitian smugglers.

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McGee and Williams survived the attack  and were rushed Tuesday to Brownsville, Texas, in a convoy of ambulances and SUVs escorted by Mexican military Humvees and national guard trucks with mounted .50-caliber machine guns.

Williams was shot in the left leg but the wound was not life-threatening, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said. McGee survived the ordeal without physical injuries. 

Local authorities will examine the bodies of Woodard and Brown before they are repatriated to the US, the governor added.

The tourists were found in a shack in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Tecolote, on the way to the Gulf coast known as “Bagdad Beach,” Barrios said.

A photo of McGee taken shortly after she was rescued shows her covered in dirt with no shoes, with a traumatized look on her face.

Villarreal said they were being guarded by a man who has been arrested.

He added that the abducted Americans had been moved around by their captors, and at one point were taken to a medical clinic “to create confusion and avoid efforts to rescue them.”

McGee and Woodard were first cousins, their aunt Retha Darby told The Post from her home in South Carolina on Tuesday before news broke of Woodard’s death. 

She said her niece had told her about the medical procedure.

“She came by and visit me. She said, ‘I’m gonna be going to get surgery.’ I said, ‘Surgery on what?’ She said tummy tuck. She said, ‘My tummy getting too big.’ That was about a week ago,” Darby recalled of her last conversation with her 33-year-old niece.

“I didn’t know where she was going. I thought it was somewhere local.”

Darby, 72, is recovering from a stroke and is mostly confined to her Lake City home with a nurse. She said she shares a close bond with her niece, who regularly comes to visit her.

“She’s nice to me and everybody I know,” Darby said of McGee, noting that she is a good mom whose children adore her.

“She liked to dress well. Nice clothes. Hair fixed. Her face all done up,” she said.

Darby said she last spoke to her nephew, Woodard, “a couple weeks ago.”

“I try to keep him doing the right thing, but I can’t do so much because I can’t get around so much,” she explained tearfully. “I wish I could help them.”

Robert Williams said the news that his brother Eric survived the kidnapping was “quite a relief.”

“I look forward to seeing him again and actually being able to talk to him,” he said.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said he wants “to see accountability for the violence that has been inflicted on these Americans that tragically led to the death of two of them.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration is “working with Mexican officials to learn more and to have all Americans returned to the United States.”

“President Biden has been kept updated on this incident,” she said. “We extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends.”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, meanwhile, criticized the US media for its coverage of the ordeal. “It’s not like that when they kill Mexicans in the United States,” he said of the press. “They go quiet like mummies.”

The kidnapping comes as Republican politicians have called for a more comprehensive response to cartel violence in northern Mexico that sometimes spills across the border.

US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Monday he wants to “put Mexico on notice,” and plans to introduce legislation that would classify some Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

The move would allow the US to use military force against cartels.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said López Obrador is “being held hostage” by cartels.

“It’s pretty close at this stage to a failed narco-state. They can use violence and oceans of cash to corrupt the government. The government has no will, and it doesn’t have the ability to deal with the cartels,” he told Fox News.

Barr said Mexican authorities should “stand aside” and let US forces take over if they won’t tackle the cartels head-on. 

Additional reporting by Jesse O’Neill

With Post wires

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Mexico investigates death of US tourist seen in viral fight video

Cause of death seemed to be severe spinal cord injury, but officials cannot confirm.

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Mexican prosecutors said Thursday they have opened an investigation into the death of a U.S. woman seen being beaten in a video that has gone viral .

Prosecutors in the state of Baja California Sur said in a statement they are investigating the death of a woman they identified only as a foreigner, at a resort development in the town of San Jose del Cabo.

A state official who was not authorized to be quoted by name confirmed the victim was Shanquella Robinson. The official confirmed that the group she had been traveling with had since left Mexico.

A video apparently taped at a luxury villa in San Jose del Cabo shows one woman, apparently an American, beating another woman.

BAHAMAS SENDS SAMPLES TO US LABS FROM 3 TOURISTS WHO DIED AT SANDALS RESORT

The video has been reposted many times on social media sites. In it, a man with an American accent can be heard saying "Can you at least fight back?" The man did not appear to intervene in the beating.

Prosecutors said police found Robinson dead at the villa on Oct. 29.

The Charlotte, North Carolina station Queen City News published a report saying Robinson died of a severe spinal cord injury.

In Mexico, a tourist was killed on Oct. 29 who was seen in a viral video being beaten. Prosecutors investigating the death of the woman said she died from a severe spinal cord injury. Pictured: Pharmacies and souvenir shops in the city centre of San Jose del Cabo on the peninsula of Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Marica van der Meer/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Mexican officials said they could not confirm that was the cause of death, because it was part of an ongoing investigation.

The video raised questions about why nobody intervened in the purported beating, or why people she was traveling with would have beaten her.

In another case in a different part of Baja California Sur, prosecutors said they had arrested three men and one woman in the Oct. 25 disappearance of another American , identified as Rodney Davis, 73.

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Davis was last seen near El Juncalito beach in the township of Loreto, well to the north of San Jose del Cabo.

The three suspects face kidnapping charges. Davis's body was found two days later on a nearby highway.

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Four found dead in Mexico’s Cancún beach resort

No immediate information on nationalities or identities in latest violence to hit popular holiday destination

Four dead bodies have been found near a beach in the Mexican resort city of Cancún, in the latest incident of violence to hit the popular holiday destination.

There was no immediate information on the nationalities or identities of the victims. The announcement of the deaths came less that a week after a US tourist was shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos.

Prosecutors originally said three bodies were found on Monday in a lot near one of Cancún’s beachside hotels along the Kukulkan Boulevard. They then added that a fourth body was found in the undergrowth on the same lot, bringing to four the number of victims.

Prosecutors in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said two suspects had been detained in the killings. They said the deaths were under investigation, but did not give a cause of death.

Last week in Puerto Morelos, a US tourist was approached by several suspects, and they shot him in the leg. The motive remains under investigation. The wounded man was taken to a hospital in Cancún for treatment, and his injury was judged to be not life-threatening.

The US state department issued a travel alert earlier this month warning travelers to “exercise increased caution”, especially after dark, at Mexico’s Caribbean beach resorts like Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, which have been plagued by drug gang violence in the past.

Cancún and the Mayan Riviera to its south, are the crown jewels of Mexico’s tourism industry, attracting millions of tourists each year.

But the region has been plagued by violence as drug cartels dispute extortion rackets and local drug markets.

In 2022, two Canadians were killed in Playa del Carmen, apparently because of debts between international drug and weapons trafficking gangs .

In 2021, farther south in the laid-back destination of Tulum, two tourists – one a California travel blogger born in India and the other German – were killed when they apparently were caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival drug dealers.

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Authorities find "evidence" while searching for missing Australian, American surfers in Mexican region plagued by cartel violence

Updated on: May 3, 2024 / 7:32 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Mexican authorities said Thursday they have found tents and questioned three people in the case of two Australians and an American who went missing over the weekend in the Pacific coast state of Baja California, a popular tourist destination that is also plagued by cartel violence.

Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend have not been seen since April 27, officials said.

María Elena Andrade Ramírez, the state's chief prosecutor , would not say whether the three people questioned were considered possible suspects or witnesses in the case. She said only that some were tied directly to the case, and others indirectly.

But Andrade Ramírez said evidence found along with the abandoned tents was somehow linked to the three. The three foreigners were believed to have been surfing and camping along the Baja coast near the coastal city of Ensenada, but did not show up at their planned accommodations over the weekend.

"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. "There is a lot of important information that we can't make public."

"We do not know what condition they are in," she added. While drug cartels are active in the area, she said "all lines of investigation are open at this time. We cannot rule anything out until we find them."

On Wednesday, the missing Australians' mother, Debra Robinson, posted on a local community Facebook page an appeal for helping in finding her sons. Robinson said her son had not been heard from since Saturday April 27. They had booked accommodations in the nearby city of Rosarito, Baja California.

Robinson said one of her sons, Callum, is diabetic. She also mentioned that the American who was with them was named Jack Carter Rhoad, but the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City did not immediately confirm that. The U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports a U.S. citizen missing in Baja, but gave no further details.

Andrade Ramírez said her office was in contact with Australian and U.S. officials. But she suggested that the time that had passed might make it harder to find them.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't until the last few days that they were reported missing. So, that meant that important hours or time was lost," she said.

The investigation was being coordinated with the FBI and the Australian and U.S. consulates, the prosecutor's office added.

Baja California, known for its inviting beaches, is also one of Mexico's most violent states thanks to organized crime groups.

In December, cartel leaders went on a killing rampage to hunt down corrupt police officers who stole a drug shipment in Tijuana, which is located in Baja California.

In 2015, two Australian surfers, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas , were killed in western Sinaloa state, across the Gulf of California - also known as the Sea of Cortez- from the Baja peninsula. Authorities say they were victims of highway bandits. Three suspects were arrested in that case.

AFP contributed to this report.

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The family has hired a private investigator, according to their attorney.

MEXICO CITY and LONDON -- The family of an American tourist found dead in Mexico said Tuesday that they believe he "was the victim of a brutal crime."

California resident and Orange County public defender Elliot Blair died on Jan. 14 at Las Rocas Resort and Spa, located on the shores of Rosarito Beach, just south of Tijuana, along the western coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula. While investigators initially believed that Blair died from a fall, there is a specific injury on his forehead "that would not have been caused by a fall," a local law enforcement official told ABC News on Monday.

The State Attorney General's Office of Baja California later released a statement saying an autopsy established that Blair's death "was the result of an unfortunate accident due to the fall of the deceased from a third floor." The office said the investigation is ongoing and that it is in contact with American authorities through the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, "who are collaborating and have the information about the investigation to provide it to the relatives who require it."

MORE: Death of California public defender in Mexico under investigation

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the FBI Los Angeles field office told ABC News on Tuesday that the agency, to their knowledge, has "no involvement."

Meanwhile, in a press release obtained by ABC News on Tuesday, an attorney for Blair's family said that Mexican authorities "still have not reached out to the family with this information."

"The family is devastated that since this incident, no one from the Rosarito Beach Police Department, their district attorney's office, or any other Mexican officials have reached out and spoken to them directly," the attorney said. "The only communication that the family has received has been through a liaison to the coroner's office."

The coroner's office liaison told Blair's family on Monday that "the cause of death was severe head trauma and that the case had been forwarded to the district attorney's office to conduct a possible homicide investigation," according to the attorney.

"The family informed the liaison that they would be conducting their own independent investigation, specifically hiring a private investigation firm, retaining an independent forensic pathologist to conduct a medical examination, including their own toxicology analysis," the attorney added.

The attorney said Blair was visiting Mexico with his "loving wife," Kim Williams, to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. The couple was staying in a third-floor room at Las Rocas Resort and Spa, where they had stayed "on multiple occasions" over the past five years, according to the attorney.

MORE: Rally for Shanquella Robinson, American tourist who died in Mexico, calls for justice

The "incident" that led to Blair's death "occurred in an open-air walkway located outside the front door of their room," the attorney said. Blair was found in the T-shirt he wore to sleep, underwear and socks. Williams was woken up by hotel staff asking if that was her boyfriend, according to the family's attorney.

Blair "was very familiar" with the hotel's layout, spoke Spanish fluently and "was not intoxicated at the time" of the incident, according to the attorney.

However, police said on Tuesday there was a "considerable" amount of alcohol in Blair's body after doing a toxicology report.

Police also said there was no sign of a dispute or a struggle in the hotel room, which they searched again for evidence on Monday.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State told ABC News on Tuesday that they are aware of reports of the death of an American citizen in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. The State Department stands ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance, according to the spokesperson, who declined to comment further, citing respect to the family during this difficult time.

A spokesperson for the State Attorney General's Office of Baja California told ABC News on Tuesday investigators have conducted a second inspection of the hotel and sent the evidence to a laboratory, where the results are pending.

The attorney for Blair's family said Mexican authorities have continually suggested that the body be cremated.

"Yesterday, during a conversation with the funeral home liaison, it was again suggested he be cremated and the family insisted his body not be cremated in order to conduct a thorough, complete, independent investigation," the attorney added.

Moreover, the attorney said that Blair's wife, also an Orange County public defender, "has been given multiple versions of what happened to Elliot," whom was described in the press release as "a brilliant attorney with a bright future" as well as "a loving husband, son and brother."

"The family, which has extensive legal training in criminal law, wholeheartedly believes based on their initial investigation, that Elliot was the victim of a brutal crime," the attorney said. "Elliot's tragic, untimely, and suspicious death has left his family and community with a huge hole in their hearts that will never be repaired."

Case Barnett, a lawyer representing Blair's family, told ABC News on Thursday that Blair's body was embalmed before they could have their own toxicology report performed. They do not have the body yet and are hoping it will be returned home on Thursday, he said.

ABC News' Jennifer Leong contributed to this report.

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Bodies found in Mexico where Australian, US tourists missing, sources say

MEXICO CITY - Mexican authorities have located three bodies in the state of Baja California where two Australians and one American were reported missing, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

Australian brothers Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, and American Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, were last seen on April 27, according to Baja California's prosecutor's office.

The three were on vacation surfing in the municipality of Ensenada, about an hour and a half south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The state prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request on Friday for updated information on the case.

State prosecutor Socorro Ibarra said on Thursday that three people were being investigated in connection with the case, though it was unclear whether they were involved in the disappearance of the men.

Tents were found in the area where the missing men were last seen, said Ibarra, adding that they were formally reported missing days after their actual disappearance.

A burnt white pickup truck was also found in the area, authorities said.

Baja California is one of Mexico's most violent states, although tourist areas like Ensenada are considered safer. The U.S. State Department advises Americans to reconsider travel to the state due to crime and kidnapping.

The U.S. embassy in Mexico and Australia's foreign ministry in Canberra did not immediately respond to requests for comment. REUTERS

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Three friends drove from California to Mexico for a surfing trip. Then they disappeared

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Last month, two brothers and one of their friends crossed from the United States into Mexico to explore Baja California’s famous surf breaks. One of the brothers, Callum Robinson, 33, posted snapshots of their journey on Instagram, showing the men gazing out at the ocean with cups of coffee, enjoying street tacos and relaxing with beers on a roof deck.

After a stretch of camping, the friends were supposed to check into an Airbnb in Rosarito Beach last weekend. But they never arrived. Their relatives say the last time they heard from the men was April 27.

Their disappearance in one of Mexico’s most violent states has triggered a massive search involving local authorities, the FBI and the Mexican marines.

“We are looking for them on land and at sea,” Baja California Atty. Gen. María Elena Andrade Ramírez said Thursday. “We are making every effort.”

Authorities said they had questioned three people in the case and had located the pickup truck the men were traveling in. At a news conference on Thursday, Andrade would not confirm whether the three people questioned were considered suspects. She said authorities had also recovered a cellphone that was relevant to the investigation.

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Callum, a lacrosse player, and his brother, Jake, a 30-year-old doctor, are both Australian nationals. Their friend, Carter Rhoad, 30, is from Atlanta and founded an online apparel company in San Diego, according to his Facebook profile.

The group was last seen near Santo Thomas, about 70 miles south of Rosarito, authorities said.

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Debra Robinson, Jake and Callum’s mother, appealed for help on social media, noting that Callum is diabetic. “This is a very dire situation,” she said.

Baja California’s rugged coastline and epic waves have long attracted surfers from north of the border. In recent years, the state has been convulsed in violence, much of it connected to the drug trade. Last year, authorities recorded 2,116 homicides in the state — giving it one of the highest homicide rates in Mexico.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is serving his last year in office, ran on a promise of reducing violence in Mexico. While homicides nationally have dipped slightly during his six-year-term, they continue to hover near record highs.

Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in the Times’ Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.

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Kate Linthicum is a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times based in Mexico City.

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You asked: Do I need a passport for my cruise?

By The Way Concierge digs into the (surprisingly) complicated rules for travel by sea.

Traveling has always come with complications. Our By The Way Concierge column will take your travel dilemmas to the experts to help you navigate the unexpected. Want to see your question answered? Submit it here .

We’re going on a very short cruise from California to Mexico this spring. Do we need passports for our kids, even if we don’t get off the ship? — Ben, Springfield, Va.

There’s a difference between what you need and what is a good idea to have.

Let’s begin with the first: On most cruise lines and for most itineraries, a voyage that starts and ends at the same U.S. port and stays in the Western Hemisphere will not require any American citizen — child or adult — to have a passport.

These are called closed-loop cruises, and they only need proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate plus a government-issued photo ID, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection . For people under 16, a birth certificate will suffice. Popular cruise lines including Carnival , Royal Caribbean and Norwegian detail their requirements and any exceptions online.

A sailing that leaves from one U.S. port and ends at another — or starts in the United States and ends at a foreign destination — would not be classified as a closed-loop cruise. Everyone, including kids, would need a passport in that case.

There are some caveats, warns Teresa Tennant, senior vice president of the travel planning company Cruise Specialists . Some cruise companies, including Holland America Line and Princess Cruises , say that all members of a party must have a passport if minors are traveling with only one adult.

Some other cruise lines, such as the luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises, require a passport for all sailings.

“It’s important to always check with the cruise line, because they can set their own rules that are actually above and beyond,” Tennant said.

Customs and Border Protection also urges travelers to check with their cruise company, travel agent and destination to confirm what’s required to enter foreign countries on an itinerary.

Whether or not you are required to have a passport, cruise lines and experts say it’s smart to have one before setting sail. The task isn’t quite as onerous as it used to be, now that wait times have returned to pre-pandemic norms of six to eight weeks for routine service and two to three weeks for the expedited process.

Cruise lines say they strongly recommend that passengers opt for the passport over other forms of identification.

“A passport is the hassle-free, gold standard for traveling between countries,” Royal Caribbean says on its website. “Boarding and disembarking through customs with a passport is usually faster than other types of ID documents.”

The U.S. State Department says travelers might need their passport “in the event of an unexpected medical evacuation or if the ship docks at an alternate port.” Travelers would also need their passports if they showed up late in a foreign port and the ship left without them — which has happened to some U.S. passengers recently.

“You should bring your passport even if your cruise says you won’t need it,” the State Department says on its information page for cruise ship passengers.

Colleen McDaniel, editor in chief of the news and review site Cruise Critic , said in an email that it would be much more difficult to get home without a passport if someone had to leave the ship.

“In such a case, you might have to rely on help from a U.S. embassy or consulate to return, which can take time,” she said.

Have a travel dilemma for By The Way Concierge? Send it to us here .

More travel tips

Vacation planning: Start with a strategy to maximize days off by taking PTO around holidays. Experts recommend taking multiple short trips for peak happiness . Want to take an ambitious trip? Here are 12 destinations to try this year — without crowds.

Cheap flights: Follow our best advice for scoring low airfare , including setting flight price alerts and subscribing to deal newsletters. If you’re set on an expensive getaway, here’s a plan to save up without straining your credit limit.

Airport chaos: We’ve got advice for every scenario , from canceled flights to lost luggage . Stuck at the rental car counter? These tips can speed up the process. And following these 52 rules of flying should make the experience better for everyone.

Expert advice: Our By The Way Concierge solves readers’ dilemmas , including whether it’s okay to ditch a partner at security, or what happens if you get caught flying with weed . Submit your question here . Or you could look to the gurus: Lonely Planet and Rick Steves .

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