Surf photographer knew murdered surfers, told them where to go in Baja

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) -- Randy Dible says he spends most mornings at the beach sipping his coffee and reading a newspaper while checking out the surf and the surfers.

He says he loves the ocean and surfing so much, he made it his life's work spending the last 40 years photographing and writing about the sport, and those who ride the waves on both sides of the border.

"I used to surf professionally back in the 80s. Then I started taking pictures of my friends during their heats, and then I started traveling to Mexico," said Dible, pronounced like bible.

He said one of his favorite spots is the Santo Tomas Valley and the La Bocana surf area about 110 miles south of the border.

"It's sacred to my family. I've brought my family there, my mother, my father, grandfather, all my relatives have gone to that sacred place and it’s always been safe, a great place.”

This is where he suggested Callum Robinson visit after meeting him last month at his store in Ocean Beach, California.

"He wanted to buy a photo and we talked, and I found out he was a lacrosse player, professional player from Australia, big dude, 6-4, all muscle, he had a kung-fu-grip handshake, really gregarious guy," said Dible. "He said his brother was coming to visit in a couple of weeks and wanted to take him surfing in Mexico."

Dible quickly recommended Santo Tomas and La Bocana.

"I made him a map and told him where to go," he said. "Fast forward to a few days ago when I read on the news about some surfers were missing in Baja and I read the name Callum Robinson, and I'm like I know that name … and said, 'Oh my god, that’s the guy who bought the photo from me.' I was dumbfounded.”

Dible took a picture of Robinson with the print he bought, a photo Dible shared with Border Report.

"Everybody who comes by my booth I take a picture of them for records, and I always take a photo of them holding my photo. They become my friends.”

Dible is still trying to process what happened to Robinson, his brother Jake and Jack Rhoad from San Diego.

The three men were shot during a robbery attempt at the very campsite Dible suggested they visit.

The Baja California Attorney General says after being killed, the men were dumped in a 50-foot-deep well. The bodies were recovered last Friday.

"I also knew Jack. He'd come by my shop in the mornings to look at my prints. It’s just terrible., It's terrible for their parents, terrible for Mexico."

Dible says he hopes this doesn't hurt Mexico or stops other surfers from visiting.

"It's a safe place. I was at a camp there last May, and I was by myself."