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Missing American found buried in shallow grave in Mexico

A man and his sister have been arrested and charged with murder

Andrea Blanco
Sunday 09 April 2023 23:14 BST
Related: FBI looks for answers after Americans killed in Mexico

The remains of an elderly American have been found in a shallow grave in a Mexico beach town.

Eighty-year-old Wilmer Trivett had been missing since 11 February, CBS News reported.

His body was found in a pit in the town of Todos Santos on the Baja California peninsula by cadaver dogs.

Mr Trivett was last seen camping in the region before his camper truck was found burned out on 23 February.

A brother and sister, who have not been named, have been arrested and charged with murder.

According to Baja California Sur prosecutor Daniel de la Rosa, the suspects were previously involved in a traffic accident with Mr Trivett.

Mr De la Rosa said that Mr Trivett paid them $2,500 before the suspects allegedly kidnapped him.

BNO News reported that the siblings decided the amount was not enough and allegedly killed Mr Trivett.

“Months went by and this person was left with the feeling that it wasn’t enough,” Mr de la Rosa said, according to the station.

“Then this person and his sister went to where the American was camping and kidnapped him, and then they took his life.”

Wilmer Trivett’s body was found in a shallow grave in Baja California Sur state
Wilmer Trivett’s body was found in a shallow grave in Baja California Sur state (KCRA 3/ Screenshot)

In February, Mr Trivett’s brother Rick Trivett told KCRA News that he had decided to visit Mexico for the first time since his wife passed away in 2019.

Mr Trivett and his wife had spent the last two decades travelling Mexico in their camper.

“A very secluded area. There was nobody else around but him in his campsite,” Rick Trivett told KCRA.

The United States advises American travellers to “exercise extreme caution” when visiting the state of Baja California Sur due to crime levels.

There are currently more than 500 Americans missing in Mexico, according to a report by The Washington Post.

Last month, four Americans were kidnapped when they crossed the Mexico border so one could have plastic surgery. Two were killed, while the survivors were rescued by Mexican authorities.

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