Model, singer and boyfriend, 19, 21 and 22, tortured and dumped in shallow grave with throats slit after disappearing on beach trip in Ecuador as family denies drug-trafficking theory and police hunt killers

A model, singer and student were found tortured and buried with their throats cut in a shallow grave after disappearing during a beach trip in Ecuador.

The bodies of three missing young women – Nayeli Tapia (22), Yuliana Macias (21) and Denisse Reyna (19) – were discovered last week at the Esmeraldas River near Quininde, Ecuador.

Police are now desperate to find out who carried out the gruesome murders, while victims’ families are asking people not to speculate that their deaths are linked to drug dealing.

The gruesome discovery of the bodies was made by local fishermen who saw a dog sniffing the soil along a river bank. They alerted officers after they also noticed a foul smell.

Police officers were called to the scene, where they exhumed and uncovered the bodies of the young women from the shallow grave.

The gruesome discovery was made by a pair of fishermen who saw a dog sniffing the ground along a river bank, where they also smelled a foul stench.

Their bodies were tied, their throats cut and their mouths covered, media in Esmeraldas province reported. In the photo: Denisse Reyna, 19 (left) and Nayeli Tapia, 22 (right)

The women’s bodies were discovered last week along the Esmeraldas River near Quininde, Ecuador

Their bodies were all tied up, their throats cut and their mouths covered, local news in Esmeraldas province reported.

Diego Velastegui of the Quininde police told local media: “They were young, dressed in beachwear, bathing suits, light clothes, shorts.”

The young women left their homes in Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas – more than 50 miles from where they were found – after going to the beach on April 4.

After failing to return or make contact, their families reported the three girls missing later that day.

Investigators at the scene say the women were tortured due to the injuries they sustained and the fact that they appeared to be bound and gagged.

The families of the victims said they do not know which friends will meet their loved ones.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the women were murdered on April 5 in the rural village of Malimpia, in the municipality of Quininde.

Investigators have reportedly identified the rental car the young women allegedly drove to the scene.

Police officers were called to the scene where they exhumed and uncovered the bodies of the young women from a shallow grave.

The victims, aged between 19 and 22, have been identified as Nayeli Tapia (right), Denisse Reyna (left) and Yuliana Macias

Nayeli Tapia (pictured) was the eldest of the group of three women who were found dead together

Local media reported that this was Yuliana’s last video – in which she sang with some friends at a restaurant table

Next to the bodies, the police found a mobile phone with which they hope to solve the case.

Yuliana’s aunt, Paulina Rueda, told local media: “All we want is justice and if the public finds out about this, they should report who is responsible for this horrible murder, because it is three murders in one day.”

Relatives of the women who were killed, as well as the police, confirmed that the three did not belong to any music group, as previously rumored, although Yuliana was a solo artist called Siria and was previously part of the group Las Diablitas.

Heartbreaking images have since surfaced on social media of Yuliana singing with friends at a table restaurant before she disappeared. Local media in Ecuador report that these are the last photos of her life.

Victim Nayeli (22) grew up in Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, but lived in Quito. She worked as a model.

Meanwhile, the youngest of the women, Denisse (19), is studying agricultural engineering at the Quevedo State Technical University.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the women were murdered on April 5 in the rural village of Malimpia, in the municipality of Quininde. In the photo: 19-year-old Denisse Reyna

The families of the victims said they do not know which friends will meet their loved ones. In the photo: Denis Reyna

Photos shared online show the burial of one of the victims, Yuliana, in a closed coffin surrounded by floral tributes

The grieving Paulina told local media that she and other family members had been threatened for demanding justice.

She said: “I will persevere until the final consequences even though my life has been in danger since yesterday.”

She asked the public not to connect the young women’s deaths with drug trafficking.

The victims were buried over Easter weekend. Footage shared online shows the burial of one of the victims, Yuliana, in a closed coffin surrounded by flowers. She is believed to be buried at the Santo Domingo Managers Union.