The Searching Mothers of Sonora collective reported this Saturday the discovery of a camp with at least three graves containing human remains and more than 200 items of clothing inside, during a search in the rural area of Hermosillo, in the Mexican state of Sonora.
The collective’s founder, Cecilia Flores, shared photographs of the discovery on social media, showing corpses, skulls, and a row of dusty clothing items, on a piece of land located in the town of Miguel Alemán, near the state capital.
Flores, who is searching for her sons Alejandro Guadalupe Islas and Marco Antonio Sauceda, who disappeared in 2015 and 2019, respectively, indicated that four male bodies have been found so far.
“We don’t know how many more children are hidden here, but I can tell you that there are dozens of shell casings from long and short guns, areas that could be used as crematoriums due to the charred bones we found, and many items of clothing and shoes,” added the searching mother.
On the group’s Facebook page, the searchers broadcast live footage of the search, which began on Friday. They are seen digging the earth with their hands, picks, and shovels, accompanied by some police officers, in an area surrounded by houses.
Flores told the media that at least 200 items of clothing and tactical boots have been recovered during the two days of the search.
In a statement, the Sonora State Attorney General’s Office (FGJES) confirmed the discovery of bone fragments and 42 items of clothing during the first day of the search, Friday, on a plot of land adjacent to Highway 12 North. These fragments are now being analyzed in a laboratory.
The FGJES added that “several spent firearm cartridges were also found at the site,” and that the search was extended to a neighboring property on Saturday.
“The initial investigations carried out by the investigating police indicate that the site was occupied by a group of armed individuals,” the agency stated.
According to the investigations, the armed group abandoned the site in September 2024 due to an operation carried out by authorities in the area, the agency concluded.
In Mexico, there are more than 130,000 missing and unaccounted for people, according to data from the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons (RNPDNO), which has counted disappearances since the 1950s.
According to a recent Amnesty International (AI) report, nine out of 10 searchers in Mexico are women searching for their loved ones, at least 97% of whom suffer violence and harm for carrying out work that falls to the State.
Source: latinus.us
