Mexico Police Discover At least 45 Bags Filled with Human Remains

By Staff, Agencies

At least 45 bags with human remains have been found in a ravine in the western Mexican state of Jalisco during a search for seven young people reported missing last week.

The gruesome discovery was made at the bottom of a 40-metre ravine in the municipality of Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, a large industrial hub.

“Forty-five bags with human remains have been extracted that belong to both male and female people,” the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

Authorities found the remains during a search for two women and five men, all aged about 30, who had been reported missing in the area since May 20.

The missing person’s reports for each of the seven had been made separately on different days, but investigators found that they all worked at the same call center, which was in the same area as where the human remains were discovered.

Forensic experts have yet to determine the number of victims contained in the bags or their identities.

Initial inquiries suggest the call center could have been involved in illegal activities, and local media reported that the authorities had found marijuana, a cloth and a cleaning rag with apparent blood stains as well as documents on possible commercial activities.

Authorities said that among the human remains found in the bags, some appeared to match characteristics of some of the missing young people.

Firefighters and civil defense are working with a helicopter to recover the remains from the gorge and plan to continue over the coming days.

More than 110,000 people have been reported missing throughout Mexico, and Jalisco is the state with the highest number, at 15,000, according to federal government data. There are also thousands of unidentified remains in morgues and cemeteries across the country.