One of the groups dedicated to searching for missing loved ones in neighboring Sonora made another disturbing discovery over the weekend.
The Madres Buscadoras de Sonora, or the Searching Mothers of Sonora, said they turned up nine clandestine graves near Guaymas. The remains appeared to have been incinerated, something the group has been seeing more of recently.
“The bodies completely disappear, evidence completely disappears, you can’t get DNA off of those bodies,” said Ceci Patricia Flores, the group’s founder.
That means of disposing of bodies is particularly cruel in that it makes identifying remains all the more difficult, meaning that families may never get closure, according to Flores.
The group has been prolific in recent months, finding an estimated 150 clandestine graves since the start of the year, despite the pandemic, she said. That figure is well over 300 since they started nearly two years ago, according to Flores.
Earlier this year, they found a body near Bahia de Kino that Flores thought could be one of her two missing sons. DNA tests revealed that it was in fact another group member’s son.