Mexico Authorities Discover 45 Bags of Human Remains in Search of 7 Young People

Authorities in northern Mexico have discovered 45 bags containing human remains in a gorge on the fringes of Guadalajara and are attempting to ascertain the number of corpses.

The bags discovered at a forest overlook contained the remains of men and women, according to a statement released Wednesday night by the state prosecutor's office in the western state of Jalisco.

45 Bags of Human Remains Found in Mexico

Firefighters and civil defense personnel used a helicopter to retrieve the remains from the gorge, and they intended to continue their recovery efforts over the next few days. Authorities had been searching for seven young individuals who had been reported missing the previous week when they discovered the site, but it remained uncertain whether they were among the remains discovered.

Per CBS News, the state prosecutor's office investigated the location after receiving a report of potential human remains. On Tuesday, officials discovered a black plastic sack containing human remains, prompting the search. Due to the challenging terrain and absence of sunlight, the investigation resumed on Wednesday and will continue until all remains are located, according to the prosecutor's office.

According to the report, more than 110,000 individuals are missing in Mexico, with Jalisco having the highest total at 15,000. Additionally, there are thousands of unidentified remains in the country's morgues and cemeteries.

This is not the first time that Mexican authorities have discovered bags containing human remains; in November of last year, authorities discovered 53 bags containing human remains in Irapuato, Guanajuato State. In this instance, authorities were alerted to the prospect of a site containing human remains after a dog with a human hand in its maw was spotted roaming the area, according to Fox News.

Mexico's Forensic Crisis

On May 20, it was reported that seven call-center employees had vanished in Jalisco. El Pais reports that authorities believe the contact center served as a front for an organized criminal network committing telephone fraud.

Officials' nearly two-week-long search for the missing individuals led to the discovery of the 45 suitcases. Jalisco is adjacent to Guanajuato, a state in central Mexico where 53 sacks of human remains were discovered in November 2022 after a dog brought a severed human hand into town.

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2020 that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was the "most heavily armed" cartel in the country in 2019, surpassing the infamous Sinaloa Cartel formerly led by El Chapo. According to the Washington Office on Latin America, a nongovernmental organization focused on human rights in Latin America, this is approximately the number of missing persons in Mexico.

The longest-running case dates back to 1964, but since 2006, when former President Felipe Calderón declared war on narcotics and organized crime, more than 80 percent of cases have occurred. Corruption, specifically complicity between organized crime and the state, is largely to blame for the increase in disappearances because it leads to impunity and makes it difficult to investigate crimes or pursue justice.

Per Forbes, there is also a "forensic crisis" that has led to the discovery of over 52,000 unidentified individuals in cemeteries and morgues, who may be among the missing persons. Due to crime and abduction, six Mexican states are on the US State Department's list of places where Americans are advised not to travel.

Jalisco, along with six other states, is on the "reconsider travel" list, and US employees are prohibited from traveling to certain regions of Jalisco. The State Department warns that "violent crime and gang activity are prevalent in portions of the state of Jalisco" and that American citizens have been kidnapped there.