Volunteer searcher Ceci Flores, who has been searching for her two missing sons, discovered human remains in Mexico City and faced backlash from officials. The Mexican government has been criticized for ignoring the plight of the more than 100,000 missing people in the country. Flores has sparred with officials before, accusing them of not looking for bodies. The discovery of clandestine body dumping grounds is a sensitive issue for Mexico’s ruling Morena party, which claims to have successfully combatted violence in the capital.
In a video posted on social media, Flores showed what appeared to be human femurs and craniums on a hillside in Mexico City’s east side. This raised questions about why a lone searching mother was able to find the bodies, while official authorities had not. Mexico City’s acting prosecutor, Ulises Lara, acknowledged that the bones had been handled and the chain of custody had been broken. However, he criticized Flores for her actions, implying it would have been better not to have found the remains.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has accused searchers like Flores of engaging in “a delirium of necrophilia.” However, Flores has remained steadfast in her search for missing people, claiming that authorities have neglected their duty to search for bodies. The volunteer searchers, known as the “madres buscadoras,” are driven by a deep sense of mission to find the remains of their loved ones. Flores’ group, The Searching Mothers of Sonora, discovered a body dumping ground known as “El Choyudo” in their home state.
Flores’ determination to find her missing sons has made her a target of criticism from officials. Despite the risks involved, Flores and other volunteer searchers are focused on locating gravesites to provide closure to families of the missing. The lack of information about the fate of missing loved ones is a source of anguish for many families in Mexico. The volunteer searchers are not seeking to convict anyone; they simply want to find the remains of their relatives.
Authorities in Mexico have devoted more resources to searching for people falsely listed as missing than to locating grave sites of missing individuals. This has caused frustration among families of the missing, who feel that official efforts are inadequate. Flores’ discovery of human remains in Mexico City has once again raised questions about the government’s approach to addressing the issue of missing persons. Despite facing criticism and backlash, Flores and other volunteer searchers remain committed to their mission of finding the truth about the fate of the missing. Tragically, at least seven volunteer searchers have been killed in Mexico since 2021, underscoring the dangers they face in their quest for answers.
