In Mexico City, volunteer searcher Ceci Flores has once again found human remains, sparking criticism from officials. The ruling Morena party, which claims to have successfully combated violence in the capital, has been accused of not properly addressing the issue of missing persons. Flores, who has been searching for her two missing sons for years, suggests that the government has not made enough effort to locate bodies, a common complaint among families of missing individuals in Mexico where bodies are often disposed of in shallow pits by criminal groups.
Despite facing backlash from city prosecutors and even President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Flores continues her search for missing loved ones. In a recent video, she shared the discovery of what appeared to be human bones on a hillside in Mexico City. This finding once again raises questions about the effectiveness of official efforts in locating bodies, as a lone mother armed with a shovel was able to make the discovery that eluded a vast team of manpower.
The official response to Flores’ discovery was initially critical, with the acting Mexico City prosecutor Ulises Lara accusing her of mishandling the evidence and violating the dignity of searching relatives. However, he later acknowledged that the bones were indeed human and dispatched a team of police, forensic experts, National Guard officers, and soldiers to the scene. Despite the criticism and challenges she faces, Flores remains determined in her mission to find missing persons and bring closure to their families.
In Mexico, there is a significant issue of missing persons, with over 100,000 individuals unaccounted for. The government has focused more on searching for those falsely listed as missing, rather than investigating grave sites where families believe their missing loved ones might be located. Flores, like many other mothers of disappeared individuals, has taken on the role of a dedicated searcher, driven by a deep sense of mission and a desire to find closure for families waiting for answers.
The volunteer searchers, known as “madres buscadoras” or searching mothers, are not seeking to convict anyone for their relatives’ disappearances; they simply want to find their remains. For many families, not knowing the fate of a missing loved one is more agonizing than knowing they are deceased. Despite the risks and challenges they face, these volunteer searchers continue their work in the hopes of providing closure and justice for families of the missing. Tragically, at least seven volunteer searchers have been killed in Mexico since 2021, underscoring the dangers they face in their efforts to find missing persons and bring closure to grieving families.
