Mexican police discover 45 bags with human remains in ravine

Mexican authorities on Tuesday discovered 45 bags filled with human remains in the western state of Jalisco, according to a statement by State Prosecutor’s Office. 

Investigators with the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office were searching for seven call center workers that went missing last week when they came across the bags in a 40-meter-deep ravine. 

Police responded to a tip about possible evidence related to the missing workers in an area of difficult access on Sendero de los Fresnos street, near the Mirador del Bosque Ravine in Zapopan. During the search of the ravine, authorities found a plastic bag containing plastic remains, prompting a widespread search with members of the Zapopan Civil Protection and Fire Department.

Authorities found an additional 44 bags filled with human remains of both men and women, said Jalisco prosecutor Luis Joaquin Mendez Ruiz

. The Jalisco Forensic Medical Service is working to identify the remains and their cause of death.

The call center workers disappeared between May 20 and 22 from the Jalisco neighborhoods of Jardines Vallarta and La Estancia. It is unclear if the remains found in the bag belong to any of them, the State Prosecutor’s Office is continuing to search for the employees. 

“The State Prosecutor's Office will continue to carry out investigative acts in a diligent and objective manner that allow the location of all those people who have been reported missing,” the statement said. 

There are an estimated 112,000 individuals reported as “missing” in Mexico, ADN America reported in January.

In addition, ADN America reported last year more than 52,000 human remains continue to be unidentified from mass graves that have been discovered in the country. In Jalisco alone, more than 1,500 bodies have been found since 2018, according to official figures.