A Mexican National Guard officer stands next to a skull, likely the remains of a murder victim buried in a clandestine grave. Upon arrival, the search team discovered two bodies, one partially exposed. The crisis of forced disappearances is spreading throughout Mexico. Here, a mother from the neighboring state of Sonora organizes searches for clandestine graves in Sinaloa, driven by the hope of finding her two missing sons. June 15, 2022, Juan José Ríos, Sinaloa, Mexico.
The “Lost Treasures” collective is searching for a clandestine grave. According to an informant, around ten bodies could still be buried in the area, with only two having been found so far. As this location is designated as a protected natural area, the research collective is not allowed to cut the branches or roots of the mangroves during their search. 15/12/2020 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Irma Arellanes Hernandez, 47 years old, founder of the collective Tesoros Perdidos of Mazatlán, after the disappearance of her son in 2017.
“On June 7, 2017 at 00:38, my son called me, he spoke to me with a very soft, low voice and he said:
– “They beat me up and they stole my money but I’m fine” and I told him: -” But what’s going on? “ and he didn’t answer.
I found him in a clandestine burial pit 20 days after his forced disappearance. “ 27/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Irma had the names of her children Nahomi and Alain tattooed on her right arm. In the background, the portrait of her son murdered by organized crime in 2017. Alain Cortez Arellanes, 24 years, was a graduate in forensic science. He probably has been victim of a forced disappearance after an altercation under the background of drug trafficking and consumption.
“They say that if there is no body, there is no prosecution. These are lies… you find the body and there is no more prosecution. We have the right to truth and justice.” says Irma. 03/27/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Consuelo Velarde buries a cross where she has just found the body of her son Juan Carlos 28 years who had disappeared 5 months ago. 06/05/2019 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Olga Mauricio is searching for her son, Luis González, who went missing on March 31, 2020, when he was 23 years old. He was a trombonist in a local music group in the tourist area of Mazatlán. Everyone called him Goku because of his hairstyle, which he carefully styled every morning. According to his parents, Goku had a romantic relationship with a young woman, which didn’t sit well with her ex-boyfriend. This is the only lead they have regarding his disappearance. Since his disappearance, his parents Olga and Leone haven’t lost hope of finding their son. Regularly, they travel from the state of Querétaro, where they live, about a 10-hour drive away, to participate in the searches for the missing persons in Mazatlán. Olga sees a psychologist, and during a session, she said, “I don’t like who I’m becoming, I’m turning into someone who’s not afraid of anything since my son disappeared.” 15/02/2022, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
License plates found in the search area are used to protect the fire for cook lunch. After a search on the internet they discovered that the license plates come from a car stolen 10 years ago in 2002. 14/02/2022 Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Luis González’s uncle holds a bottle of holy water to pray over a clandestine grave. Luis González, disappeared on March 31, 2020 when he was 23 years old. He was a trombonist in a local band in the tourist area of Mazatlán. Everyone called him Goku because of his haircut, which he carefully prepared every morning. According to his parents, Goku was in a relationship with a young woman, which her ex-boyfriend did not like. This is the only clue they have about his disappearance. Since his disappearance, his parents and uncle have not lost hope to find him. They come from the state of Querétaro, where they live, about 10 hours away driving, to participate in the search for the disappeared in Mazatlán. Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. 28/05/2024
The collective sifts the soil using a sieve. They are searching for the remains of Juan Carlos, 28 years old, found at this very spot a month earlier, nearly 5 months after his disappearance. Upon the discovery of the bones, the experts came to retrieve them, leaving over half of the body. 06/05/2019 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
A house near the search area, typically located on the outskirts of cities in poor neighborhoods. The research group regularly asks the neighbors if they’ve noticed anything unusual, but the locals usually remain silent out of fear of reprisal. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. 29/05/2024
Since the creation of the search collective, state authorities have provided greater support. This includes enhanced security, a truck to facilitate their movements in the region, a tracking dog, and a forensic anthropologist to assist in locating clandestine graves. 21/10/2021 Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Noemy Padilla, 43 years old, is looking for her son Juan Carlos Riviera Padilla who disappeared on May 27, 2019. It was when Noemy went to report the disappearance of her son that she met a woman from Tesoros Perdidos.
“I fell sorrow to find a person under the ground but at the same time it is a hope that another family will find their loved-one. I would not like to find my son under these conditions. Yet finding him, even like this, will bring me some peace. The simple fact of finding him will allow me to finally give him a burial, to know where to find him.” 27/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Juan Carlos Riviera Padilla, 23, has been missing since May 27, 2019. He was a cook in a taco shop in his neighborhood. One day he left work and went with a friend to buy food at the Oxxo convenience store. Then no one heard from him again.
“On a search we went through a path, we found clothes, shirts, pants, wallets, lots of things… tape, things that they tied him up with. I got to a place where there were a lot of garbage cans. I saw a bag that I thought was familiar, I turned it over and saw a keychain that I had made for my son, it was my son’s bag. This is the only thing I have found of my son so far”. 27/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
The Oxxo convenience store where Juan Carlos Riviera Padilla, 23, the son of Noemy Padilla, disappeared on May 27, 2019. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, 03/11/2022.
The “Lost Treasures” collective is heading to a clandestine gravesite for research. Exceptionally, due to the extreme danger of the region, they are accompanied by about twenty soldiers responsible for their protection. In the past, search groups used to look for the bodies of their loved ones alone and without protection, which made them vulnerable to attacks from drug traffickers.Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, 18/12/2022.
A soldier stands in position near the search group. The army is sent to protect the collective, but they are prohibited from participating in the excavation of clandestine graves. During the lunch break, it’s the women from the collective who generously offer meals to the soldiers. 24/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Yolanda Cervantes holds in her trembling hands human bones found in a likely clandestine grave of a drug trafficker. 22/10/2021 Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Micaela Ramos Carranza, 56 years old, and Jose Efrain Villela, 62 years old, are searching for their son, Jose Efrain Montero Ramos, aged 31, who has been missing since August 8, 2014. Jose Efrain disappeared while finishing his first day of work as a security guard in a shopping mall. 22/10/2021 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexique.
During the intervention of the forensic expert, the members of the search collective stay as close as possible to observe the human remains and identify distinctive signs such as clothing, a backpack, or a tattoo that could belong to their missing son. Subsequently, a DNA test will be conducted on the bones in order to potentially determine the identity of the victim and their family. 21/10/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Mazatlán is far from being a cut-throat city as one might imagine given the violence that rages there. This seaside town in the state of Sinaloa welcomes half a million local and international tourists each year to the all-inclusive hotels on the beaches of the downtown. 29/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
In 2017, while reporting her son’s disappearance at the investigative police station, Irma Arellanes Hernández met other mothers who were going through the same heartbreaking situation. United by their shared pain, they decided to organize and start searching on their own. Since then, through their collective Tesoros Perdidos (Lost Treasures), they have discovered approximately 190 bodies of missing persons in clandestine graves on the outskirts of Mazatlán.
Mazatlán, located on the Pacific coast in the state of Sinaloa in northern Mexico, has long been a stronghold of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world. For many young people, joining the cartel seems like a way to secure their future, despite the risks of violence, murder, and disappearance. However, many of the victims of disappearance have no connection to crime.
This is the grim reality facing the collective of mothers searching for their children. For them, their children may have paid the ultimate price, but they believe they should not have to bear the cost of never being able to bury their children’s bodies. So these mothers, armed with picks, shovels, and sieves, scour the countryside in search of their children’s remains, buried in clandestine graves.
The term “disappeared” conveniently hides the crime statistics: neither alive nor dead. In Mexico, there are currently around 110,000 missing persons, and countless families lose hope every day of finding the bodies of their loved ones.
