By Lizbeth Diaz
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed two members of a civil search organization that discovered a now-infamous site known as Mexico’s “ranch of horror,” the group and authorities said on Thursday.
The two victims, Carmen Morales and her son Jaime Ramirez, died after they were shot by two men on Wednesday night, the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The suspects have not been identified.
Morales and Ramirez were members of the citizen search group Guerreros Buscadores, in the western state of Jalisco, which was instrumental in the discovery of what local media dubbed the “ranch of horror” in March.
Searchers found hundreds of items of clothing and skeletal remains at the site in Teuchitlan, a rural area outside Guadalajara, the state capital. Officials have said the site was a cartel training camp.
“Unfortunately, (Morales) had already been threatened several times. … It’s sad and painful that these things are happening. All we families want is to find our loved ones,” said Raul Servin, a representative for the group.
The Jalisco state prosecutor’s office, however, ruled out a connection to the search group in its statement.
Morales and Ramirez had been searching for a relative who disappeared in February 2024.
Their deaths follow the killing of another member of the search group. Teresa Gonzalez, who had been searching for her missing brother, was killed earlier this month, according to the group.
Members of search groups for missing family members often receive threats, which rights groups allege largely come from the criminal groups responsible for their disappearances.
Jalisco is one of the states with the highest number of reported missing persons, according to official data. It is the home base of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which authorities have accused of forcibly recruiting young people.
More than 124,000 people are missing in Mexico, according to government data. Most cases are never solved, breeding a deep mistrust of authorities among those searching for the missing.
(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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