Authorities in Tijuana have uncovered a clandestine burial site in the Cerro Colorado area, the latest in a series of grim discoveries that have made the city one of Mexico’s most active zones for hidden graves. The FGE (Baja California’s state attorney general’s office) confirmed the find after search collectives working in the area detected signs of human remains.
Search Collectives Have Found Over 400 Bodies in Baja California Since 2018
The discovery near Cerro Colorado fits a pattern that families of missing persons in Tijuana know too well. Volunteer search collectives, mostly led by mothers of the disappeared, have driven nearly every major clandestine grave discovery in the state over the past seven years. These groups comb hillsides, empty lots, and desert terrain with metal rods and shovels, often working without government support.
Baja California ranks among Mexico’s top five states for clandestine burial sites. Between 2018 and 2024, search collectives and authorities recovered more than 400 bodies from hidden graves across the state. Tijuana and its surrounding hills account for the largest share. The Cerro Colorado zone, a sprawling informal settlement area in Tijuana’s eastern periphery, has produced multiple finds in recent years.
Mexico’s national registry of missing persons lists over 115,000 people as disappeared nationwide. Baja California’s count exceeds 4,200. Tijuana alone accounts for more than half of the state’s cases, driven by years of conflict between rival criminal organizations competing for control of drug trafficking corridors into the United States.
The collectives operate under constant risk. Several search leaders in other Mexican states have been killed. In Baja California, members of groups like Madres Buscadoras de Tijuana have reported threats and intimidation. Yet they continue because the official pace of identification and recovery remains slow. Mexico’s forensic system is overwhelmed, with tens of thousands of unidentified remains held in morgues and mass graves across the country.
Cerro Colorado Has Been a Recurring Location for Hidden Graves
Cerro Colorado sits in Tijuana’s eastern sprawl, a hillside area marked by unpaved roads, informal housing, and limited police presence. Its geography, steep terrain with sparse vegetation and few witnesses, has made it attractive for criminal disposal of remains. Authorities have documented multiple clandestine burial sites in the broader Cerro Colorado zone over the past five years.
The FGE has not yet confirmed how many sets of remains were found at this latest site or their estimated age. Forensic teams were deployed to process the scene and begin the identification process. That process can take months or years, depending on the condition of the remains and the availability of DNA samples from families of the missing.
Tijuana’s forensic services have faced chronic backlogs. The Servicio Médico Forense (SEMEFO), the city’s forensic medical service, has at times stored hundreds of unidentified bodies in refrigerated trailers because its permanent facilities reached capacity. In 2023, Baja California’s government allocated additional funding for forensic identification, but families and advocacy groups say the pace remains far too slow relative to the scale of the crisis.
Identification Backlog Affects Thousands of Baja California Families
When remains are recovered from a clandestine site, they enter a forensic pipeline that begins with excavation and ends, ideally, with a name. The FGE’s forensic teams extract DNA samples and compare them against a national database of genetic profiles submitted by families of the missing. But the database is incomplete. Many families, especially those who have been displaced or who distrust authorities, have not provided samples.
The federal government launched a national forensic identification program in 2020, operated through the Comisión Nacional de Búsqueda (National Search Commission). The program aimed to centralize DNA databases and speed up cross-referencing between states. Progress has been uneven. In Baja California, families report waiting over a year for results after submitting DNA samples.
For those living in Tijuana’s eastern colonias near Cerro Colorado, these discoveries are a recurring reality. Residents in areas like Sánchez Taboada, Mariano Matamoros, and the Cerro Colorado periphery have reported finding remains on their own property or near their homes. The psychological toll on these communities is significant, compounded by the knowledge that many of the disappeared were local residents themselves.
The FGE stated that forensic processing at the Cerro Colorado site is ongoing. Families registered with search collectives will be contacted as identification results become available. The discovery was first reported by Cadena Noticias.