A Baja California search collective is crowdfunding the final 30,000 pesos (about $1,500 USD) to buy a thermal imaging drone for locating clandestine graves, after months of requests to state legislators went largely unanswered.
The Célula de Búsqueda e Investigación en Desaparición Forzada de Baja California, a civilian group dedicated to searching for victims of forced disappearance, has already raised nearly 200,000 pesos (roughly $10,000 USD) through community donations. The total cost of the drone, a DJI Matrice 4T, is 230,000 pesos (about $11,500 USD).
Only Four Legislators Responded
The collective spent months reaching out to Baja California’s state congress for help funding the equipment. Only four legislators responded to the group’s requests. The rest, according to the collective, ignored them entirely.
That silence pushed the group to turn to the public. Donations from ordinary citizens across the state have now covered most of the cost. The collective is asking for help closing the remaining gap.
Thermal Drone Can Detect Buried Remains
The DJI Matrice 4T is an industrial-grade drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera. The technology can detect temperature differences beneath the ground surface, helping searchers identify buried bodies and clandestine graves from the air. Traditional ground searches in Baja California’s desert terrain are slow, dangerous, and physically exhausting for the volunteer crews who carry them out.
The collective says Baja California would become one of the first states in Mexico, and among the first in Latin America, to deploy specialized drone technology for missing persons searches. The group also plans to offer training workshops in drone operation, ground-penetrating radar, and forensic entomology once the equipment is acquired.
A Crisis That Drives Civilian Action
Baja California has been one of Mexico’s hardest-hit states for forced disappearances. Civilian search collectives have taken on work that government agencies have failed to resource, combing through desert fields and hillsides on weekends to find the remains of missing loved ones. The state’s collectives operate with little institutional support, relying on donated tools, personal vehicles, and small contributions from the community.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the drone fund can contact the collective at (686) 116-3893 or by email at celulabusquedabajacalifornia@gmail.com.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte.