Members of the Baja California People Search Commission discovered a clandestine grave Monday afternoon in Tijuana’s Colonia Lázaro Cárdenas, a working-class neighborhood in the Playas de Tijuana delegation on the city’s east side.
The search team initially found human bone remains buried among trash on Calle 18 de Marzo. The Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE), Baja California’s state prosecutor’s office, later confirmed the discovery of a bound body at the site. The victim’s hands, feet, and neck had been restrained.
National Guard troops provided security during the operation. Evidence collection is now underway as investigators work to identify the victims. No suspects have been publicly named.
A Pattern of Hidden Graves Across Tijuana
The discovery is the latest in a long pattern of clandestine burials across Tijuana. In April 2025, a grave was found in the city next to a Santa Muerte altar. In 2022, search groups found at least three bodies in Colonia Tres de Octubre, two with gunshot wounds, at a time when the prosecutor’s office had already recorded 970 homicides that year in Tijuana alone.
Citizen search collectives and the state People Search Commission regularly conduct these operations, often acting on anonymous tips. The groups have reported that anonymous calls pointing to burial sites have become increasingly specific in recent years. In 2021, mothers searching for missing children uncovered at least a dozen bodies on private property in the Maclovio Rojas neighborhood in far eastern Tijuana.
State Investigation Underway
The FGE is treating the Lázaro Cárdenas site as a homicide investigation. The condition of the body, with its restraints, points to organized criminal activity. El Imparcial also reported that investigators recently confirmed the identities of two people from Durango found in a separate clandestine grave in Tecate, another Baja California border city about 35 miles east of Tijuana.
Mexico’s national registry of clandestine graves has documented burial sites across at least 16 states. Baja California remains one of the most affected regions. The People Search Commission was created to coordinate searches for missing persons with the involvement of families, state authorities, and federal security forces.
This story was first reported by Jornada BC and El Imparcial.