Investigators recovered human skeletal remains from a clandestine burial site near the Santa Anita arroyo in the municipality of La Paz on April 16. A local search collective alerted authorities to the location, prompting a coordinated response from specialized prosecutors, forensic teams, and the State Search Commission for Missing Persons (Comisión Estatal de Búsqueda de Personas).
The remains were recovered under strict chain-of-custody protocols. Officials from SEMEFO, the state forensic medical service, were on site to process the scene. During the operation, a SEMEFO vehicle became stuck in the rough arroyo terrain, causing delays. Authorities issued a public apology to the families and collective members present.
A Growing Pattern Across La Paz
The Santa Anita discovery is the latest in a series of clandestine grave findings across the La Paz municipality. Just days earlier, on April 13, the state attorney general’s office (PGJE) and the collective Búsqueda x La Paz confirmed five more clandestine graves near the El Cajoncito arroyo. Between March 12 and April 5, authorities confirmed 10 clandestine burials in that area alone, with six male individuals identified from the first set of graves.
According to the State Commission for the Search for Persons, human remains have been found in four of the state’s five municipalities over the past four years. La Paz leads with 74 remains recovered, followed by Los Cabos with 41 and Comondú with 23. As of March 2026, Búsqueda x La Paz reported that 96 sets of remains had been found in clandestine graves in the state capital.
Search Collectives Lead the Way
The discovery at Santa Anita follows a pattern in which civilian search collectives, often led by families of missing persons, locate burial sites that official agencies have not found. The Búsqueda x La Paz collective and groups like Madres Buscadoras have driven many of these efforts, working alongside government agencies after years of pressing for cooperation.
The highway from La Paz to San Juan de la Costa, a popular route to beaches like El Quelele and Mogote, has become a frequent location for clandestine burials linked to organized crime. Since 2024, searchers have located 52 human remains across five clandestine cemeteries in the La Paz municipality.
Identification of the remains from the Santa Anita site has not been announced. The case remains under active investigation. This story was first reported by Colectivo Pericú.