On the morning of Friday, April 11, a disturbing discovery was made in the Sánchez Taboada neighborhood of Tijuana, Baja California. A local search group, Familiares Unidos Buscando a Nuestros Desaparecidos, unearthed human remains next to a Santa Muerte altar on a hillside near Calle Centenario.
According to Infobae and Punto Norte, this is not the first time human bones have been discovered in this area. In fact, this marks the fourth such discovery in the same location, which is increasingly believed to be a clandestine burial site used by organized crime groups.
The search group's coordinator, Paula Sandoval, explained that they received an anonymous tip hinting that several bodies were buried at the site. The search team, accompanied by the Mexican Army and the Baja California State Search Commission, dug for five hours before uncovering the remains.
What they found was grim: bones including femurs, tibias, and a skull, along with pieces of clothing. Among the items recovered were a green thermal Vans shirt and a pair of black shorts with yellow stripes on the sides and waistband.
These details may help authorities identify the victim, who Sandoval believes could be a young man.
Despite the victim's hands and feet being bound with a piece of rope, authorities reportedly classified the death as a "homicidio culposo"—which is similar to manslaughter—instead of "homicidio doloso", which refers to an intentional, premeditated murder.
According to the group, this classification is a deliberate move to reduce the official number of intentional homicides in the region. "This is done to lower the statistics for violent murders and mislead the public into thinking the numbers are going down," the group stated via its Facebook page.
"This wasn't a natural death," the group insisted. "It was intentional and planned."
Near the burial site, the group also found a Santa Muerte altar containing candles, fruit offerings, and religious statues. This eerie combination of violence and spiritual symbolism has become increasingly associated with criminal elements in the region.
In earlier searches of the same property, the bodies of two men were found buried just one meter underground, along with the skeletal remains of a woman. Despite initial discoveries, local authorities allegedly prohibited the collective from continuing with its search.
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