A volunteer search team comprised mainly of mothers of missing people (Madres Buscadoras) recently received a tip-off about the existence of a clandestine fire pit being used in a shallow ravine bordering the Artesanos neighborhood of Tlaquepaque.
Neighbors believed the horno (or oven, as local media have called the pit) was being used by a criminal organization to burn corpses. They said they had noticed flames and smoke coming out of the ravine for more than a year. One neighbor told reporters that she had complained to authorities about the regular activity at the site, but no action was ever taken.
After being led to the site this week by the Madres Buscadora, officers from the Mexican Army and the Jalisco State Police sealed off the zone, while the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences staff examined the fire pit and its surroundings for human remains.
Indira Navarro, the leader of the Madres Buscadoras de Jalisco, told El Occidental newspaper that although human teeth and bones have been discovered in and around the fire pit, identifying any victims who might have been incinerated there will prove difficult, even for the experts.
Navarro also said neighbors had told her that trucks would arrive in the evenings and off-load black bags, which presumably contained dead bodies.