Search collective uncovers clandestine burial sites in Tijuana and Rosarito

The activist group Colectivo Buscando a Tolano, led by Bárbara Martínez, discovered human bone fragments, including leg bones, jaws and a skull, in a concealed pit on a hill near the Vista Horizonte area of southern Tijuana. The find, reported on 4 August, was accompanied by weapons and ammunition scattered on the site. National Guard personnel and investigators from the Baja California State Prosecutor’s Office (FGE) secured the area, processed the scene and collected evidence.

The following day, the collective located additional human remains in the Playas de Rosarito landfill while searching for several youths who disappeared in October 2025. The remains were too degraded for visual identification. The missing individuals include Carlos Abel Trujillo Torres, Sadrac Fidel Velarde Zepeda, Edgar William Sharon Preciado, Mónica Patricia López Medina and others. Authorities suspect the disappearances were carried out by María de la Luz Damián Andrade, alias “La Tía” or “La Abuela,” a suspected member of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was arrested in March 2026 on forced‑disappearance charges. The group has been allowed intermittent search access by the FGE, though the landfill remains partially open, complicating recovery efforts.