The women of the Tesoros Perdidos collective go to the zone of a clandestine...READ ON
The women of the Tesoros Perdidos collective go to the zone of a clandestine grave. Unusually, because of the danger of the region, the group is accompanied by about twenty soldiers in arms. 18/12/2019 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, 2019-2022
In Mexico they are called the Rastreadoras or Trackers. The Rastreadoras are mothers armed with picks, shovels, sieve who scour the wilderness in search of remains of their sons buried in clandestine burial pits. Drug cartels in various parts of Mexico have deposited victims’ bodies in several mass graves over the years. In Mazatlán, in the state of Sinaloa, a group of women created their own collective after being confronted with the inefficiency of the government to find their missing loved-ones. It was in 2017, in the waiting room of the investigative police station, on her way to report the disappearance of her son, that Irma Arellanes Hernandez met with women who were in the same situation. Together they decided to organize to start searching on their own. Since then with their collective Tesoros Perdidos (The Lost Treasures), they have found about 140 bodies in mass graves in the outskirts of Mazatlán. “Disappeared”. A term that conveniently deflates crime figures: neither dead nor alive. In Mexico, there are currently about 100,000 disappeared persons, with as many families losing hope every day to finally find the bodies of their loved-ones. This project is part of a long term documentary work focusing on the fate of collateral victims of drug trafficking in Mexico. It was realized with the support of the documentary photography of the CNAP (National Center of Plastic Arts in Paris).
An element of the National Guard stands next to the skull of a person...READ ON
An element of the National Guard stands next to the skull of a person probably murdered and buried in a clandestine grave. 06/15/2022 Juan Jose Rios, Sinaloa, Mexico.
The women of the Tesoro Perdidos collective look for a clandestine grave of...READ ON
The women of the Tesoro Perdidos collective look for a clandestine grave of victims murdered by the Mexican criminal organizations. According to an informant, about ten bodies still lay here, buried in the area. Only two have been found. The place is considered a protected natural zone so the women are not allowed to cut any branches or roots from the mangroves when searching. 15/12/2020 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
A Rastreadora holds human bones found in a narco’s clandestine grave....READ ON
A Rastreadora holds human bones found in a narco’s clandestine grave. 22/10/2021 Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Damaris Loaiza and Teresita Osuna observe the search for a clandestine grave....READ ON
Damaris Loaiza and Teresita Osuna observe the search for a clandestine grave. 25/03/2021 Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
A hole made by Rastreadoras during the search for a clandestine grave....READ ON
A hole made by Rastreadoras during the search for a clandestine grave.
22/10/2021. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
The women search for bodies in narco-controlled territories, which can be...READ ON
The women search for bodies in narco-controlled territories, which can be very dangerous. Sometimes the government provides them with military personnel to secure the area of search. 24/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Onofre Rios Sevilla disappeared on May 7, 2019 in front of a vacant lot now...READ ON
Onofre Rios Sevilla disappeared on May 7, 2019 in front of a vacant lot now under construction. He was in an Uber on his way to work. According to witnesses at the scene that evening, a police patrol stopped the vehicle to arrest Onofre before he disappeared. 11/03/2022 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Members of the collective during lunch break. Without help from other...READ ON
Members of the collective during lunch break. Without help from other organizations or the government, they finance their own food during the search.
22/10/2021. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. Mazatlan Mexico
License plates found in the search area are used to protect the fire for cook...READ ON
License plates found in the search area are used to protect the fire for cook lunch. After a search on the internet, the rastreadoras discovered that the license plates come from a car stolen 10 years ago in 2002. 14/02/2022 Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Olga Mauricio is looking for her son Luis González, who disappeared on...READ ON
Olga Mauricio is looking for her son Luis González, who disappeared on March 31, 2020 when he was 23 years old. He was a trombonist in a local band in the tourist area of Mazatlán. Everyone called him Goku because of his haircut, which he carefully prepared every morning. According to his parents, Goku was in a relationship with a young woman, which her ex-boyfriend did not like. This is the only clue they have about his disappearance. Since his disappearance, his parents Olga and Leone do not lose hope to find their son. They regularly come from the state of Querétaro, where they live, about 10 hours away, to participate in the search for the disappeared in Mazatlán. Olga consults a psychologist, she told her during an appointment: "I don't like who I am becoming, I am becoming someone who is not afraid of anything since my son disappeared. 15/02/2022, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Clothes found on the search area laid out on the ground by the Rastreadoras....READ ON
Clothes found on the search area laid out on the ground by the Rastreadoras. It happens frequently to dig up naked bodies, tied with brown tape or wrapped in a thick black plastic bag. 16/10/2018 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. *** Photo: Jeoffrey Guillemard Mazatlan Mexico
The women of the collective are sorting the ground with a sieve. They are...READ ON
The women of the collective are sorting the ground with a sieve. They are looking for the missing pieces of the body of Juan Carlos, 28 years old, found in this very spot a month ago, 5 months after his disappearance. 06/05/2019 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Cecilia searches for the body of her missing son by digging a hole in the...READ ON
Cecilia searches for the body of her missing son by digging a hole in the ground with a backhoe rented for the day. Poking the earth allows one to smell and locate the decomposing bodies. The women of the collective learned little by little to recognize the pointers allowing to find the mass graves. 12/18/2019 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Javier, a young worker at a local funeral home, transports the remains of two...READ ON
Javier, a young worker at a local funeral home, transports the remains of two people found by the search group Tesoros Perdidos. 16/12/2020 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
The Rastreadoras discover bones after having raked the perimeter during 4...READ ON
The Rastreadoras discover bones after having raked the perimeter during 4 days with an excavator. At the moment of the discovery of the bones they have to stop immediately the research and wait for the forensic expert. 21/10/2021 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
During the intervention of the forensic expert, the Rastreadoras stay close...READ ON
During the intervention of the forensic expert, the Rastreadoras stay close to observe the human remains and see a distinctive sign like a piece of clothing, a backpack or a tattoo that could belong to their missing son. Afterwards, a DNA test will be performed on the bones to perhaps find the identity of the victim and his family. 21/10/2021 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Ceci Flores inspect a femur of a person probably murdered and buried about 7...READ ON
Ceci Flores inspect a femur of a person probably murdered and buried about 7 years ago discovered during research by the group of Madres Busquadoras de Sonora.15/06/22 Juan Jose Rios, Sinaloa State, Mexico.
A clandestine grave surrounded by police tape. 16/06/22 Juan Jose Rios,...READ ON
A clandestine grave surrounded by police tape. 16/06/22 Juan Jose Rios, Sinaloa State, Mexico.
The national guard inspects the search area while men come to throw away...READ ON
The national guard inspects the search area while men come to throw away their garbage. 15/06/22 Juan Jose Rios, Sinaloa State, Mexico.
Forensic expert exhumes human remains from a clandestin grave, they also...READ ON
Forensic expert exhumes human remains from a clandestin grave, they also discovered three pistol casings and a bullet lodged in the skull. 15/06/22 Juan Jose Rios, Sinaloa State, Mexico.
Ceci Flores during the search for her two son in a clandestine...READ ON
Ceci Flores during the search for her two son in a clandestine graves.16/06/22 Juan Jose Rios, Sinaloa State, Mexico.
Consuelo Velarde buries a cross where she has just found the body of her son...READ ON
Consuelo Velarde buries a cross where she has just found the body of her son Juan Carlos 28 years who had disappeared 5 months ago. 06/05/2019 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
A Rastreadora inspects a piece of cloth. The stains and smells are clues that...READ ON
A Rastreadora inspects a piece of cloth. The stains and smells are clues that allow to indicate the location of clandestine graves and to find where the body or bodies are buried. In this area called Palmillas, the women's collective found 17 clandestine burial pits separated by about ten meters from each other. 06/05/2019 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
An element of the National Guard accompanied by a detection dog for human...READ ON
An element of the National Guard accompanied by a detection dog for human remains. 21/10/2021 Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. Mazatlan Mexico
Micaela Ramos Carranza 56 and Jose Efrain Villela 62 are looking for their...READ ON
Micaela Ramos Carranza 56 and Jose Efrain Villela 62 are looking for their son Jose Efrain Montero Ramos 31 years missing since August 8, 2014. They are both part of the collective "Tesoros perdidos" since the creation of the search group.22/10/2021 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
A makeshift shelter made by criminals at the time of burial of their victims....READ ON
A makeshift shelter made by criminals at the time of burial of their victims. The women of Tesoros Perdidos do not really know what these shelters are for. They can be used by the traffickers to protect them from the sun while they dig the graves or they can be used as control points to monitor the area. The drug traffickers usually use a piece of land as a mass grave for several months and then move to another spot. 19/12/2019. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
A hole made by Rastreadoras during the search for a clandestine grave. Since...READ ON
A hole made by Rastreadoras during the search for a clandestine grave. Since the mothers started looking for their loved ones, the drug traffickers started to use new techniques to avoid the discovery of the burial pits: they started to bury the human remains more than 2 meters deep or cover them with animal carcasses, lime or ashes. 19/12/2019. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Jesus Ernesto Brambila Yepez, 27 years old disappeared on June 27, 2017 at...READ ON
Jesus Ernesto Brambila Yepez, 27 years old disappeared on June 27, 2017 at around 3:00 pm while walking on Mar del Coral Street near his home. His mother Janeth has been searching for him since the first day of his enforced disappearance. 03/11/2022 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Irma Arellanes Hernandez, 47, founder of the Lost Treasures group, instructs...READ ON
Irma Arellanes Hernandez, 47, founder of the Lost Treasures group, instructs the driver of an excavator during the search for the disappeared. 25/03/2021 Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Irma Arellanes Hernandez, 47 years old, founder of the collective Tesoros...READ ON
Irma Arellanes Hernandez, 47 years old, founder of the collective Tesoros Perdidos of Mazatlán, after the disappearance of her son in 2017. "On June 7, 2017 at 00:38, my son called me, he spoke to me with a very soft, low voice and he said: - "They beat me up and they stole my money but I'm fine" and I told him: -" But what's going on? " and he didn't answer. I found him in a clandestine burial pit 20 days after his forced disappearance. " 27/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Irma had the names of her children Nahomi and Alain tattooed on her right...READ ON
Irma had the names of her children Nahomi and Alain tattooed on her right arm. In the background, the portrait of her son murdered by organized crime in 2017. Alain Cortez Arellanes, 24 years, was a graduate in forensic science. He probably has been the victim of a forced disappearance after an altercation under the background of drug trafficking and consumption. "They say that if there is no body, there is no prosecution. These are lies... you find the body and there is no more prosecution. We have the right to truth and justice." 03/27/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Fabiola Guadalupe Tirado Guarcia 19 years old with her 3 year and a half year...READ ON
Fabiola Guadalupe Tirado Guarcia 19 years old with her 3 year and a half year old son Jesús Tadeo Cortez Tirado. The father of Jesús is Alain the missing son of Irma. Jesus has a disability. "I have a dad, well I had a dad who disappeared in 2013. He's been missing for 7 and I still know nothing on his fate. I got together with my son's dad and they made him disappear too. I carried in living. When my son was 2 years-old, I got in a relationship with another man and he too was disappeared. Here in Sinaloa life is a little bit hard on this side.” 07/03/2021, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
The group of the Lost Treasures, looks at the movements of the excavator...READ ON
The group of the Lost Treasures, looks at the movements of the excavator during the search for the disappeared. 03/25/2021, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Noemy Padilla, 43 years old, is looking for her son Juan Carlos Riviera...READ ON
Noemy Padilla, 43 years old, is looking for her son Juan Carlos Riviera Padilla who disappeared on May 27, 2019. It was when Noemy went to report the disappearance of her son that she met a woman from Tesoros Perdidos. “I fell sorrow to find a person under the ground but at the same time it is a hope that another family will find their loved-one. I would not like to find my son under these conditions. Yet finding him, even like this, will bring me some peace. The simple fact of finding him will allow me to finally give him a burial, to know where to find him.” 03/27/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Juan Carlos Riviera Padilla, 23, the son of Noemy Padilla, has been missing...READ ON
Juan Carlos Riviera Padilla, 23, the son of Noemy Padilla, has been missing since May 27, 2019 between the Oxxo grocery store and an elementary school in his neighborhood.03/11/2022 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Juan Carlos Riviera Padilla, 23, has been missing since May 27, 2019. He was...READ ON
Juan Carlos Riviera Padilla, 23, has been missing since May 27, 2019. He was a cook in a taco shop in his neighborhood. One day he left work and went with a friend to buy food at a local grocery store. Then no one heard from him again. "On a search, we went through a path, we found clothes, shirts, pants, wallets, lots of things... tape, things that they tied him up with. I got to a place where there were a lot of garbage cans. I saw a bag that I thought was familiar, I turned it over and saw a keychain that I had made for my son, it was my son's bag. This is the only thing I have found of my son so far". 27/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Human bone remains on a plastic bag awaiting the intervention of the forensic...READ ON
Human bone remains on a plastic bag awaiting the intervention of the forensic scientist. 22/10/2021, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Laura Ivonne Valdez Ramirez, 30 years old, is looking for her uncle Ricardo...READ ON
Laura Ivonne Valdez Ramirez, 30 years old, is looking for her uncle Ricardo Raminez who disappeared on June 11, 2010. "I started to dream a lot about my uncle, I saw him in the mud, in the water, I think he is in the swamps near where he lived. We went there with the group and we have already found bodies but unfortunately not yet my uncle’s". 28/03/2021. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
An altar in memory of her late uncle and her little girl who died at the age...READ ON
An altar in memory of her late uncle and her little girl who died at the age of 2 was installed by Laura under the TV in her living room. "Affected by a physical handicap, he started selling drugs to support his wife and children. One evening, armed people abducted him in front of his family while he was showering at his home. Since the day he had been declared missing, nobody received any news, furthermore his relatives never looked for him for fear of reprisals." 28/03/2021. Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Laura Ivonne Valdez Ramirez, 30, inspects the soil with her iron bar. By...READ ON
Laura Ivonne Valdez Ramirez, 30, inspects the soil with her iron bar. By pricking the ground, she can see the difference in color or smell of the earth which allows her to locate decomposing bodies. Laura is looking for her uncle who has been missing since June 11, 2010 after being kidnapped from his home by hooded and armed drug traffickers. 12/15/2020, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
The Rastreadoras leave the search area after a seven-hour day of searching...READ ON
The Rastreadoras leave the search area after a seven-hour day of searching under a blazing sun.
22/10/2021 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Mazatlán is far from being a cut-throat city as one might imagine...READ ON
Mazatlán is far from being a cut-throat city as one might imagine given the violence that rages there. This seaside town in the state of Sinaloa welcomes half a million local and international tourists each year to the all-inclusive hotels on the beaches of the city center. 29/03/2021, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, 2019-2022
In Mexico they are called the Rastreadoras or Trackers. The Rastreadoras are mothers armed with picks, shovels, sieve who scour the wilderness in search of remains of their sons buried in clandestine burial pits. Drug cartels in various parts of Mexico have deposited victims’ bodies in several mass graves over the years. In Mazatlán, in the state of Sinaloa, a group of women created their own collective after being confronted with the inefficiency of the government to find their missing loved-ones. It was in 2017, in the waiting room of the investigative police station, on her way to report the disappearance of her son, that Irma Arellanes Hernandez met with women who were in the same situation. Together they decided to organize to start searching on their own. Since then with their collective Tesoros Perdidos (The Lost Treasures), they have found about 140 bodies in mass graves in the outskirts of Mazatlán. “Disappeared”. A term that conveniently deflates crime figures: neither dead nor alive. In Mexico, there are currently about 100,000 disappeared persons, with as many families losing hope every day to finally find the bodies of their loved-ones. This project is part of a long term documentary work focusing on the fate of collateral victims of drug trafficking in Mexico. It was realized with the support of the documentary photography of the CNAP (National Center of Plastic Arts in Paris).