Confronting the crisis of Missing Persons in Mexico City’s Remote Wilderness
Jael Monserrat Uribe’s childhood memory includes a snowy day on Parliament Hill in Canada, a place she dreamed of visiting after hearing it was the home of Winnie the Pooh. This cherished moment contrasts sharply with the tragic turn her life took years later.
Her mother, Jacqueline Palmeros, now wears a white T-shirt featuring a tender photo of Jael-her daughter’s hand resting softly on her cheek-accompanied by the powerful declaration: “I am my daughter’s voice.” This image appeared on missing persons posters distributed by Mexico City’s Attorney general following Jael’s disappearance at age 21 on July 24,2020. Her name is one among thousands lost to decades marked by cartel violence and systemic neglect.
A harrowing Search for Answers in Rugged Terrain
A memorial stands near Cumbres del Ajusco National Park where partial remains were found last November about 60 meters down an embankment. The site features a concrete heart adorned with a cross and Virgin Mary statue. Forensic experts confirmed that Jael died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Palmeros often returns to El Llano de Vidrio, or Plains of Glass-a secluded vantage point within this mountainous park bordering southern Mexico City-to continue searching for any remaining traces. “If fate allows,” she says, “I want to bring back all parts of my daughter as I gave birth to someone whole.” As founder of Una Luz en El Camino, an association supporting families seeking their disappeared relatives, Palmeros embodies both profound grief and unwavering hope.
The Evolution of Search Operations: Pattern-Based Strategies Take Root
A few hundred meters from this memorial site, multidisciplinary teams-including forestry workers, firefighters, forensic anthropologists, and family members-methodically comb dense pine forests using machetes and rakes. Cadaver dogs assist as they painstakingly clear brush and scrape soil inch by inch during coordinated multi-day searches spanning several square kilometers around Eagle Peak-the highest point in Mexico City at nearly 4,000 meters elevation.
This systematic approach marks an innovative shift for Mexico City-the frist jurisdiction nationwide implementing pattern-based search strategies focused on geographic clusters linked across multiple disappearances. Currently approximately 7,000 individuals are registered as missing within the capital alone-the sixth highest total among Mexican states-with numbers increasing by nearly 30% over just one year according to data from the National Registry for Disappeared and Missing Persons established in 2017.
Luis Gómez Negrete, head of Mexico City’s Commission for the Search of Persons explains: “Previously we conducted smaller searches targeting isolated locations based on individual cases. Now we consolidate cases into defined zones so all resources can be deployed more effectively.” Recent operations focused on Sierra de Guadalupe mountain range northward-which is connected to over 180 disappearances-resulted in eleven potential human remains being uncovered along with rescuing an elderly man who had been abandoned ther severely injured.
Cumbres del Ajusco: A Region Marked By Tragedy
The Cumbres del Ajusco area spans borders between mexico State and Morelos state and also CDMX; it ranks second citywide with nearly one hundred documented linked disappearances so far. These expansive natural landscapes have become grim reminders where many victims’ fates remain unknown but are suspected tied directly or indirectly to organized crime activity prevalent throughout these regions.
Mothers United: Faces Behind The Missing Loved Ones
María del Rocío Fragoso, who traveled from Huixquilucan westward into CDMX wearing a shirt emblazoned with her daughter Karen Estefanía Domínguez Fragoso’s face-missing as October 21st ,2018-is not only searching for Karen but also advocates tirelessly for all those lost here.
“Many have vanished nearby,” says Araceli Olmedo Cruz while raking soil beneath towering pines; she too wears apparel featuring her son Benjamín Echeverría who disappeared last April at nineteen after attending a party near San miguel Ajusco borough below cumbres del Ajusco National Park.
- A banner along San Miguel ajusco’s winding road urgently pleads: “Help us find her!”
- This banner features Ana Amelí García Gámez who disappeared five days before turning twenty while hiking alone toward Eagle Peak last July; known locally as an artist passionate about painting landscapes.
- Banners faded by weather line telephone poles marking routes frequently searched including other victims kidnapped or held ransom nearby.
- “Our family has been shattered beyond repair,” says Vanessa Gámez tearfully describing losing Ana Amelí García Gámez after initial three-week search involving drones & dogs yielded no clues leading them to believe Ana was abducted rather than lost accidentally.
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“someone took her,” says Vanessa firmly,“My daughter is not here.”
Differentiating ‘Disappeared’ Versus ‘Missing’ Amid Rising Nationwide figures
the national registry classifies cases primarily into two categories:
- ‘Disappeared’ when foul play is suspected;
- ‘Missing’ or else;
Ana Amelí falls under ‘disappeared.’ Families burdened with prolonged solitary searches alongside human rights advocates emphasize that this crisis has escalated alarmingly across Mexico-with over 130,000 people listed as missing or disappeared nationwide;a figure comparable only with countries enduring civil conflicts such as Syria or Colombia today according to recent UN reports.
An Intensifying Human Tragedy Fueled By Years Of Violence And Impunity
- Ninety percent occured post-2006 following President Felipe Calderón’s militarized war against drug cartels which unleashed widespread bloodshed including forced disappearances lasting beyond his six-year term;
- This violence continues despite official government claims suggesting otherwise;
- Evidenced recently when family-led groups uncovered cartel-linked mass graves containing hundreds buried clandestinely across Jalisco (Teuchitlán), Tamaulipas (Reynosa), Morelos (Jojutla); some sites holding more than one hundred bodies found between late-2021 through early-2024;
- The disappearance rate surged sharply reaching approximately45 daily vanishings during early months of 2025 compared to just under half that previously;(26 per day) according to joint reports submitted by over one hundred civil society organizations before UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED).
- CED flagged ongoing widespread systematic enforced disappearances possibly involving state agents either directly or indirectly despite official denials.*see note*.
- Between January 2017 and January 2025, only 373 convictions related specifically to forced disappearance crimes were recorded nationally despite tens-of-thousands added annually. (Over65k new names entered registry same period.)
—This glaring gap highlights persistent impunity obstructing justice delivery.”
;)
An anguished mother holds up a poster seeking information about her missing child amid ongoing investigations.(Sylvia Thomson/CBC) Jacqueline Palmeros knows this painful reality firsthand.
She recalls two suspects initially arrested regarding Jael Monserrat Uribe’s disappearance but later released due insufficient evidence.
“The police did not fulfill their duties properly,” she laments.
The relentless pursuit continues toward justice.Vanessa Gámez voices similar frustration regarding authorities’ lackluster investigation into Ana Ameli Garcia Gamez case:
“Investigators do nothing… They wait until we give up,” she says painfully.Despite overwhelming sorrow,
love fuels determination:
“I need answers-I need my daughter back.”Mexico City’s Attorney general’s Office overseeing these inquiries has remained silent amidst repeated requests for comment.
*The Mexican government maintains most current disappearances stem mainly from organized crime rather than state-sponsored violence seen historically during political repression eras spanning mid-late twentieth century.*
México City’s President Claudia Sheinbaum stated:
“the majority are linked directly or indirectly with criminal organizations-not state violence like decades ago.”
However institutional failures remain critical:
