The Yucatán Searching Families Collective lacks tools such as rods, picks, shovels, and machetes to conduct field searches for missing persons. Its members do not have the financial resources to acquire them, nor to travel independently and assist others in their search efforts.
“We don’t have the resources to search for our loved ones. We don’t have rods, shovels, picks, or machetes, and that’s why we don’t go out into the field. We don’t have the equipment to conduct searches in the field,” explained Clara Gutiérrez, the collective’s founder, in an interview.
Due to this lack of financial resources, its members only participate in field searches at the invitation of the Yucatán State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons. They explained that authorities such as the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) and the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) lack the necessary training to conduct field searches.
They warn that the search dogs that are part of the K9 unit are not enough. The soil conditions vary, and to process it, picks, rods, and shovels are essential.
“We have to dig to see what the soil is like, but we don’t have any of the equipment; that’s why we’re stuck. We can’t do the searches we want for this reason,” she added.
The searches for missing persons are not limited to mountains, caves, or cenotes, where even divers must be trained to identify certain characteristics. The Searching Families of Yucatán also go to the Social Reintegration Center (Cereso). There, although they currently compare them using prison population lists, they say it is urgent to have direct access to the inmates to visually identify them.
“We want to see the inmates to verify if any of our relatives or others are missing; we want to observe them. We see cases in Mérida—I’ve seen them—where the police take them away, blindfold them, put them in patrol cars, and their families never hear from them again. We need to go in to check if there’s anyone there with a missing person report,” Clara explained.
According to data from the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons, as of January 20, 311 people were reported missing and unlocated in Yucatán.
Source: solyucatan
