Clandestine mass grave found in Mexico with 1,600 baby teeth
1,600 baby teeth: the clandestine mass grave in Michoacán that sent shockwaves even to the Senate
By Nallely Sánchez (Infobae)
September 24, 2026
It was starting in 2023 that approximately 80 children were reportedly cremated in a clandestine grave in the municipality of Zacapu, Michoacán. “It is highly likely that these children were victims of sexual exploitation, organ trafficking, or child pornography,” said Margarita López, a searching mother and founder of Buscando Cuerpos en Todo México.
The colectivo Buscando Cuerpos en Todo México reported that it had found approximately 1,600 baby teeth in Zacapu, Michoacán, inside clandestine graves and on a property identified as a possible cremation site. The FGR - Mexico's Attorney General's Office - is still awaiting the results of scientific analyses to determine whether the teeth are human, how many victims they belong to, and under what circumstances they died.
Searches in the area began in 2021, when members of the group spotted smoke rising from a hill near a landfill. Upon searching the site, they recovered a tooth that forensic experts reportedly identified as a child’s tooth, according to the testimony of the group’s founder, Margarita López.
López stated that the discovery was one of the most painful experiences he had witnessed in his 15 years of exhuming mass graves. He also claimed that, since 2023, approximately 80 minors had been cremated at that site, although that figure has not been officially confirmed nor has a definitive expert report been issued.
The investigator hypothesized that the minors might have been victims of sexual exploitation, organ trafficking, or child pornography. These possibilities remain under investigation and have not been confirmed by the authorities as an explanation for the discovery.
The screening process made it possible to recover smaller teeth
After the first tooth was found, the team reduced the size of the sifting tools to a quarter of a centimeter. This adjustment made it possible to separate small fragments from the soil that might have been missed during previous surveys of the site.
Over the years, López stated that they had collected approximately 1,600 baby teeth, as well as adult teeth, vertebrae, phalanges, and other skeletal remains. The searching mothers - madres buscadoras, mothers who search for the disappeared - questioned why human remains were still being found in areas where experts had already conducted investigations.
Preliminary expert assessments cited by the group placed some of the remains within an age range of one to six years. López also mentioned the possibility that there were remains of children between the ages of one and 12, so there is no consensus on the age of the potential victims.
The lack of identification prevents determining how many children the recovered teeth might represent. Nor is there an official conclusion regarding the biological origin of the remains, the number of deceased individuals, or the cause of death at the Zacapu site, Margarita told a reporter from El Sol de México in 2023.
The FGR continues to hold working groups with the madres buscadoras (mothers looking for the disappeared)
The FGR reported that it held working sessions with the group to address complaints related to Michoacán. The agency specified that forensic studies were still pending and that it had not yet officially verified the number of human teeth or their origin.
In a statement dated September 18, 2026, the agency did not confirm the specific discovery in Zacapu, the number of teeth, the age of the possible victims, or the hypotheses of exploitation put forward by the searchers. The investigation required DNA testing and scientific analysis to determine these aspects.
The case reached the Senate on September 23, when PAN Senator Laura Esquivel Torres requested a minute of silence for the alleged child victims. The senator announced a resolution calling on federal and Michoacán authorities to immediately clarify the facts.
The members of “Buscando Cuerpos en Todo México” held a sit-in for more than 15 days in front of the FGR offices in Mexico City. They demanded that genetic testing and forensic examinations move forward to identify the remains and prevent the case from ending without results.
The search for Yahaira Guadalupe led Margarita López to activism
Margarita López, also a congresswoman, began her work after her daughter Yahaira Guadalupe went missing on April 13, 2011, in Oaxaca. The young woman had married a soldier in 2009, when she was 17 years old.
The searching mother stated that she launched her own investigation and used her own financial resources to gather information about her daughter’s possible whereabouts. Two years later, she said she had found those responsible and recovered Yahaira’s remains.
Based on that experience, López founded the collective and supported other families with missing loved ones. Her work as a human rights defender was recognized by the Latin American Commission on Human Rights, and she was featured in the documentary Retratos de una Búsqueda, which tells the stories of Margarita, Guadalupe, and Natividad.
In September 2023, López reported that he had located a ravine in Tacámbaro containing the remains of at least 70 people. In December of that same year, he reported that his son, Juan Carlos, had been detained by an alleged criminal group and was later released by Civil Guard officers.
The group also said it had recovered remains linked to at least 375 people in Tacámbaro, as well as 157 bone fragments from a clandestine grave in the municipality.
This article has been adapted from the original in Spanish.
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