Search for all missing persons at once

Article published on January 18, 2023 by Grupo MILENIO, see original article.

In a country with nearly 110,000 people reported as missing, searching for them simultaneously and equitably is a monumental challenge. The way to do this is through what has been termed generalized search: methods outlined in the Search Protocol that allow progress in the search for all missing persons. How? Through the creation and cross-referencing of databases, locating clandestine graves where multiple individuals may be found even if their identities are not yet known, or through mass exhumations of common graves to provide a second opportunity for identification for those who were buried.

Information is key to searching for missing persons. The General Law on Disappearance not only provides for the existence of various essential registries to search for and locate individuals but also establishes the obligation for all authorities to share their information. The challenge in fulfilling this obligation has been monumental.

On one hand, except for the Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons, which is the responsibility of the National Search Commission (CNB), there are currently no other registries mandated by the law, such as the forensic database, nor the registries of identified and unidentified deceased persons, or clandestine and common graves, which the FGR is obligated to create. Public information indicates that the former is under construction; however, the status of the others remains uncertain.

On the other hand, families of missing persons have consistently pointed out that the issues with information stem from its absence, or when it does exist, it is concealed or not shared among institutions. Therefore, the law stipulates that it is mandatory for various authorities—not just those intuitively related to the search and investigation—to share information that can provide more elements to determine the fate or whereabouts of missing persons. This has involved building or refining databases and systematizing them, beginning to break down bureaucratic barriers, signing cooperation agreements, and developing interconnection tools.

Cross-referencing the Registry with other databases allows, among other things, to gather clues about the fate and whereabouts of the registered individuals, such as any movements they may have made after the date of disappearance. For example, consider the records of death certificates, marriage certificates, divorce papers, the birth of children years after the disappearance, vaccination records, receipt of social programs, bank transactions, passport applications, forensic medical services, and burials in common graves.

The CNB has initiated the cross-referencing between this Registry and other databases, resulting, so far, in possible matches of tens of thousands of individuals reported as missing with information held by other institutions. These matches, known as clues for localization, are disseminated and notified to local and federal search authorities and must be analyzed and utilized. The clues are not in themselves proof that the person is no longer missing, but they are opening up large-scale search avenues throughout the country.

A woman who is a victim of trafficking and reported as missing could, for example, have applied for a passport under coercion from the trafficker. The body of a migrant who disappeared while trying to cross the Río Bravo may have been identified without notifying their family, who requested the search. It is also possible that a person reported as missing has returned without the authorities being aware, or that the databases were not updated to reflect a location. The information cross-referencing being conducted allows for better detection and understanding of whom we are searching for.

In the field of human identification, regardless of the FGR's obligation to establish the bases and registries mandated by the law, the CNB has begun to create internal registries of clandestine graves and information contained in common grave books over the past four years. Additionally, more recently, the construction of a genetic database has started with the establishment of the National Center for Human Identification (CNIH). The first two databases should supplement those of the FGR, and the genetic database must be interconnected to allow for blind data cross-referencing while protecting the information of the donor individuals. The search is strengthened by adding, not dividing.

A few weeks ago, the CNB made public the Common Graves Module that has been developed over the past few years by systematizing information from the records of fifteen municipal cemeteries. The public database will be updated quarterly as work progresses. With the information collected to date, we can know that thousands of identified and 'unclaimed' individuals arrive at common graves, among which data cross-referencing is detecting those who are being sought. Hundreds of matches are under review, and dozens have yielded solid clues for localization, with ongoing efforts to confirm identities. To date, six families in Chihuahua, Durango, State of Mexico, Nayarit, and even New York have been notified of the location of their loved ones.

The publication of the names of 'unclaimed' individuals will also allow families of missing persons—whether or not they have reported their disappearance—to approach the authorities. It is essential to clarify, however, that the fact that a name appears in a common grave record does not mean, unfortunately, as experience has shown, that the body is actually where it is stated to be. This is another grim aspect of the forensic crisis.

The best way to search for all individuals in common graves—whether named or unnamed, registered or not, and regardless of whether they have gone through public institutions—is through mass exhumations rather than individual ones. This requires not only a specific mass-focused methodology—proven effective in other countries—and trained personnel, but also temporary body storage centers (no one else should go to a common grave), where bodies will be placed with dignity after a new and comprehensive forensic analysis, awaiting identification and return home. In recent years, several storage centers have been built, and the mass approach has begun to be implemented in Coahuila, Jalisco, and now at the CNIH.

Searching for all missing persons simultaneously is the broadest approach to locating even those who have not been reported or denounced as missing. A generalized search increases the likelihood of locating all missing individuals, without distinction, and also enhances the efficiency of institutions.

More and more, various federal and local institutions have been decisively joining this new public policy aimed at the generalized search for missing persons, which not only fights against bureaucracy, negligence, and/or concealment but also involves changing institutional mindsets and fostering the understanding that searching is a state obligation.