It was almost seven years ago that two of Cecilia Flores’ sons were abducted in the coastal town of Bahia Kino, Mexico.
She began a frantic search, which neighbors and anti-violence campaigners helped go viral. A day later, an anonymous tip led to the location of her 15-year-old son, Jesus Adrian, who was afraid but not hurt. Her other son, Marco Antonio, 32, was nowhere to be located.
Flores’ quest for Marco Antonio continues. She was later joined by other women whose sons and daughters had been allegedly kidnapped by criminals in the northern Mexican border state of Sonora. They became known as Madres Buscadoras (Mothers Who Search).
The gang has performed several searches in the Sonoran Desert, on the side of the road, and in abandoned residences once frequented by drug smugglers. They are credited by news outlets and humanitarian organizations in Mexico and Arizona with discovering dozens of clandestine graves and more than 1,000 sets of human remains.
Flores’ quest for her son ended last week.
“We found human remains yesterday. I’m convinced it’s my son Marco Antonio. Flores said in a social media broadcast on March 25 that the outfit matches what he was wearing when he went missing. “I thank the authorities that got the person who knew of his whereabouts to finally tell them where my son was.”
While awaiting DNA results for confirmation, Flores continues to lead efforts to identify other missing people. It is a risky job in a region of Mexico contested by drug gangs who transport millions of fentanyl tablets to the United States.
On Monday, she shared photos online of a group of ladies huddled in the desert around two state police officers.
“We are on red alert, waiting for the local authorities to come and assist us,” Flores added, adding that armed people were lurking. “We’re on a hill in El Sapo. “We are being guarded since there are people nearby. As you can see, all of the mothers have congregated on this hill.
She later stated that the women had left the site unhurt.
This is not the first time Flores has been threatened. The leader of the mothers’ hunt apparently went missing in 2022 and 2023 but was later discovered safe and well.
Women’s work has sometimes been controversial. Some graves were found to hold only animal remains. And Mexico’s president has openly claimed that activists’ claims of up to 132,000 individuals missing in Mexico are exaggerated. According to the Mexican authorities, just roughly one-third of those reported missing have yet to be found. Most were still alive and had never been held against their will or made victims of criminals.
Flores said on social media that she will now wait for confirmation of her son’s identity. And for officials to locate the rest of his remains. “I’ll be patient. I’ve waited seven years; a few more days won’t break me apart. “I must remain firm,” she stated. “The remains aren’t even half my son’s body. I suffer as a result of this. I believe I deserve my son as a whole, not in fragments.”
