Forty-one bags containing human remains from two hidden graves were found in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato.
Local media reported that the graves were found after neighbors told police they saw a dog running around carrying what was identified as a human leg.
In a statement from the prosecutor’s office, the remains were transported to the forensics unit which handles identifications. According to the report, the removal entailed days of work at the site by forensic specialists, anthropologists, and search collectives.
Such collectives of volunteers, usually relatives of the missing, work across Mexico. There are over 100,000 registered disappearances in Mexico and Guanajuato is one of the six states that account for half of Mexico’s killings.
A corpse with a message
Three days before the discovery, another dog was seen running down the street in a north-central Mexican town with a human head in its mouth. Authorities in the violence-inundated state of Zacatecas confirmed the incident and said that police eventually managed to seize the head away from the dog.
A law enforcement official who did not want to be quoted said the human head and other body parts were left in an ATM booth in the town of Monte Escobedo late Wednesday.
The human remains were left with a message referring to a drug cartel.
A video posted on social media showed the dog scampering down an unlit road, holding the head by the neck in its jaws, intending to take it to another location and eat it.
Turf wars between local gangs and drug cartels frequently happen in Mexico. These cartels normally leave notes together with tons of mutilated human bodies to threaten rivals or intimidate local authorities.
Man’s best friend
Dogs have long been linked to snorting assorted substances and materials such as drugs and explosives. They are also regularly utilized to assist in search and rescue operations and help
find missing persons. These dogs are known by a variety of names like a cadaver, human remains detection (HRD), and victim recovery (VR) dogs.
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