Twelve skeletons have been found in Mexico's northern Chihuahua state near the U.S. border, officials said on Thursday.
The graves—11 containing the 12 skeletons—were found by Mexican authorities and are believed to have been used as a dumping ground for drug cartels, CBS News reported. Chihuahua has been ravaged by violence linked to drug trafficking and organized crime, the station reported.
The search of the area began on Dec. 18 and gradually expanded. The bodies have been taken to crime labs in an attempt to identify the remains, NBC 5 reported. The remains were found in an isolated areas about 110 miles west of Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican border town across from El Paso, Texas.
Drug cartels and gangs sometimes use such dumping grounds. Kidnapping has also become a significant problem in Mexico. Both have contributed to the growing number of missing citizens which now number about 120,000, the Associated Press reported.
Relatives of missing people have begun forming volunteer search groups that often venture out into the desert. It is unknown if any such volunteer group was involved in the discovery of this mass grave, the Associated Press reported.
