Around 1,600 suspected children’s teeth have reportedly been recovered from a site in Zacapu, Michoacán, Mexico, after volunteers searching for missing people discovered what appeared to be a makeshift cremation site.
The disturbing discovery was reportedly made after searchers spotted smoke rising from the mountains surrounding Zacapu. The group, led by Margarita López of volunteer organisation Buscando Cuerpos en Todo México, followed the smoke to a private ranch where they allegedly found a makeshift incinerator beneath avocado trees.
Searchers reportedly discovered charred bone fragments alongside the suspected teeth, including fragments resembling vertebrae, finger bones, kneecaps and tarsal bones.
López said the site still appeared to be extremely hot when the group arrived, suggesting that remains may have been burned recently. An investigator from Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office was also allegedly present during part of the search, according to López.
The group then used ultra-fine sieves to search through the scorched soil, eventually recovering around 1,600 suspected children’s teeth during searches conducted between 2021 and September 22, 2026.
However, the findings have not been independently confirmed by forensic experts. Authorities are still examining the material to determine whether the remains are human, how many victims may be represented and how they died.
It has also not been established that the 1,600 teeth belonged to 1,600 different children. López has suggested the remains could represent more than 80 children and claimed they may have been victims of sexual exploitation, organ trafficking or child pornography. There is currently no publicly established forensic evidence linking the suspected remains to any of those crimes.
According to López, one tooth recovered at the site was examined by an official identified only as “Braulio”, who allegedly said it appeared to be a child’s canine tooth.
The activist has given different estimates for the possible ages of the children, at one point suggesting they were between one and six years old and elsewhere saying some could have been as old as 12. Neither age range has been independently established.
López said the suspected evidence had been handed to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, known as the FGR, for forensic examination and DNA testing.
Senator Laura Esquivel Torres has also called for authorities in Michoacán to provide answers over the reported discovery.
The site is located in a region of Michoacán where criminal organisations have been accused of controlling territory and restricting access. López claims armed groups have taken over land used for avocado cultivation and that residents and volunteers entering certain areas have faced intimidation, violence and death threats.
Despite the risks, Mexico’s so-called “searching mothers” have continued looking for missing relatives. López has personal experience of the country’s missing-persons crisis after her daughter disappeared in 2011. Her remains were recovered two years later elsewhere in Mexico.
Mexico continues to face a major missing-persons crisis, with more than 130,000 people listed as missing nationwide, including more than 18,000 children, according to figures cited in reports surrounding the case.
The reported discovery in Zacapu remains subject to forensic investigation, with the identities and circumstances surrounding the suspected remains yet to be established.
