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Six years ago, Guadalupe Ayala was overwhelmed with grief after her 25-year-old son, Alfredo Campos, was taken from his home in the town of Tlajomulco. His case contributed one more entry to the list of over fifteen thousand individuals recorded as missing in the state located in western Mexico of Jalisco state. In the state capital, Guadalajara, a major traffic junction plastered with posters of the disappeared has been renamed the “circle of the missing”.

Estimates indicate over one hundred thousand individuals unaccounted for in the country – a devastating outcome of the nation’s deadly drug crisis, with most of the “disappeared” thought to have been taken by organised crime groups and drug cartels. The total is likely greater as numerous individuals are never officially reported due to fear of retribution.

Among the aspects that caused me the most tears was when it said he had been left out in the open, especially to the cold

Learning the outcome of missing loved ones can be filled with risk, with family members intimidated or killed for attempting to locate their relatives. They can also find themselves relying on contact with organised crime groups for tip-offs about sites where rival groups have interred remains.

In an initiative to accelerate the searches and reduce the risks for parents like Ayala, local volunteer groups and state authorities have launched a novel program to help locate burial sites, including employing swine to simulate how vegetation grows on burial sites.

Scores of pig carcasses are being buried across sixteen separate areas on the campus of Guadalajara University – every one replicating a different condition in which a real body might have been buried, such as covered in fabric, cut into pieces, burned or covered with rocks. Two plots have been kept vacant for reference purposes.

Pigs are used due to their biological resemblance to people in terms of anatomy, genetics and bodily functions. Scientists have observed variations in development of plants across the grave sites, with vegetation appearing straight away above the swine covered in cloth.

“Despite the soil being arid, the blanket retains water,” says Tunarui Roberto Chávez Gonzalez, from the Jalisco Search Commission, a government body that organises local searches with relatives and is managing the Discovery initiative with groups of mothers and local and international universities.

At other project sites, the researchers have found sunken earth acts like a dam, capturing more water and resulting in enhanced vegetation, with Gonzalez saying they had recorded 15 different plants that are associated with the existence of remains.

In addition to the swine graves, the commission is experimenting with geophysical technology such as electrical resistance mapping, which can produce pictures of the underground earth by detecting electrical differences, and advanced aerial cameras, which can identify compounds in the soil that frequently signal the existence of decaying bodies, such as specific chemical elements.

Last year, during a search of an abandoned house in the city of Zapopan, where crime groups had been reported to deal narcotics, a group of mothers had found approximately four sacks with human parts. The use of an electrical resistance device allowed the search agency to locate twenty-nine additional sacks and three full bodies within a few hours.

Certain parental search teams have learned that the cartels often dig graves near two specific trees: huisaches and mesquite trees. These plants are preferred because they provide shade while excavating pits but their main roots grow straight down, preventing large root systems that might obstruct the excavation.

Through the use of AI technology and aerial surveys, researchers now believe they can use such insights to help prioritise search areas and speed up the likely finding of secret burial sites.

For the mother, the quest to find her disappeared child was concluded rapidly but tragic conclusion, aided by the Fundej collective, a team of community parents and helpers looking for disappeared youth.

They found four limbs, with forensic tests confirming one was from her child, accompanied by additional remains over the following months.

“When you finally find the person and find them segmented like that, that’s the most terrible dream. You imagine numerous scenarios,” says the mother. “You wonder how he was tortured, how was his death?”

The subsequent coroner’s report was a distressing perusal. “I never stopped crying when going through it,” she said.

“One of the things that made me cry most was when it stated he was left unprotected to the environment, particularly to low temperatures, because it was evident in his organs. Prior to his death, he was extremely chilled.”

While applauding the recent advances speeding up the search for the missing, a state commissioner, accepts that it does not solve Mexico’s drug crisis.

“Even if I had a thousand searchers, it’s continuing to increase if we fail to stop the violence. But for now,” he says, “we aim to build the knowledge to locate the missing as soon as possible.”