500 Unidentified Bodies in Quintana Roo Morgue Await Names

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Search collectives for missing persons in Quintana Roo have reported that more than 500 bodies remain unidentified in the morgue of the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE). María Patrón Pat, president of the collective Madres Buscadoras de Quintana Roo, stated that 191 bodies have been identified using a newly acquired technological tool implemented by the FGE.

Identification Through Fingerprint Cross-Referencing

The identification equipment, donated by the United Nations (UN), is designed to assign names to unidentified bodies by cross-referencing fingerprint data with records from Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE).

Patrón Pat explained, “These 191 identifications are from the 700 bodies that, as of yesterday, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed were classified as unknown in the Forensic Medical Service (Semefo). That leaves more than 500 bodies still unidentified.”

New System Expedites Process

The new system eliminates the need for genetic profiling in most cases, relying instead on fingerprint matching. Exceptions include minors, foreign nationals, or individuals not registered in the INE database, where DNA comparisons with family members may still be necessary.

The activist emphasized that this technology is expected to accelerate the identification process significantly. However, she reiterated demands from search collectives for the FGE to acquire a hydration chamber as an additional tool to aid in identifying decomposed remains.

Early Successes in Identification

Shortly after the launch of the FGE’s online platform listing identified but unclaimed bodies, two families located their missing relatives. Honorio Canul Cab and Antonio Cruz Encino, both reported as missing, were identified through the platform, accessible here.

The collectives continue to push for full identification of all bodies in the morgue, stressing the urgency for families awaiting closure.