8 bodies found in wooded lots, sinkhole ponds in Mexican resort area of Cancun
Authorities said they were trying to identify eight bodies found dumped in the Mexican resort area of Cancun.
Oscar Montes de Oca, attorney general of Quintana Roo, said Tuesday that police found the bodies during weekend searches in wooded lots and sinkhole ponds, according to The Associated Press. He said authorities estimated they were dumped there anywhere from one week to two months ago.
The head prosecutor of the Mexican state pledged to carry out more searches and identifications.
Five bodies were found at an abandoned building site, Monte de Oca said, according to the AP. Three of them were identified as already reported missing persons. At another site in a wooded area on the outskirts of Cancun, he said, authorities found unidentified human skeletal remains belonging to three other people.
Is Mexico travel safe? What to know about visiting Cabo, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and more
The bodies were found in a poor neighborhood about 10 miles from Cancun's beach and hotel zone, in an area close to the local airport.
Officials said similar searches were carried out in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, a town south of Tulum, on the coastline of the country's Yucatan Peninsula.
Volunteers, including some relatives of the missing, and search dogs joined investigators on the searches.
After releasing a statement earlier on social media that disputed details surrounding the discovery of the bodies, the prosecutor's office confirmed the report to USA TODAY.
Thousands of missing people
According to a national database, more than 112,000 people are listed as missing in Mexico. Searches for clandestine grave sites have become common throughout the country. What is unusual is that they are now being carried out in Cancun, the crown jewel of Mexico’s tourism industry.
Dumping grounds are often used by drug cartels to dispose of victims. Several cartels are fighting for control of the Caribbean coast and its lucrative retail drug trade.
Previously: 7 dead, including child, after gunmen stormed Mexican resort, authorities say
Travel alert warning
In March, the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert warning visitors to exercise caution, especially after dark, at resorts including Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
The warning came in the wake of the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico earlier this month. U.S. and Mexican authorities said the group was traveling for cosmetic surgery when they got caught in a drug cartel shootout in the border city of Matamoros in Tamaulipas state, south of Brownsville, Texas. Two of the Americans were killed.
The State Department had posted a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for when they were kidnapped, citing crime and kidnapping in the region.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 8 bodies found in Cancun near hotel zone of travel destination: AG
