Tamaulipas Creating DNA Database to Identify Unknown Remains – KRGV

REYNOSA, Mex. Mexican authorities are taking newsteps to give the families of thousands of missing people some closure.

Thousands of people have gone missing due to conflicts between cartels and the government.

The state of Tamaulipas is creating a DNA database in an effort to identify unknown remains.

Families from all over Tamaulipas flocked the Reynosa General Hospital this week. None of them wanted to show their faces on camera.

One woman, who we will call Delores, told CHANNEL 5 NEWS her daughter was kidnapped by armed men from her Reynosa home.

I came to give a DNA sample here to find my daughter. Shes been missing for seven years, she said.

Delores said her daughter has four children of her own. One of them is a U.S. citizen.

The mother said she went to the hospital in hopes of giving her DNA sample to aid authorities in her daughters search.

Im living in anguish and anxiety, because I dont know what happened to her or why it happened to her, she said.

The Tamaulipas government said their efforts will spread in cities all over the state.

DNA from families of missing people will go into the database and be cross-referenced with DNA of human remains found in mass graves.

Human rights activist Eddie Canales said it was about time the government took action.

Twenty-three thousand people died in conflicts in Mexico last year. 2016. Its not recognized enough in this country, he said.

Canales said he also works all over the Rio Grande Valley trying to find migrants who go missing while crossing the border illegally.

Canales said hes helped organize DNA collection drives in Houston. He said DNA databases are the most effective way for families to find their missing loved ones.

However, he wasnt aware of the Tamaulipas campaign until we told him about it.

I will make efforts to reach out to those groups and see how we can collaborate and assist in whatever manner, he said.

The DNA collection will continue in Tamaulipas on Friday.

Anyone with family missing in Mexico can visit one of the eight locations in seven cities across the state.

The drive will be happening Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in all the following cities:

You can call 01 (834) 31-861-50 for more details.

If you believe a family member went missing on the U.S. side of the border, there will be a DNA collection in Houston on June 10.

Follow this link:
Tamaulipas Creating DNA Database to Identify Unknown Remains - KRGV