Coalición de Derechos Humanos | Arizona Recovered Human Remains Project

Introduction

As a non-governmental human rights organization, we are deeply concerned about the continued deaths that have occurred on our borders. We are particularly concerned about those deaths that have resulted from attempts to cross our desert, which are often due to exposure and/or are heat related. Since border policies were implemented in the 1990s, it is estimated that the remains of more than 6,000 men, women and children have been recovered on the U.S.-México border. These are tragedies, and we feel that such a human rights crisis needs a viable solution.

However, in order to alert our government and the public as to the true extent of these casualties, accurate numbers of deaths must be recorded. Currently, conflicting numbers are constantly being released, mostly because of the complicated nature of recovering and identifying individuals who often carry little or no identification with them, and the many agencies this information is passed to. We would like to attempt to keep a more accurate record of migrants who have died on our borders.

In an effort to honor every life that has been lost on our borders, Coalición de Derechos Humanos records the number of bodies that are recovered on our border. With the cooperation of Arizona county officials, as well as the Consular offices of México, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Brazil, and the Binational Migration Institute, we are attempting to put names to our migrant sisters and brothers, and bear witness to the deaths of those unknown, of whom there are hundreds buried in our communities.

As we attempt to comfort their families who mourn, let us also promise to seek justice, peace, and an end to the walls that separate and divide our communities. May we honor the spirits of those who have died with the commitment to peace and dignity on our borders.

Recovered Human Remains

Fiscal Year (October 1- September 30)	Total
2000 – 2001	136
2001 – 2002	163
2002 – 2003	205
2003 – 2004	234
2004 – 2005	282
2005 – 2006	205
2006 – 2007	237
2007 – 2008	183
2008 – 2009	206
2009 – 2010	253
2010 – 2011	183
2011 – 2012	179
October 1, 2012 – March 31, 2013	77
TOTAL	2,543

This Year’s Deaths

Coalición de Derechos Humanos counts the number of bodies recovered in Arizona for the fiscal year, which begins October 1st and ends September 30th of every year. This will be so that we can compare the numbers put out by the government officials with those that we gather, in collaboration with the Consular offices and county medical examiners.

The following are the human remains recovered from October 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013

#	Name	Sex	Age	Country	Date Discovered	Location Discovered	Cause of Death
1	Ricardo Rivera Martinez	M	41	Unknown	10/8/2012	N 31 41.056 W 111 45.824	Undetermined (mummified, partially skeletonized remains)
2	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	10/13/2012	N 32.09.330 W 111 29.398	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
3	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	10/16/2012	N 31 38.910 W 111 11.539	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
4	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	10/20/2012	N 31.913670 W 110.519330	Undetermined (mummified remains)
5	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	10/21/2012	N 31 42.703 W 111 01.403	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
6	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	10/26/2012	N 31 59.788 W 112 02.367	Pending
7	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	10/27/2012	Unknown	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
8	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	10/29/2012	N 113.00055 W 32.06057	Undetermined
9	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	11/7/2012	N 31.49130 W 111.16563	Undetermined
10	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	11/12/2012	N 32 04.887 W 111.16563	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
11	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	11/13/2012	N 32 00.088 W 112 07.257	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
12	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	11/15/2012	Covered Wells and South Mountain	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
13	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	11/17/2012	N 31.573500 W 111.225000	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
14	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	11/22/2012	Middlemarch Road Milepost 10.5	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
15	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	11/22/2012	N 32.01.144 W 113.00.107	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
16	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	11/23/2012	N 31.83725 W 111.266380	Pending
17	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	11/27/2012	N 32 04.331 W 111 12.920	Pending
18	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	11/30/2012	N 31 42.891 W 111 42.788	Undetermined
19	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	12/1/2012	N 31 30.906 W 111 25.083	Undetermined (decomposed remains)
20	Margarito Lopez Morales	M	19	Guatemala	12/2/2012	N 31.63.200 W 111.66.494	Gunshot wound of torso
21	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	12/4/2012	N 32.48.148 W 112 11.434	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
22	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	12/6/2012	N 32 01.264 W 111 18.794	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
23	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	12/6/2012	N 32 29.364 W 112 03.312	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
24	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	12/16/2012	N 32.47072 W 113.19863	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
25	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	12/17/2012	N 32 5.1 W 111 20.57	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
26	Rafael Cornelio-Alvarado	M	25	Mexico	12/19/2012	N 32.149002 W 110.895111	Gunshot wound of head
27	Unknown	F	Unk	Unknown	12/27/2012	N 32 23.373 W 111 42.971	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
28	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	12/30/2012	N 32 18.816 W 111 23.942	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
29	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	12/31/2012	North East of Hiciwan Trailer Park	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
30	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	1/6/2013	N 31 58.071 W 112 47.611	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
31	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	1/8/2013	N 31 31.182 W 111 26.251	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
32	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	1/9/2013	N 32.52655 W 112.187417	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
33	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	1/10/2013	N 32 12.406 W 111 22.958	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
34	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	1/10/2013	N 32 12.201 W 111 23.057	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
35	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	1/18/2013	Flux Canyon SW of Patagonia	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
36	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	1/21/2013	N 31.42.435 W 111.01.325	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
37	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	1/22/2013	N 32 40.502 W 111 25.630	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
38	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	2/3/2013	N 31.54.507 W 111.18.866	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
39	Unknown	F	Unk	Unknown	2/7/2013	Unknown	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
40	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	2/8/2013	N 32 45.379 W 111 57.972	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
41	Rosalio Gastelum Higuera	M	53	Unknown	2/12/2013	150 North Mariposa Road	Occlusive Coronary Thrombus
42	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	2/12/2013	N 32 50.942 W 112 02.333	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
43	Gerardo Lopez Leon	M	41	Mexico	2/12/2013	N 31 27.627 W 111 13.062	Hypothermia
44	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	2/15/2013	N 31 32.467 W 111 13.404	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
45	Unknown	F	Unk	Unknown	2/23/2013	N 31 41.044 W 111 00.405	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
46	Unknown	F	Unk	Unknown	2/23/2013	N 31 41.044 W 111 00.405	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
47	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	2/23/2013	N 31 49.380 W 112 04.887	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
48	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	2/24/2013	N 32.198500 W 112.97500	Undetermined (skeletal remains)
49	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	2/25/2013	N 31 49.034 W 111 59.675	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
50	Manuel Perez Gomez	M	46	Mexico	3/1/2013	N 31 35.266 W 111 40.470	Environmental exposure
51	Ines Lopez Ruiz	F	18	Mexico	3/3/2013	South bound I-19 at KM 46	Multiple blunt force injuries
52	Isac Catalan Vazquez	M	37	Mexico	3/6/2013	N 32 4406.61 W 111 3309.58	Environmental exposure
53	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	3/7/2013	North of Kohatk Village	Undetermined- skeletal remains
54	Unknown	F	Unk	Unknown	3/8/2013	N 32 19.944 W 112 17.939	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
55	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	3/12/2013	N 32 22.663 W 112 04.073	Undetermined- skeletal remains
56	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	3/16/2013	N 31 37.986 W 111 40.137	Undetermined due to skeletal remains
57	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	3/19/2013	N 31 39.903 W 111 53.908	Undetermined- skeletal remains
58	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	3/20/2013	N 32 136170 W 111.375170	Undetermined- skeletal remains
59	Daniel Martinez Martinez	M	20	Mexico	3/21/2013	I-19 Frontage Road at KM 53	Pending
60	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	3/23/2013	N 32 05.06 W 111 20.850	Undetermined due to incomplete skeletal remains
61	Unknown	F	Unk	Unknown	3/24/2013	N 32 32315 W 111 22699	Undetermined- skeletal remains
62	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	3/25/2013	N 32 25.162 W 111 48.167	Undetermined due to skeletal remains
63	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	3/28/2013	N 31 58.522 W 110 07.367	Undetermined- skeletal remains
64	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/6/2013	N 32 08.960 W 109 54.970	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
65	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/8/2013	N 31 34.949 W 111 50.291	Undetermined due to postmortem decomposition
66	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/8/2013	N 32 06.489 W 111 17.619	Undetermined- skeletal remains
67	Unknown	F	Unk	Unknown	4/10/2013	N 31 33.659 W 111 39.424	Undetermined- skeletal remains
68	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	4/10/2013	N 32 49.704 W 112 03.226	Undetermined- skeletal remains
69	Omar Lopez-Gonzalez	M	29	Mexico	4/14/2013	N 31 160179 W 111.69435 Fortefied Loop and Trading Post	Pending
70	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/19/2013	N 32 15.208 W 111 57.442	Undetermined due to skeletal remains
71	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/21/2013	Westbound interstate 10, exit 281	Blunt impact to head with skull fracture and laceration of brain
72	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/21/2013	Westbound interstate 10, exit 281	Blunt impact to head with atlantooccipital dislocation and contusion of upper cervical spinal cord
73	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/21/2013	Westbound interstate 10, exit 281	Blunt impact to head with skull fracture and laceration of brain
74	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/21/2013	Westbound interstate 10, exit 281	Blunt impact to head with atlantooccipital dislocation and contusion of upper cervical spinal cord
75	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/21/2013	Westbound interstate 10, exit 281	Blunt impact to head with skull fracture and laceration of brain
76	Unknown		Unk	Unknown	4/28/2013	N 31 45.781 W 111 57.608	Undetermined (partial skeletal remains)
77	Unknown	M	Unk	Unknown	4/30/2013	N 32 07.898 W 111 09.821	Undetermined- skeletal remains

Note: In addition, the Arizona Daily Star has also begun a database of migrant deaths. There are many overlapping details overlapping details overlapping details between their numbers and ours, but if you are looking for someone specific and do not see it on our list, you may also want to check the AZ Starnet database. Searches can be done by name, home, age, and date. Here’s the link:

http://reg29ulus.azstarnet.com/borderdeaths/search.php

Last Year’s Recovered Human Remains

2011-2012

Past Years’ Recovered Human Remains

2005-2006
2004-2005
2003-2004
2002-2003
2001-2002