Authorities seize shuttered crematorium where 383 bodies found

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Authorities in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua have seized the building in Juarez from where they pulled 383 improperly stored cadavers earlier this summer.

The seizure of the property of the Plenitud crematorium came after police officers and forensic experts using ground sensors inspected the grounds for possible clandestine graves. The search did not reveal any further human remains, but authorities reserve the right to do more digging in the future.

“Tools like three-dimensional scanners and geo radar locators were used to look for remains or objects under the soil. The search extended to an adjacent property also subject to a search,” the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office said in a statement.

Despite not finding additional remains, the search reassured families of missing persons in Juarez that their relatives were not at the property, the Attorney General’s Office said.

Prosecutors placed seals and signs on the crematorium’s doors after concluding their search on Wednesday.

The owner and a crematorium employee are facing charges of improper disposal of cadavers in connection to hundreds of human remains found there beginning on June 30.

Only a few dozen bodies have been identified so far, as forensics experts continue examining the remains and trying to get DNA matches.

The crematorium stopped operating due to citations for health violations dating back to 2022. The business allegedly continued to receive bodies for cremation from at least five funeral homes even though the furnace was inoperable and did not even have gas service, prosecutors allege.

Relatives in most cases did not receive any ashes and others received crushed rocks and animal ashes, prosecutors and a federal official have said.