The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) announced March 5 that forensic specialists have genetically identified two additional victims in the case of 10 employees of Canadian mining company Vizsla Silver who were abducted in Concordia, Sinaloa. Seven of the ten workers who went missing on January 23 have now been confirmed dead, with three remaining unaccounted for.
According to the FGR, the two newly identified bodies were recovered from El Verde, a small community in the municipality of La Concordia — the same clandestine grave site where earlier remains were found in early February. After government forensic geneticists identified the bodies, they were returned to the families.
In a statement released the same day, Vizsla Silver confirmed the findings. President and CEO Michael Konnert extended condolences to those affected and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the long-term development of its Panuco silver-gold project and to the community of Concordia.
The kidnapping of the ten engineers, geologists and security personnel — seized by an armed commando from a company housing development in the early morning hours — prompted a massive security response, including the deployment of over 1,000 military personnel ordered by President Claudia Sheinbaum. Authorities have attributed the crime to a cell of the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, with Federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch stating that initial detainees claimed the workers were mistaken for members of a rival criminal group. Sheinbaum, however, subsequently cast doubt on that account, saying prosecutors had not ruled out the possibility that the company had been targeted as part of an extortion scheme.
The FGR said the investigation remains ongoing, led by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (FEMDO) with the support of the Security Cabinet. Vizsla Silver, meanwhile, said it continues to cooperate fully with Mexican authorities as search efforts for the three still-missing workers continue.
Mexico News Daily
This story contains press release summaries generated by Claude. It has been revised and fact-checked by a Mexico News Daily staff editor.
