The Forensics of Identifying Migrants Who Die Exhausted after Crossing from Mexico

Scientists are identifying the remains of undocumented migrants who died crossing the Mexican border—people whose names would otherwise have been lost forever

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On June 28, 2012, a worker at La Cantina Ranch in Brooks County, Texas, was tending wild game feeders. On the ground, he found what he thought were bones scattered in an eight-foot-diameter area of mesquite-laden brush.

A deputy from the Brooks County Sheriff's Office showed up later in the day. According to the report, animals had already been there and left teeth marks in the bones. There were tangled clumps of black hair, torn items of clothing and a few personal effects—a backpack, four chicken-flavored Ramen packages, bug spray, a toothbrush and an unopened bag of Salsa Verde Doritos.

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