In the big back yard, two walls bear signs of having been shot.
One of them is a block wall that has an illustration of half of a man painted in blue paint; the other is an outhouse wall that has a black tornado painted on it. There's also a monkey's head made out of cement that simulates an enormous rock.
Plastic gloves and suits discarded by the investigators could be seen on the ground that had been excavated. This irritated the family members, disdained at the lack of respect shown a site that may bear the remains of dozens of victims.
The families are part of a group, known as the Citizens' Association against Impunity, whose members will try to form a national network of organizations searching for people who have disappeared. They want to pressure the federal government to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate missing people across the country.
"The authorities have criminalized our children, tell us that they must have been into 'something,' and with that pretext, they don't investigate," complained Adriana Moreno, 46. "But we know that the government does not like associations, and if we unite, we will be able to press harder."
She's searching for any trace of her son, Víctor Adrián Rodríguez, 27, who in May of 2009 traveled from Tijuana to a city in Coahuila state to sell cars, along with two other men. He was never seen again.
All of that was on the minds of the people who gathered Saturday on the rocky hillside. As they struggled to understand what they had found, the men and women planted simple white crosses on the overturned earth, then recited "The Lord's Prayer" and "Ave María."
Afterward, they solemnly walked around the "Pozolero's" property, peering into its dark corners, leaning on each other every step of the way.
Omar.millan@sandiegored.com
