36 is final tally of bodies found in Juárez backyard

Associated Press

Article Launched: 03/16/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

Mexican officials said Saturday that 36 bodies were found buried in the backyard of a house in a city Juárez, and they think that number is the final tally.

Mexican federal agents began digging behind a Juárez house allegedly used by the Juárez drug cartel two weeks ago after receiving an anonymous tip, law enforcement officials said.

In the raid, investigators found 3,740 pounds of marijuana in the house. They initially found six dismembered bodies, and as excavations proceeded, the tally rose.

On Saturday, the attorney general's office said in a statement that a total of 36 bodies had been found in 16 pits in the yard. The latest previous estimate had been 33. Officials did not provide details on the three new bodies.

The statement said that investigators were done excavating behind the house in La Cuesta neighborhood, and that they believe there are no more remains to be found.

The remains date back about five years and all but three apparently are males. The statement said investigators were still trying to determine how the victims died and who buried the bodies.

Juárez has been plagued by violence as Mexico's crackdown on powerful drug cartels stokes turf wars among traffickers that have been linked to hundreds of killings in the past two years.