Mexican Officials Say Body Found Appears to Be of One of 10 Kidnapped Workers of Canadian-Owned Mine

Mexican authorities say they’ve found what appears to the body of one of the 10 kidnapped workers of a Canadian-based silver mining company.

The workers went missing on Jan. 23 but no reason has been given for why the group was kidnapped. They were working for Vancouver-based Vizsla at a silver mine in Concordia, Mexico, when they disappeared.

A statement from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office released on Feb. 6 said some bodies and remains were discovered in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, which is the location of an ongoing search for the missing Canadians.

The statement did not say how many bodies or remains were found, but said that one of the bodies had “characteristics of one of the people reported as missing.”

The government said it is taking steps to confirm the victim’s identity and collect evidence from the grave that was discovered in Concordia. The remains were discovered about 45 kilometres (28 miles) east of the Pacific coast city of Mazatlan. Police have not yet made a formal identification of the bodies.

Authorities also announced that four people who are believed to be tied to the workers’ disappearance have been arrested. No further details about the arrests or any charges they may face were released by the Sinaloa state prosecutor’s office.

The Canadian mining company said in a Jan. 28 news release that it reported the men missing to local authorities. Vizsla added that the company’s crisis management and security response teams were “actively engaged.”

“The Company’s immediate priority is the safety and wellbeing of the individuals involved,” the news release said. The company added that “certain activities” at and near the mine where the men were taken have been “temporarily suspended.”

Mexico’s Security Minister Omar Garcia said that the area where the miners went missing is under the control of the Chapitos. The Chapitos is part of the Sinaloa Cartel, which was designated by the Canadian government as a terrorist entity last year.

Mexican officials said the remains were found in the community of El Verde in Concordia, where the mine is located, according to the state prosecutor’s office.

The Mexican Navy says it dismantled 10 camps that had been used by cartels in the El Verde area. The Mexican government has sent more than 1,000 troops to the area to try and find the missing miners.

Mines have been targeted by cartels as potential opportunities for extortion or to access valuable ore to sell.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.