8 Bodies Found In Cancun Resort During Searches

Eight bodies were found during a search at the Mexican resort of Cancun, authorities announced on Tuesday (April 25) via CBS News.

The bodies were located over the weekend when police searched several areas including wooded lots and sinkhole ponds known as 'cenotes.' Oscar Montes de Oca, the head prosecutor of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, vowed to continue searches and identifications in the area amid a mass number of missing people reported in the country.

More than 112,000 are currently reported missing in Mexico, with searches for clandestine gravesites becoming more prevalent throughout the country, though not quite as common in Cancun, Mexico's most popular tourism resort destination. State authorities shared a statement on Facebook urging people in the area "not to publish and share on social networks false news that only damages the image of Quintana Roo," after the bodies were discovered.

Clandestine body dumping grounds are commonly linked to drug cartels who dispose of the bodies of their victims as several cartels are fighting to seek control of the Caribbean coast, a lucrative spot for retail drug trade. Families of victims have launched their own search efforts, which often includes volunteer teams known as "colectivos" amid a lack of help from officials in the area.