Students from Texas State University and the University of Indianapolis were in Falfurrias today as part of Operation Identification.
Their mission: To identify human remains buried in unmarked graves.
The students were hoping to put a name to some of the unidentified remains buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery.
These remains are believed to be associated with undocumented immigrants who died during their journey through the South Texas area.
“These were older burials,” said University of Indianapolis Director of Identification Krista Latham. “The markers were already gone, so that kind of led us to believe there are many more small areas in the cemetery where there might be burials.”
The South Texas Human Rights Center in Falfurrias gets a lot of calls from families in Mexico trying to find out what happened to their loved ones, and these students hope to provide those families with an answer.
Since Operation Identification began in 2013, about 30 remains have been identified.
For some of these students, searching for answers is somewhat personal.
“My father passed away several years ago and he died in a hospital. My family knew what happened,” said TSU student Courtney Sigert. “It’s heartbreaking and they’re families that have been searching for years just wanting to know what happened and I don’t think that’s fair that they don’t get the same kinda answer that me and my family had.”
The volunteers also say what really helps in their search, is the technology they have on hand.
The search will end on January 11.
