Authorities in Ciudad Juárez are racing to identify a toddler found dead on the outskirts of the city, her body discovered Tuesday near the intersection of Carretera Casas Grandes and Calle Segunda, according to investigators with the Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office.
Officials say the child, described as a toddler with long hair, was found inside a torn bag and covered with a child's blanket. The body was located in a vacant area off the roadway, and agents with the Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE) and other agencies have begun canvassing the surrounding zone and circulating a sketch as they search for relatives and try to piece together what happened.
The Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office says the discovery took place Tuesday near the Carretera Casas Grandes and Calle Segunda junction. Investigators released a sketch of the girl and asked anyone who recognizes her to call the Search Commission at (614) 429 3300 Ext. 11343 or (656) 629 3300 Ext. 56923 and 56924, or to contact 911 or the anonymous tip line 089, according to KVIA. The FGE, which is leading the probe, has not released an identity and says agents are gathering evidence and checking nearby properties for cameras or anyone who might have seen something.
A forensic necropsy performed by the Servicio Médico Forense determined that the child died from a subdural hematoma secondary to cranial trauma, the local prosecutor's office told Netnoticias. Initial inspection at the scene reportedly did not reveal obvious external injuries, but the autopsy concluded that a blow to the head was fatal. Authorities say additional laboratory tests are underway to help identify the child and to check for possible matches in missing-persons databases.
Local reports say a scrap-metal collector came across the body inside a torn sack in a vacant lot in the Kilómetro 26-27 area. The child was naked and wrapped in an infant blanket when found, according to N+. Municipal police, the National Guard and the Mexican Army secured the area before state investigators and forensic teams arrived to process the scene. Among the items collected as evidence were a piece of cloth and the blanket that had been used to cover the child.
Investigators Canvass The ‘Kilómetros’ Area For Clues
Agents from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación, the Dirección de Servicios Periciales y Ciencias Forenses and other units have been going door to door, checking nearby hospitals and reviewing CCTV footage as they search for relatives or potential witnesses. The FGE has also distributed a sketch of the child throughout the southern "Kilómetros" neighborhoods and set up an operation there to gather tips, according to KVIA. Officials continue to urge anyone with information to contact the search commission hotlines, 911 or the anonymous 089 line.
Violence And Disappearances Strain Chihuahua’s Forensic System
The case unfolds against a backdrop of widespread disappearances and a string of clandestine-grave recoveries that have stretched investigative resources across Chihuahua. Journalists and human-rights observers have documented mass recoveries in the Casas Grandes region, including sites where scores of remains have been pulled from hidden graves, highlighting a heavy forensic backlog, per local reporting by Circuito Frontera. Forensic laboratories in Ciudad Juárez have been working through DNA profiles and unidentified remains in an effort that authorities describe as key to returning victims to families and moving investigations forward.
So far, officials have not announced any arrests in connection with the toddler's death, and they say the investigation remains open, with updates to come from the FGE as forensic results and any witness accounts develop, according to Netnoticias. Authorities continue to ask the public to report any information through the search commission numbers, 911 or 089 to help put a name to the child and locate her next of kin.
