Five bodies have been found in the search for members of a Mexican band feared to have been kidnapped, authorities in the crime-wracked northeastern state of Tamaulipas said Thursday.
Relatives had reported receiving ransom demands for the musicians, aged between 20 and 40 years old, who were last seen on Sunday in a bar in the city of Reynosa near the US border.
“Investigations led to an area where five bodies were located,” the state security spokesperson’s office said on social media.
Based on “preliminary characteristics,” the bodies could be those of the missing members of the local band called Fugitivo, it said.
The musicians were hired to perform a concert but arrived to find that it was a vacant lot, according to family members who held a protest urging the authorities to act.
“We’ve been receiving extortion calls,” the sister of one of the missing men said, asking not to be identified for security reasons.
Tamaulipas is considered one of Mexico’s most dangerous states due to gang members involved in drug and migrant trafficking, as well as other crimes including extortion.
Criminal violence has claimed more than 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left around 120,000 people missing.
Mexican musicians have previously been targeted by criminal groups that pay them to compose and perform songs that glorify the exploits of their leaders.
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