Investigators in Tamaulipas recovered five bodies that may link to the Reynosa Grupo Fugitivo disappearance as the State Attorney General’s Office works to identify the remains.
Tamaulipas authorities said Thursday that their investigation led them to a wooded site in Reynosa where they discovered five bodies. Based on preliminary characteristics, investigators believe the remains could belong to the five members of Grupo Fugitivo who went missing last weekend. The Security Spokesperson’s Office shared a brief statement early Thursday morning, raising both cautious hope and fresh questions for families and investigators alike.
The disappearance first came to light on Sunday, May 25, when police in Reynosa received a report that four musicians from Grupo Fugitivo and their representative never arrived at a private event. The group had been scheduled to perform at La Palapa del Prado, a riverside venue in the Rancho Grande neighborhood. Friends and colleagues feared the worst when the band never showed up, triggering an immediate search and alert across Tamaulipas.
That same day, the band’s official Facebook page posted three images showing the five men dressed in their signature black outfits. One caption read, “See you later in McAllen, Texas. Pure Fugitive, crossing borders.” Those online updates offered a glimmer of hope that the group planned to slip across into the United States for additional gigs. Instead, investigators now focus on the grim possibility that the five travelers never left the region.
Search records list the missing as Victor Manuel Garza Cervantes, 21; Francisco Xavier Vázquez Osorio, 20; Nemesio Antonio Durán Rodríguez, 40; José Francisco Morales Martínez, 23; and Livian Edyberto Solís de la Rosa, 27. All five carry active missing-person reports with the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office. In the days following their disappearance, authorities recovered the van the musicians traveled in, abandoned in the La Cañada neighborhood. The second vehicle carrying their instruments has yet to surface.
Late Wednesday, May 28, local residents alerted police to human remains in a dense, remote section of Reynosa. Witnesses described seeing burned debris scattered amid underbrush. The State Attorney General’s forensic team secured the scene and transported the remains to a morgue in Ciudad Victoria for identification. Officials stressed that the process will rely on DNA testing and dental records, a step that could take several days.
In their Thursday bulletin, the Security Spokesperson’s Office said the State Attorney General’s Office will issue a detailed report in coming hours. The update is expected to outline forensic findings, confirm whether the bodies match the five missing individuals, and share any new leads. Authorities also plan to widen the search for the second vehicle and interview witnesses who last saw the group alive.
Families of the missing musicians have gathered outside the Reynosa prosecutor’s offices, demanding transparency and swift progress. “We need answers now,” said a relative who declined to be named. “These were young artists with dreams. We deserve to know what happened to them.” Local human-rights groups have also called for federal oversight, citing a recent rise in violence against musicians and civilians in Tamaulipas.
The case underscores ongoing security challenges in Reynosa, a border city long plagued by cartel rivalries and kidnappings. Residents say they fear for their safety after dark, and business owners report mounting pressure to pay protection fees. As investigators piece together the final hours of the Grupo Fugitivo members, the broader community waits for justice—and for an end to the violence that claimed these five lives.
