Family discovers human remains west of Sunland Park

A family discovered a human skull and bones west of Sunland Park on New Year’s Day, according to the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department.

“We do know that the remains are 100% skeletonized,” said Kelly Jameson, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department. “They appear to have been there a period of time.”

The scene was less than a quarter of a mile from a residential neighborhood near Los Pinos Court and Las Flores Street.

“Hopefully it’s nothing serious, because that’s scary,” said Christopher Acosta, who told ABC-7 his family moved to the area 11 years ago.

The scene is less than three miles north of the U.S. Mexico border. Acosta said his family has seen migrants in the area before.

“When I was younger, I would always spend time in the desert, you know, riding my bike, or walking around,” Acosta said. “We would always find clothes and stuff like that.”

“This area is very close to the border,” Jameson said. “The likelihood that it belonged to someone who was trying to cross the border is high, however, we don’t know that for sure.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.