Kidnapped Mexican model’s body found in mass grave

The disappearance led to street protests in Mexico demanding justice, with police since arresting three men over the crime

Yessenia Estefania Alvarado (Facebook)

The body of a young model and mother has been found in a mass grave after a gang of men snatched her away from family while shopping at a Mexican street market.

Yessenia Estefania Alvarado, 24, was reported to be among the remains found in the shallow grave in the town of Cajeme, Sonora, on 20 September.

Ms Alvarado had been shopping with her mother and cousin in Ciudad Obregon when the group of men stopped the women and forced the model into a van on 19 August. It was one of a number of kidnappings that led to several street marches in Sonora demanding justice.

The Sonora prosecutor's office discovered the grave more than two weeks ago but only this week confirmed Ms Alvarado's identity after DNA and forensic testing, according to the local reports.

Her brother, Juan Carlos Alvarado Rivera, said on Tuesday he was going to miss his sister and that the family would take care of the young son she left behind.

"We’re going to take care of your son, just like you were doing," he said in a Facebook post. "With so much love. He’s going to miss you so much, but we will always remind him of what a wonderful mother you were.

The Sonora prosecutor's office said investigators from the state unit to combat kidnapping found the bones of six bodies in the mass grave in the southern part of Cajeme; three female, two male and one whose gender wasn’t determined.

"It’s worth mentioning that based on this investigation, the Sonora FGJE (the state's prosecutor's office) has been able to find, apprehend and get a court order to temporarily remand three presumed perpetrators," prosecutors said in a statement.