Count of 'disappeared' tops 61,000 in Mexico

MEXICO CITY -- More than 61,000 people have disappeared in Mexico, authorities announced Monday, sharply raising their estimate of those who have vanished in more than a decade of extreme violence by and among organized-crime groups. The government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador released the new figure after an exhaustive analysis of data from state prosecutors. Previously, authorities had estimated the number of victims at 40,000. While a few cases date to the 1960s, the vast majority have been reported since 2006, when Mexico launched an all-out offensive targeting organized-crime groups. Karla Quintana, head of Mexico's National Search Commission, which coordinates the effort to...