Mexican police seek DNA of missing to identify decapitated bodies

Monterrey, Mexico (CNN) -- Mexican authorities are asking for DNA samples from families of missing persons nationwide in their efforts to identify 49 decapitated bodies, an official said Wednesday.

That will be the only way to identify the victims -- whose killers cut off their heads, hands and feet -- Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene told reporters three days after investigators found the remains abandoned along a highway.

Officials in El Salvador may also request access to the DNA data authorities in Nuevo Leon have compiled, to compare it with samples from family members of Salvadoran migrants who have gone missing in Mexico, Domene said.

While investigators work to identify the victims behind closed doors, parts of the case have played out quite publicly.                  Full Read