A mobile APD substation is partially obscured by a pile of freshly dug earth

The president of the neighborhood association closest to the site there the bodies of 13 people, including a fetus, have been recovered says he’s not surprised to hear the victims may have been prostitutes.

“We’ve actually caught grown ups out here trying to have sex with women that look like prostitutes,” said Salih Rahman, president of the Sierra ranch Neighborhood Association.

“So [when] they talk about some of these women were prostitutes, it kind of rang familiar to me because we’ve seen it,” he added.

All thirteen bodies were discovered in February on an undeveloped patch of land on Albuquerque’s Southwest Mesa.

Only two have been identified: 22-year-old Michelle Valdez and 28-year-old Victoria Chavez. Both women had a history of drug use and prostitution.

Rahman says since officials have begun excavating the site near Dennis Chavez and 118th streets the neighborhood has cleaned up a bit.

“Since the patrols have been up, we’ve seen a lot less illegal dumping, a lot less of the drug trafficking too,” he said. We haven’t found a lot of the hypodermic needles all around the area where kids are playing. It’s really decreased big time.”

Officials on Friday resumed excavating the 100-acre site, a process that Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz has said may continue for months.

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