Plight of the mothers who search

Missing person posters bearing the image of Flores’ son Alejandro in Juan Jose Rios, Mexico. — Fred Ramos/The New York Times

WHEN she arrived at the field in northern Mexico where she had been searching for her son’s remains, Cecilia Flores kissed a large banner emblazoned with his face.

Big letters on it proclaimed, “Your mother is fighting because she loves you.”