Spurred by mass abduction, Mexicans scour for remains of their dead

Relatives hold pictures of missing students from the Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College Raul Isidro Burgos, during a demonstration demanding the government find them, on the 40th anniversary of the death of Mexican revolutionary Lucio Cabanas, in Chilpancingo, Guerrero December 2, 2014. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

IGUALA, Mexico(Reuters) - Terrorized by brutal drug gangs and corrupt police, residents around this town in southwestern Mexico have for years kept silent when relatives disappeared, fearing they would be targeted next if they made a fuss.

    Some tried their own low-profile searches, even going to spots where they saw vultures circling above, but most kept quiet and others simply fled the area when they were threatened.