Migrants' dreams of a better life gone awry

But not all migrants who disappear are dead. Many young women, who fail to make it to the US and find themselves without money on the Guatemala-Mexico border, wind up working in the area's many brothels, forbidden or too embarrassed to call home.

Migrants who have accidents and are hospitalized, and those who are arrested and jailed, often can't make contact with their families.

Many migrants who fail to make it to the US - especially those who have drained their families' savings or incurred debts to pay coyotes' fees - are often too ashamed to contact their families.

Through their work, the Progreso organization has located 40 of the missing migrants formerly on their roster.

Following the example of this group, two similar organizations have formed in other parts of Honduras. Activists hope to form a national network of such groups, and they are pressing the Honduran government to set up an investigating committee.

The Honduran foreign ministry has set up a phone line to take reports on the missing, and an Internet website where their photos are displayed.

"Our principal problem is a lack of resources, but we are doing everything we can to help," said Luz de Mejia, from the ministry's consular affairs office.

The not-so-savory itinerary of the recent excursion to the border was emotionally trying for the small number of association members who could raise the money to attend.

They visited a jail, a morgue, hospitals and clinics, and dozens of brothels. Many people recognized some of the missing from the photos, but following up on the leads proved challenging.

Many of the recognized migrants had since left places where they were recently spotted and, in some cases, owners of bars where some women were reported to work denied recognizing the women.

On the first trip the association made to the border last year, they located six missing migrants, all alive. This year they went home without finding any.

But they leave behind a number of strong leads and commitments from humanitarian organizations and authorities to cooperate in the search.

They feel confident that, as last year, that some of the missing will turn up within the months after the trip. And even if they don't, they say they are sure some good will come from their efforts.

"Maybe seeing us out here looking for our relatives will help migrants we've met along the way understand their families' needs. And perhaps they will decide to communicate with their family," says Rosa Ramirez, who went on the trip in the hope of finding her nephew who has been missing for a year. "That would be a big success, it doesn't have to be one of our relatives, but any migrant out there."

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