Dog Uncovers Southwest's Largest Crime Scene

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One of the unidentified victims had an unusual set of acrylic nails that could help detectives determine her identity.

Just like on any other day, Christine Ross and her dog Ruca left their home on Albuquerque's west side to go for a walk. But on Feb. 2, 2009, the stroll took a strange turn.

Ruca sniffed out a large bone protruding from the path, and Christine did a double take.

"It didn't look normal. Our gut instinct told us it wasn't supposed to be there," Ross said.

So she took a picture of the bone with her cell phone's camera and messaged it to her sister, who is a nurse. Just a short time later, her sister confirmed what she had feared: the femur bone looked as though it belonged to a human.

When police arrived to check the area, they didn't uncover just one body; over the course of several weeks, they uncovered the bodies of 11 women and one unborn child.

Police Sift Through Massive Grave Site

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Police hope dental x-rays will hope them name one of the unidentified women.

Albuquerque's Police Department had a grueling task ahead of them. The area where the original bone was found is surrounded by at least 100 acres of dirt and desert.

A massive team of investigators and forensic scientists collaborated to collect every bone and every piece of evidence, and, they say, the only way to do it is by sifting through every inch of dirt, one speck of dust at a time.

"We estimate we've moved over 40,000 cubic yards of dirt," said Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz.

But moving dirt is just one of the tasks the department is tackling. Detectives are also working long hours in an effort to identify the women who were left in the makeshift grave.

Victims' Families Ask For Justice

So far, police say they've identified seven of the 11 bodies and one unborn child. Medical examiners say the bodies belong to Victoria Chavez, Cinnamon Elks, Julie Nieto, Doreen Marquez, Veronica Romero, Monica Candelaria, and Michelle Valdez, along with Michelle's unborn child.

While four women remain unidentified, police are making progress since the case first surfaced. Police say with the help of forensic odontologists, they now know that one of the unidentified women is an African-American female who was likely only 16 years old when she died.

Not only that, police say the teen had bridge-work done to her teeth. Officials have since released the girls' x-rays in hopes that a dentist somewhere can compare her records with their records and then use this information to unlock the girls' identity.

Police are also still working to identify a suspect. There is no telling if the women were buried by the same person, and police are not yet saying if there is a suspect or suspects. The identified victims do have a common link: cops say the women have ties to drugs and prostitution.

Now, the women's families are collaborating with the police in hopes of finding out what happened. The victim's families say that despite the rocky paths the women may have taken while they were alive, it doesn't mean they don't deserve justice after their deaths.

"Number one, she was a human being, she was a beautiful human being," said a teary-eyed Dan Valdez, whose daughter Michelle Valdez was found in the grave site.

"She was my daughter, she was a sister, a mother a granddaughter," Dan says. "Everybody's got skeletons in their closet. This is a cruel and inhumane act that took place upon my daughter and her unborn fetus and I've thought many times, I'll go to my grave looking for who did it. I will not let it rest."

Police hope to learn who the women may have last been seen with. Detectives say they'd like to hear from women who may have been working the street between 2001 and 2005, or anyone who may have hired the women during that period of time.

One of the victims was found to have an unusual set of acrylic nails, which police are hoping might be an important clue in determining her identity.

Reaching out to area nail shops, detectives have found that this type of nail art was not available in the Albquerque at the time when they believe the victim was killed. Police belive that she might have been from, or traveled to, another state.

Authorities are hoping that somebody who recognizes the nail art will come forward and help identify the victim.