North American Migrant Trail (03:31)

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Tens of thousands of people go missing each year trying to reach the United States. A man demonstrates how he sleeps on the train tracks.

1. The Survivor (02:32)

Two migrants share myths from their countries at a migrant shelter in Apizaco, Central Mexico. Gustavo Alberto Lopez Quiroz is from Managua, Nicaragua; he is traveling to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to find work.

2. The Anthropologist (02:59)

A team takes photographs and collects items left behind near the U.S. border by migrants waiting to be picked up at a site in Buster's Wash.

3. The Trail (03:47)

A group of men talk about the close bond they have formed with each other as they say goodbye before running to jump on a train moving through Southern Mexico.

Gunshot Wound (02:49)

Lopez Quiroz gets a piece of metal removed from his back that was preventing a wound from healing. He retells the story of being shot by border guards.

Undocumented Migration Project: Lab (04:15)

At the University of Michigan, a team files and examines artifacts collected from migrant sites. The work can feel invasive because they are inspecting people's personal items.

Migrant Survival (02:37)

A man says he was captured in an immigration raid, but escaped from the immigration office. He makes a pinwheel out of a beer can.

Public and Political Pressure (03:58)

Lopez Quiroz finds out his Mexican humanitarian visa has been delayed again. He and a friend were shot by a border agent. His case was covered in the local news and a congressman vowed to do everything he could to help Lopez Quiroz get documentation.

Migrant Site: BK-5 (02:22)

The Anthropologist recalls finding the body of Carmita Maricel Zhagui Puyase. He gives a presentation at the University of Michigan. Puyase was abandoned by her smuggler when she became ill and unable to walk.

Continuing Journey to the U.S. (03:58)

A group of migrants make coffee using fire and soda bottles. They have decided to walk rather than jump on the train to avoid being caught in a raid.

Sagrada Family Shelter - National Immigration Institute (03:05)

Lopez Quiroz has received his Mexican humanitarian visa. He is excited to be legal and not have to sneak onto trains anymore. His mother cries with joy when he calls her.

Nogales, Mexico: U.S.-Mexico Border (04:49)

Jose Maria Tacuri Ayavaca went missing after leaving Nicaragua to reunite with his parents in New York. The Anthropologist puts up signs to ask for the public's help. Immigrants are funneled through the harsh desert.

Taken to Unknown Location (01:46)

A group of migrants talk about the sacrifices they make and dangers they face leaving their home countries to attempt the journey to the U.S. One man watched his friend get detained by border patrol.

Press Conference (05:16)

Lopez Quiroz goes to congress in Tlaxcala, Mexico to ask Congressman Luis Javier Sanchez Vasquez for financial help after he helped him get his Mexican humanitarian visa.

Colibri Center for Human Rights: Missing Migrant Project (04:57)

The Anthropologist continues his search for information about Ayavaca. Forensic anthropology reports do not show anyone in his age range. If his body had been found, it would not have been put into U.S. databases. A migrant gets his daughter's name tattooed on his arm.

Eight Months Later (06:13)

Lopez Quiroz is at the U.S.-Mexico border in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. He has a girlfriend and a job. They are waiting for payment from La Senora so Quiroz can send money home to his mom.

No Update on Missing Teenager (03:14)

The Anthropologist travels to Montauk, New York to speak with Ayavaca's mom. He informs her that there is no new information, but he will continue searching.

Migrant Site Camaraderie (03:26)

Migrants sing and tell stories to pass time at a migrant shelter,

Control of Nuevo Laredo (03:04)

Lopez Quiroz and Rosa listen to the radio and learn that nine dead bodies were found with gunshot wounds and signs of torture. It is a new fight between the Old School Zetas and the Northeast Cartel.

Experiment Site: Arivaca (04:31)

The anthropology team dresses dead pigs in clothes and leaves them in the desert to gather hard data about the composition process in an effort to show that the number of fatalities is higher than what is recorded at the medical examiner's office.

Migrant site: "Tamarindo," Southern Mexico (02:47)

The Anthropologist speaks to a group of migrants about the dangers of traveling through the desert. He displays a map that shows how many dead bodies have been found and asks that they report missing people so bodies can be identified.

Tecun Uman, Guatemala - Guatemala-Mexico Border (03:21)

Lopez Quiroz lost his Mexican humanitarian visa and was not able to get it renewed. He regrets not fighting harder to get to the U.S.

Credits: Border South (01:10)

Credits: Border South