As they closed down the last island penal colony in the hemisphere after more than a century, Mexican authorities faced a conundrum: they had lost track of 16 inmates registered at the Islas Marias prison.
The head of Mexico's prison system said Friday that most were later located at other prisons on the mainland. They had apparently been transferred but not struck from the rolls at the penal colony.
But Francisco Garduno said two inmates were never found and are presumed to have escaped in a 2013 prison riot that killed six people.
While inmates wanted out, some prison employees don't want to leave the island. Garduno said 117 of the 411 employees continue working on the island, which is scheduled to become a nature reserve and cultural center.