Mexico ? Police acting on a tip found nine bodies partially buried in the desert on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, which is across the border from El Paso, Texas, an official said Saturday.

Investigators are searching the desert site south of the city to see if there are any more bodies.

An official with the state prosecutor’s office who declined to be named says a police officer’s badge was found at the site. Authorities were working to identify the bodies.

State security official Enrique Torres Valadez said a total of nine bodies, seven male and two female, have been found so far.

“One was handcuffed, all were tortured,” he said. “They had been there for days or maybe weeks.”