MEXICO CITY—Authorities in western Mexico have told families of eight missing youths that among the human remains found in dozens of bags in a gorge on the outskirts of Guadalajara were some that preliminarily appeared to match characteristics of some of the missing young people.

The Jalisco state prosecutor’s office said in a statement late Thursday that the recovery of remains in the gorge continues, as does the identification.

The bags were found this week below a forest overlook, the state prosecutor’s office said. Firefighters and civil defense worked with a helicopter to recover remains from the gorge and planned to continue during the coming days.

Authorities had been looking for eight young people who had been reported missing last week when they found the site, but it was still unknown if they were among the remains found. The state prosecutor’s office said it investigated the site after receiving a report of possible body parts there.

There are more than 110,000 missing people in Mexico, and Jalisco is the state with the highest number, at 15,000, according to federal government data. There are also thousands of unidentified remains in morgues and cemeteries.