Mother of Missing American 'Wants Answers' After Possible Remains Found

Human remains were found near missing traveler Harry Devert's motorcycle.

ByABC News
July 13, 2014, 5:53 PM

— -- The mother of an American missing in Mexico "wants answers" after authorities found the motorcycle belonging to her son and human remains buried nearby, a family friend said.

Ann Devert, of Pelham, N.Y., has been in and out of Mexico several times in the months since her son Harry Devert went missing in mid-January, and she returned to the country Saturday, according to Ann Devert's lawyer Darren Del Sardo.

This week authorities in Mexico matched Harry Devert's motorcycle VIN plates with a rusted bike found by the side of the road. Near the bike human remains were found that were partially buried, Del Sardo said.

Jackie Burrell a family friend of the Deverts said that Ann Devert was working with the U.S. Embassy, French Embassy and Mexican authorities during the search for her son.

"She's down there and she continues the search," said Burell. "This is not confirmed. She's in complete control, she wants answers."

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Harry Devert started a lengthy road trip on a motorcycle last fall that would take him across the U.S. and through parts of Central and South America. Devert, 32 when he disappeared, had planned to end the trip at the World Cup in Brazil.

Del Sardo said that Ann Devert was working to expedite the process of getting the body DNA tested.

"She's remaining optimistic and you know as she's doing the best she possibly could in this very trying time," Del Sardo told ABC News. "There's still many questions unanswered. She's trying to act on a serious lead, where in [his] motorcycle was found or to get some sort of closure if in fact the remains are Harry's."

Harry Devert was an avid traveler who documented his travels on his website A New Yorker Travels. Burrell said at the end of this last trip, he had planned to take a break from travelling and write about his experiences.

For his roadtrip into Mexico, Devert wrote on his website he learned how to ride a motorcycle because, "You get a much different sense of connection to your surroundings when you're riding through them on a bike"

"Life is short, if you're going to do something, like my mother always told me, do it right,"Devert said of his plan to spend a year on the road.