Mexico Officials: 8 Bodies With Signs of Torture Found by Farmer Likely Kidnapped Workers From Resort

Authorities in Mexico said the eight bodies found in a field in Yucatan state could be the group of workers kidnapped from a resort in the neighboring state of Quintana Roo.

Quintana Roo Attorney General Oscar Montes de Oca told EFE on Tuesday that six of the eight bodies have already been fully identified, La Prensa Latina reported.

Montes de Oca said the bodies would be turned over to their families once the Yucatan Attorney General's office completes its forensic work and transfers the bodies across state lines.

The prosecutor noted that the bodies were found on Saturday in a field in Yucatan's municipality of Chikindzonot. Montes de Oca said the bodies bore signs of torture, and the victims had been dead for 72 hours at the time of their discovery.

The group of male workers vanished from the fishing community of Xcalak last Wednesday. Montes de Oca noted that authorities only became aware of the kidnapping after one of the victims escaped and reported the crime the following day.

The prosecutor said the kidnapped individuals, aged 18 to 45, had been working at a coastal ranch on the Xcalak-Mahahual highway near Costa Maya's major Caribbean cruise port.

Bodies of Kidnapped Workers in Mexico Found by Farmer Near Mexican Resort

A farmer found the bodies in a field in Yucatan village just over the border from Quintana Roo. Yucatan prosecutors noted that the bodies do not appear to have been killed where they were found and were probably just dumped there.

CBS News reported that officials did not identify the abducted men. Xcalak had largely been spared the violence that has affected other beach towns in Quintana Roo state. However, packages of drugs have been reported to wash ashore there in the past.

According to Montes de Oca, they have already informed the families of six victims that they were certain of their identities, and all that was pending was the DNA test.

The prosecutor said some of these men were identified by their tattoos or other bodily marks. He added that the victims may have had some information about something important for the perpetrators.

Montes de Oca said the presence of drugs in the area could be the main line of investigation. However, he noted that they are also not ruling out that the crime may be related to property invasions.

Violence in Mexico's Resorts

In May, one person was killed, and six others were injured in shootings on the main boulevard in Mexico's Caribbean coast resort of Cancun in Quintana Roo state.

Last March, tourists also panicked as loud noises were heard at the international airport in Cancun, causing flights to be suspended for almost three hours, ABC News reported.

The National Guard said at the time that there was no evidence of any gunshots having been fired, adding that the bangs may have occurred after someone knocked over three free-standing vertical display stands in the terminal.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Travel Warnings Issued Amid Cancun Crime Spree - From TODAY