Mexican authorities continued Friday to search for three journalists who were kidnapped by gunmen in the southern part of the country that press freedom organizations describe as one of the most dangerous for reporters on the planet.

The general prosecutor’s office in the state of Guerrero announced last Thursday that an investigation is being conducted into the disappearance of five people in the tourist town of Taxco. Among them are the journalists Marco Toledo, Silvia Arce and Alberto Sanchez.

Carlos Monje, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said yesterday that the investigation was being augmented by state and federal agencies, including elements of the National Guard and the military. Fifteen vehicles with personnel from various security agencies were sent to Taxco, he assured.

According to the international NGO Article 19, which cited eyewitnesses, five gunmen broke into the home of Mr. Toledo, the director of the weekly newspaper El Espectador de Taxco, on Sunday and kidnapped him along with his wife and son.

“At least two witnesses” told the non-governmental organization that the journalist “had suffered threats and harassment in recent years,” Article 19 said in a statement.

Ms Arce and Mr Sanchez, a couple who run the news website RedSiete, were kidnapped on Wednesday by gunmen who stormed their offices in Taxco, the same NGO said.

Ms Arce’s sister, through a video she uploaded to social networking sites, appealed for help to find the couple as soon as possible.

“I want my sister and brother-in-law back,” he said, “my nephews, who are three and five, and my niece, who is thirteen, need them.”

Mexico’s annual death toll of attacks against media workers is often among the heaviest in the world. So far this year, Article 19 has reported five murders of journalists. 2022 was the deadliest year since the NGO began collecting data in 2000: 13 murders of journalists were committed.