Updated

Authorities in Mexico's southern Guerrero state are searching for as many as 17 people taken by gunmen over the weekend from a violent and remote area.

Guerrero Gov. Hector Astudillo Flores said Monday authorities are looking for 17 people and that two helicopters were participating in the search in the area known as Tierra Caliente.

The state's public safety body had announced Sunday that it had found three bodies in the Arcelia township and received reports of another seven missing. It said they had been part of a caravan of people traveling to a wedding Saturday evening.

Multiple drug trafficking organizations operate in the area, where marijuana and opium poppies are cultivated.