FILE PHOTO: Frida Urtiz, wife of reporter Salvador Adame Pardo, and his brother in law Franco Urtiz, stand during a protest for last May 18 disappearance of Adame, outside the offices of the Attorney General of the Republic in Mexico City, Mexico June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican journalist who was kidnapped last month in the violent Western state of Michoacan has been found dead, the state’s chief prosecutor said on Monday.

A body discovered on June 14 was identified with DNA tests as that of Salvador Adame, a local television journalist who had been missing since he was abducted by gunmen last month, Michoacan prosecutor Jose Godoy told journalists.

Mexico has been the deadliest country for reporters in 2017, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, with at least four reporters killed in direct retaliation for their work.

The total number of murder investigations in Mexico rose to a record in May as criminal violence increased dramatically since last year. There were 2,186 murder probes in May, the highest for any month going back to 1997, according to government statistics.