A Canadian man found dead on a beach at the Mexican resort of Los Cabos on Wednesday died from severe head trauma and a skull fracture, officials say.

Prosecutors in the state of Baja California Sur said the 50-year-old man appeared to have been beaten with a blunt object.

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development declined to confirm the man's identity or hometown, or confirm the circumstances of the death. But local media identified the dead man as Marty Gary Atwood. He was originally from Cape Sable Island, N.S., but had more recently worked in Alberta.

His body was found on the El Tule beach, midway between the twin resorts of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.

Last week, a 35-year-old Canadian woman died off Cabo San Lucas when a breaching whale crashed into the side of the boat she was travelling in.

Also Wednesday, the Mexican navy said it had found a boat stolen during a mass robbery of tourists on an island off the nearby city of La Paz last week. The boat was abandoned in an area of mangroves near La Paz.

On March 14, a group of armed men arrived at the island of Espiritu Santo aboard a boat and stole the belongings of a group of mainly foreign tourists on a day trip to the island. The thieves also stole one of the boats the tourists had arrived in.

The navy said it was stepping up patrols in the area to prevent such incidents.