Mexico ( Kidnappers Free Mexican Lawmaker )

MEXICO CITY – A state legislator kidnapped earlier this week in southern Mexico was released by his captors, authorities said Friday.

Olaguer Hernandez Flores, a member of the Guerrero state assembly, was abducted around 11:00 p.m. Tuesday from a casino in Chilpancingo, the state capital.

Despite the captive’s release, the investigation will continue, the Guerrero state Attorney General’s Office said in a statement.

The AG’s office “regards the physical integrity of the victim as the priority, and without diminishing its function as an investigative organ, will continue in the task of pursuing and arrested the likely perpetrators,” the statement said.

Hernandez Flores, a member of Mexico’s governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was dragged out of the Emotion casino by a group of armed men.

The Guerrero AG’s office collaborated with federal agencies in efforts to secure the lawmaker’s release.

Mexico’s criminal organizations have kidnapped and murdered numerous politicians and businessmen in recent years.

Guerrero Gov. Angel Aguirre’s administration announced the creation of a special unit to deal with kidnappings last October. Abductions have spiked in the state, a trend that has affected the rest of Mexico.

A total of 1,695 kidnappings were reported in Mexico in 2013, up 20 percent from the previous year, the National Public Safety System said.

An unknown number of kidnappings, however, go unreported, with some estimates putting the figure at 90 percent.