Elliot Onil Eastman. | PHOTO: Facebook post of Mudzna Ali
PAGADIAN CITY 鈥� Almost two months since the abduction of American Elliot Eastman, police officials in Western Mindanao said the vlogger had died while being taken away on a motorized banca (outrigger), forcing his captors to throw his body into the sea.
The Critical Incident Management Task Group (CIMTG) of the Zamboanga Peninsula regional police made the announcement on Thursday as it shared updates on the search for Eastman.
Lt. Col. Ramoncelio Sawan, acting regional police spokesperson, told the Inquirer in a telephone interview that the CIMTG was able to corroborate the information offered by a witness this week about Eastman鈥檚 death.
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Eastman, 26, was abducted from his family鈥檚 home in Sibuco town, Zamboanga del Norte, on Oct. 17. He was shot in the left leg to prevent him from escaping, as he showed resistance when taken by four armed men posing as law enforcers. The group escaped aboard a boat.
Sawan said the witness, whom he refused to identify, told investigators of 鈥渢he untimely death of Eastman on the night of his abduction.鈥�
Shot, wounded
Echoing the regional police鈥檚 statement, Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police, told reporters in a briefing on Thursday that Eastman was unlikely to be still alive after he supposedly lost a lot of blood from two bullet wounds in the leg and abdomen while being transported by his abductors.
Sawan admitted that such information had spread in Sibuco and nearby areas several weeks after Eastman was kidnapped, but investigators had brushed it aside.
Although six suspects had been charged for the abduction, the family of Eastman as well as local officials had yet to receive any ransom demand from the abductors and any proof of life.
According to a recent witness, Eastman died on the boat as the abductors were fleeing. Upon confirming that Eastman was already dead, 鈥渉is captors decided to throw his body overboard,鈥� Sawan said, citing the witness鈥� account.
To validate this, police investigators pieced together the bits of information they obtained from three suspects in their custody, two of whom surrendered while another was arrested during a pursuit operation.
Sawan said they discovered the same narration from the confession of one of the suspects who surrendered in October. It turned out that the witness got the information from the suspect, who is a relative, he added.
With this development, Sawan said they are now focused on the search and retrieval of Eastman鈥檚 body.
Fajardo said police and military units are working together on the effort.
Of six suspects charged before the Zamboanga del Norte prosecutor鈥檚 office, four are in police custody while two are subjects of pursuit operations.
Married to a local
A native of Vermont, Eastman settled in Sibuco for some five months prior to the abduction after he married a local woman.
The Sibuco municipal government had offered a P150,000 reward for information leading to the rescue of Eastman as well as the arrest of his kidnappers.
Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Adrian Amatong added P350,000 to the reward money. 鈥擶ITH A REPORT FROM FRANCES MANGOSING