An American man abducted in the Philippines is presumed dead after a witness claimed he was shot during a struggle with his captors, the Philippines News Agency reported, citing police.
Elliot Eastman, from Vermont, was abducted on October 17, near his home in Sibuco, on the island of Mindanao, where he’d been living with his wife and regularly posting videos on YouTube of his life there.
Regional police spokesman Lt. Col. Ramoncelio Sawan told media Thursday that the witness told them that Eastman was shot twice by his captors on the night of his abduction as they ferried him away from the scene.
“We are constrained to believe that he has died. All of the information that we have points to that,” Sawan said, according to the Associated Press.
Police are trying to verify the witness’ account but are yet to find Eastman’s body, which the witness said was thrown overboard.
Sawan vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice to protect foreigners living in the area.
Police have made several arrests during their search for Eastman, with three suspects killed in a gunbattle with the police last month, according to the Associated Press.
Sibuco is in the western region of Mindanao, the country’s second-largest island, which is home to several Islamist insurgent groups and has long been a hotbed of insurgency in the country of majority Catholics.
Police have said the present case is unlikely linked to Muslim rebels, according to the Associated Press.
The US State Department advises citizens to reconsider travel to Mindanao due to the risk of “crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping.”