AUTHORITIES now believe that American vlogger Elliot Eastman likely died following his abduction in Zamboanga del Norte, though his body remains missing.
Eastman was reportedly kidnapped on October 17 in Sibuco town by four armed men who posed as officers. He sustained a gunshot wound to the leg while resisting the abduction, according to police reports.
“We believe Elliot Eastman died based on testimonies from a witness and one of the suspects,” Police Regional Office (PRO) 9 Acting Spokesperson Lt. Col. Ramoncelio Sawan said in a phone interview on Thursday.
Sawan explained that one suspect, in an extrajudicial confession made last November, admitted that Eastman had died and that his body was disposed of in the waters near Zamboanga City. This statement aligns with a witness account provided in October.
“Despite the corroborating testimonies, we have not yet located Eastman’s body,” Sawan said.
Eastman’s family has been kept informed through coordination between the police and the United States Embassy, Sawan added. Authorities continue to appeal for information about Eastman’s whereabouts and are working with agencies equipped with sea assets in the Zamboanga Peninsula to aid in the search.
PRO9 officials have yet to determine the motive behind Eastman’s abduction.
Eastman, a YouTube content creator from Vermont, USA, had been living in the Philippines for five months after marrying a Filipina from Sibuco.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joined the investigation in October.
On October 29, police filed complaints against six suspects for kidnapping and serious illegal detention before the Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Prosecutor’s Office. Three suspects were arrested, while the remaining three are still at large, according to a Philippine National Police announcement on October 31.
Additionally, three individuals linked to a local kidnap-for-ransom group were implicated in Eastman’s case after being killed in a clash with authorities in Zamboanga Sibugay on November 12.
The investigation is ongoing, with authorities determined to uncover the full circumstances surrounding Eastman’s disappearance.