AN American vlogger who was kidnapped by a group of armed men on October 17 in Zamboanga del Norte died shortly after his kidnapping and his body dumped at sea, police said yesterday.
Zamboanga Peninsula police regional office acting spokesman Lt. Col. Ramoncelio Sawan said they first learned of the death of Elliot Eastman from a witness sometime in October.
Sawan said the witness reported to the police that he was allegedly informed by “someone” that Eastman died on the same night he was abducted in Sibuco town.
Eastman, who is married to a Filipina, was shot and injured in the leg by the suspects after he resisted the kidnapping. The suspects later boarded him to their speedboat and fled.
Citing information provided by the witness, Sawan said the suspects supposedly noticed Eastman was already dead while they were still at sea.
“So, what they (suspects) did… they threw the body of Eliot Eastman into the water,” he said, adding that the PNP treated the information as a mere “hearsay” as they were not able to confirm it.
A month later, policemen arrested one of the suspects in the kidnapping.
“He (the suspect) corroborated the statement of the witness. He confirmed that Eastman was shot (and injured), and while at sea, they noticed Eastman was already dead, so they threw his body into the water (in Zamboanga City),” said Sawan.
Sawan said the suspect executed an extra judicial confession about Eastman’s death. He said the suspect’s statement has been forwarded to the Zamboanga del Norte provincial prosecutors office.
Six suspects were charged with kidnapping before the provincial prosecutors office last October 29. Four of the suspects are already in police custody while the two others are still at-large.
Sawan said an additional case of murder will be filed against the suspects.
He said the police have exerted efforts to locate the remains of Eastman but these have yielded negative results so far.
Asked if the PNP has already concluded Eastman is already dead, Sawan said: “We want to believe that Elliot Eastman is already dead because of the testimonies of the witness and the one of the suspects… We are already looking into the direction that Elliot Eastman is already dead.”
On whether the family of Elliot was already informed about the development, Sawan said: “I believe so because we are in constant communication with the stakeholders from the US embassy.
