POLICE probers on Tuesday filed charges against six suspects in the October 17 kidnapping of American vlogger Elliot Eastman in Lanao del Norte.
Charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention were filed before the Provincial Prosecutors Office in Sindangan town, the Zamboanga police regional office said yesterday.
It said three of the suspects are in police custody as of Tuesday while the three others are still at-large.
Police said “John Does” were included in the complaint as accessories to the crime.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said one of the suspects surrendered last Sunday and was arrested.
Fajardo said the suspect provided information about his cohorts, leading to the arrest of the second and third suspects.
She said the suspects are members of a criminal group operating in Zamboanga del Norte Peninsula.
The Zamboanga Peninsula police regional office said it “remains active and persistent in its search and rescue operations (for Eastman) across the Zamboanga Peninsula.”
Eastman, married to a Filipina, was snatched by four armed men posing as policemen at his residence in Sitio Tungawan, Barangay Poblacion in Sibuco last October 17.
Police said Eastman was shot by the suspects in the leg after he resisted. The suspects later brought the injured victim to their speedboat and escaped.
“PRO (Police Regional Office) 9 assures its stakeholders that no stone will be left unturned until Elliot Eastman is located, rescued, secured, and returned to the safety of his family,” the Zamboanga Peninsula police said.
“We encourage everyone to report to your nearest police station any information about Elliot Eastman and his captors. Do it for the sake of the kidnapped victim. Do it for the future of Zamboanga Peninsula,” it added.
