By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-30 13:47:13 | Updated at 2024-10-30 21:29:46
7 hours ago
Three people have been arrested amid the frantic search for kidnapped US Youtuber Elliot Eastman.
Eastman, 26, was shot in the leg and abducted by gunmen pretending to be police officers who spirited him away on a speedboat on the evening of October 17.
The US Sun reports that the three people who were detained have identified another three accomplices who remain at large.
'Based on their statements, the three in custody were directly involved in the abduction of the American national,' Philippine National Police spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo said.
Three people have been arrested amid the search for kidnapped US Youtuber Elliot Eastman.
Vermont native Eastman had been sharing his life online after moving to the southern Philippines, where he married to a local a Muslim woman in Sibuco.
The FBI has also been deployed to the southeast Asian country top help with the search.
They have interviewed his wife, Karisha Jala, who lived with Eastman in a concrete shack belonging to his father-in-law.
The US Embassy in the Philippines said in a statement: 'When a U.S. citizen is missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their search efforts, and we make every effort to keep lines of communication open with families.
'The Department of State has no higher priority than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad.
'Eastman was at home with his wife when four armed men allegedly burst through the door last Thursday evening.
US YouTuber Elliot Eastman (right) is suspected to have been kidnapped from a remote Philippines village on Thursday just months after marrying a local woman (left)
Police in Sibuco town in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte tried to pursue the suspected abductors and their victim, after the reported abduction on Thursday night
'The attackers falsely claimed they were police before they whisked him away in a speedboat off the coast of Zamboanga del Norte - one of the most dangerous parts of the country.
Local police arrived at around 11pm and took pictures of the suspected crime scene.
Blood believed to be from Eastman's gunshot wound was smeared across the floor and an empty bullet cartridge from an M16 rifle could also be seen alongside everyday items including a hat, handbag and food.
The former Sibuco Mayor Norbideiri Edding said kidnappers may have targeted the American because they thought he was a rich foreigner.
He also claimed Eastman had been facing financial difficulties after allegedly being scammed by his previous girlfriend whom he had planned to marry.
Other reports have suggested that his wife's former partner is a person of interest in the case with locals saying he may have wanted to rekindle the romance.
Just weeks before he was abducted, Eastman posted said on a Facebook livestream that he was afraid of living in the area, where he had been for about five months, according to police.
'As long as I'm here, my life is still at risk, you know,' Eastman said on September 22.
'That's the reality. especially the area that I'm in....It's not even just the Philippines.
'This area that I'm in is like the most dangerous are in the country so it's literally like the red zone.'
