Three people have been arrested amid the frantic search for kidnapped American YouTuber Elliot Eastman.
Eastman, 26, was shot in the leg and kidnapped by gunmen posing as police officers and dragged away in a speedboat on the night of October 17.
“According to their statements, the three detainees were directly involved in the kidnapping of the American citizen,” said Philippine National Police spokesman Col. Jean Fajardo.
The detainees identified three other accomplices who remain at large. Police said they believe Eastman is with them and still alive.
Two of the suspects turned themselves in separately and pointed to a third suspect, who was arrested in Sibuco, police officials said.
Three people have been arrested in the midst of the search for kidnapped American YouTuber Elliot Eastman
Criminal complaints of kidnapping were filed Tuesday against the six suspects.
“We believe he is alive, so our operations continue,” regional police spokeswoman Lt. Col. Helen Gálvez told The Associated Press by phone. “Our search will not stop until we locate him.”
A house-to-house search was underway in an unspecified area, Galvez said without elaborating.
He added that the suspects belonged to a criminal group and not any of the armed Muslim rebel groups, which have been blamed for a series of kidnappings for ransom in the southern Philippines over decades.
The kidnappers were armed with M16 rifles and disguised themselves as police officers.
One of them shot Eastman in the leg as he tried to escape and then dragged him onto a speedboat and fled, according to early police reports on the kidnapping.
Eastman, a Vermont native, had been sharing his life online after moving to the southern Philippines, where he married a local Muslim woman in Sibuco.
The FBI has also been deployed to the Southeast Asian country to assist in the search.
American YouTuber Elliot Eastman (right) is suspected of being kidnapped in a remote Philippine village on Thursday, just months after marrying a local woman (left).
Police in Sibuco City, in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte, attempted to hunt down the alleged kidnappers and their victim, following the kidnapping reported Thursday night.
They interviewed his wife, Karisha Jala, who lived with Eastman in a concrete shack that belonged to his father-in-law.
The US Embassy in the Philippines said in a statement: “When a US citizen goes missing, we work closely with local authorities as they conduct their search efforts and do everything we can to keep lines of communication open with the families.”
‘The State Department has no higher priority than the well-being and security of American citizens abroad.
‘Eastman was home with his wife when four armed men allegedly burst through the door Thursday night.
‘The attackers falsely claimed to be police officers before He was taken in a speedboat off the coast of Zamboanga del Norte, one of the most dangerous areas of the country.
Local police arrived around 11:00 p.m. and took photographs of the alleged crime scene.
Blood believed to have come from Eastman’s gunshot wound was scattered on the ground and an empty shell casing from an M16 rifle could also be seen along with everyday items such as a hat, purse and food.
Eastman had recently married a local woman, Karisha Jala, who lived with him in a concrete shack that belonged to her father-in-law.
Eastman appears on one of his live streams on YouTube on October 16. The attackers falsely claimed to be police officers before taking him away in a speedboat off the coast of Zamboanga del Norte, one of the most dangerous areas in the country.
Eastman’s disappearance has sparked a frantic search by national authorities and the FBI.
Just weeks before he was kidnapped, Eastman posted on a Facebook livestream that he was afraid to live in the area.
Former Sibuco mayor Norbideiri Edding said the kidnappers may have attacked the American because they thought he was a rich foreigner.
He also claimed that 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 ex-partner is a person of interest in the case and locals say he may have wanted to rekindle the romance.
Just weeks before he was kidnapped, Eastman posted on a Facebook livestream that he was afraid to live in the area, where he had been for about five months, according to police.
“As long as I’m here, my life will continue to be at risk,” Eastman said on Sept. 22.
‘That’s the reality. Especially in the area I’m in… It’s not even just about the Philippines.
“This area I’m in is one of the most dangerous areas in the country, so it’s literally like the red zone.”