The FBI has launched an investigation into the kidnapping of an American YouTuber who was kidnapped in the most dangerous area of the Philippines.
Elliot Eastman, 26, was shot in the leg and kidnapped by armed men posing as police officers and taken away on a speedboat on the night of October 17.
The Vermont native had been sharing his life online after moving to the southern Philippines, where he married a local Muslim woman in Sibuco.
Now the FBI has arrived in the South Asian country to investigate the kidnapping after interviewing his wife, Karisha Jala, who lived in her father-in-law’s cement shack.
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.”
Elliot Eastman, 26, was shot in the leg and kidnapped by armed men posing as police officers and taken away on a speedboat on the night of October 17.
Now the FBI has arrived in the South Asian country to investigate the kidnapping after interviewing his wife, Karisha Jala (pictured), who lived in a ramshackle concrete shack belonging to her father-in-law.
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.
“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 away 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.
A spokeswoman for local law enforcement, police colonel Helen Gálvez, said: “We still have no evidence of life or contact with the kidnappers.” Neither here in the Philippines nor in the United States has any communication of this type been received yet.’
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.
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.
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.”
Eastman added that ‘of course I was afraid’ but not as much as at the beginning of his stay in the Asian country.
‘There are nights that I am afraid, there are moments that I am afraid… but it has improved. In the past, I had trouble sleeping at night.’
When one of the livestream viewers asked him when he would return to the US, Elliot replied that he wasn’t sure.
If confirmed to be a case of kidnapping for ransom, it would be the latest reminder of long-standing security problems that have plagued the southern Philippines, the homeland of a Muslim minority in a majority Catholic nation.
In a bio on his YouTube channel, Eastman wrote: “Hello everyone, I’m Elliot Eastman, I’m 26 years old and I came to the Philippines about a year and a half ago, where I met the love of my life deep in the mountains of the Philippine red zone.
‘Zamboanga del Norte is a newly developed area of the Philippines that was previously only accessible by boat.
‘I will be showing you my daily life as the first and only foreigner who has lived here in Sibuco for a long period of time. I am from the USA!’
Police in Sibuco City in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte attempted to hunt down the alleged kidnappers and their victim after the kidnapping reported Thursday night.
“We confirm that there was a report of the alleged kidnapping of a US citizen,” regional police said in a statement.
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).
Eastman wrote: ‘I am 26 years old and came to the Philippines about a year and a half ago, where I met the love of my life deep in the mountains of the red light district of the Philippines.
“We want to assure the public, particularly the Sibuco community, that we are doing everything in our power to ensure the safe recovery of the victim.”
Police asked the public to immediately provide any information that could assist the ongoing investigation into the reported kidnapping.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Helen Gálvez told AFP that “so far no one is asking for a ransom.”
The southern region of the Philippines has been dealing with constant separatist attacks for decades. A Muslim enclave in a predominantly Catholic country, it is also a notorious hub of violent extremist groups such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Abu Sayyaf, linked to the Islamic State.
Efforts towards peace have seen progress, with a peace agreement in 2014 and the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in 2019. However, sporadic clashes with extremist factions and persistent poverty continue to challenge long-term stability.