A man from the US has allegedly been 'abducted' from a remote village in the Philippines just months after moving there and marrying a local woman.
Elliot Onil Eastman, a 26-year-old YouTuber, was reportedly taken at gunpoint from the coastal town of Sibuco late on Thursday (October 17).
Four men apparently posed as police officers on the island of Mindanao as they entered Eastman's house in the south of the country.
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Reportedly armed with M16 rifles, the men dressed in all black clothing opened fired on Eastman and his wife as he tried to fight back, after realizing they were not cops, according to local officials.
Police reports say the American YouTuber was shot in the leg before he was taken away from the island by the men on a speedboat.
Policemen reportedly attempted to chase the boat, but that came without any success. They informed other authorities and Philippine marine units in the area of the situation, as per reports in local media.
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Regional police said in a statement: "We confirm that there was a report of the alleged abduction of an American national.
"We want to assure the public, particularly the community of Sibuco, that we are doing everything in our power to secure the safe recovery of the victim."
While Philippine authorities did not provide any background information on Eastman, a bio under the YouTube channel ElliotBeastman does provide some indication.
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It states: "Hello everyone I’m Elliot Eastman, I am 26 years old and I came to the Philippines about a year and half ago where I met the love of my life deep in the mountains of the red zone of the Philippines.
"Zamboanga del Norte is a recently developed area of the Philippines that was once only accessible by boat.
"I will be showing you my day to day life as the first and only foreigner to have ever lived here in Sibuco for a long period of time. I am from the USA."
If this particular case is confirmed to be a situation of kidnapping for ransom, then it will add to issues within the Philippines.
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Long-running security problems have plagued the southern part of the country, which sees a Muslim minority in a Roman Catholic-dominated nation.
The US embassy in Manila, the Philippines' capital, is yet to issue a statement on the reported abduction.
UNILAD has contacted the US embassy in Manila for comment.
Topics: US News
Callum Jones