A search was under way in the Philippines yesterday after gunmen reportedly abducted an American national, who was shot in the leg as he tried to resist before being spirited away from a southern coastal town by speedboat, Philippine police said.
Police in Sibuco town in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte tried to pursue the suspected abductors and the American man — who they identified as Elliot Onil Eastman, 26, from Vermont — after the reported abduction on Thursday night.
“We confirm that there was a report of the alleged abduction of an American national,” the regional police said in a statement. “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.”
Photo: AP
The police asked the public to immediately provide any information that could help an ongoing investigation of the reported abduction.
Two police reports said that a resident of Sibuco, Abdulmali Hamsiran Jala, reported to police that four men in black clothing who were armed with M16 rifles and introduced themselves as police officers forcibly took Eastman, who tried to escape.
One of the gunmen shot Eastman in the leg before dragging him into a speedboat then fled by sea further south toward the provinces of Basilan and Sulu, the reports said.
Police chased, but failed to find the gunmen and Eastman. Other police and Philippine marine units in the region were alerted, the reports said.
Philippine authorities did not immediately provide background details of Eastman, but a person with a similar name has posted pictures and videos of himself on Facebook saying he had married a Muslim woman in Sibuco.
The US embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to questions about the reported abduction.
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