American YouTuber shot and kidnapped in the Philippines after marrying local women

Philippine police are searching for a US citizen who traveled to the country and was allegedly kidnapped by a group of men after he was shot in the leg and dragged away in the southern part of the country. The incident took place on Thursday evening in Sibuco town, Zamboanga del Norte.

The victim, identified as Elliot Onil Eastman of Vermont, was taken away in a speedboat by armed men. If this is confirmed as a kidnapping for ransom, it would be the latest in a series of such incidents in a region that has faced security problems for years, CBS reports.

American kidnapped in the Philippines

The southern Philippines reportedly has a history of violence and kidnapping, and the Vermont resident was a recent victim. “We confirm that there was a report of the alleged kidnapping of a U.S. citizen,” authorities said in a statement, according to CBS, after launching an investigation into the case. “We would like to assure the public, and especially the community of Sibuco, that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safe recovery of the victim.”

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Local police have reportedly asked the public for help in the search, hoping this will help solve the case quickly. Two reports described by the Associated Press included a statement from a local resident who witnessed four armed men with M16 rifles. The men, dressed in black clothing, misrepresented themselves as police officers and attempted to forcibly kidnap Eastman. When he tried to fight back, they shot him in the leg and pulled him onto a speedboat, escaping by water to the Basilan or Sulu areas, as stated in the police reports.

Eastman married a local woman: Reports

Although Philippine authorities have not provided a detailed account of the victim, a news source reported that a person with a similar name and appearance posted photos and videos of himself on Facebook and claimed he had married a Muslim woman in Sibuco.

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“Based on the initial profile given to us, he (Eastman) is married to a local resident of the area. He was there for about five months,” the local official told Agence France-Presse. In his YouTube profile under the name ElliotBeastman, believed to be the missing American Elliot Eastman, he described himself as a 26-year-old who had lived in the Philippines for about a year and a half. He met the love of his life in the remote mountainous area of ​​Zamboanga del Norte

Eastman was excited to document his daily life as the first and only foreigner to live in Sibuco for an extended period of time. Following his reported kidnapping on Thursday evening, Sibuco Police confirmed the incident and launched a search for the suspected kidnappers.