A YOUTUBER has reportedly been kidnapped from a remote village in the Philippines just months after getting married to a local.
Elliot Onil Eastman, 26, was allegedly shot in the leg and ambushed by a group of men with machine guns in the coastal town of Sibuco on October 17.
Elliot Eastman, 26, is thought to have been kidnapped and shot in a remote Philippines town[/caption]
The American YouTuber married a local Muslim woman just months before[/caption]
A witness claimed the Vermont native was shoved into a white speedboat just after 11pm on Thursday in the remote town he’d been living in.
Local resident Abdulmali Hamsiran Jala told cops that four armed pretended to be police officers when they forcibly took the YouTuber, who tried to escape.
Abdulmali said that the men were dressed in black and armed with M16 rifles.
One of the gunmen allegedly shot Elliot’s leg before he dragged him into a speedboat then fled by sea further south.
Cops worked tirelessly to chase the suspects and the YouTuber but failed to locate them so alerted other police and local marine units.
They said: “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.”
The police asked the public to immediately provide any information that could help an ongoing investigation of the reported abduction.
Philippine authorities did not immediately circulate information on Elliot but later confirmed his identity as victim in the alleged kidnapping.
The US Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to questions about the reported abduction.
Elliot’s Facebook account reveals that he had married a Muslim woman in Sibuco and he updated his profile picture to a sweet wedding day picture just six days ago.
His YouTube bio reads: “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.”
The southern Philippines has seen decades of stark poverty and insurgency.
Next year, the country will hold mid-term elections and hopefuls in the volatile south are expected to focus on tackling crimes like kidnappings and extortion.
In a chilling Facebook livestream just weeks before Thursday’s shock incident, Elliot admitted he was scared living in Sibuco where he’d settled five months prior, according to cops.
On September 22 he said: “As long as I’m here, my life is still at risk, you know”, according to reports by Daily Mail USA.
He continued: “That’s the reality. especially the area that I’m in…It’s not even just the Philippines.
“This area that I’m in is like the most dangerous are in the country so it’s literally like the red zone.
“There’s nights I’m afraid, there’s times I’m afraid.. but it’s gotten better. In the past, I’ve had a hard time sleeping at night time.”
Cops search this property in Sibuco where they believe Elliot was shot and kidnapped[/caption]
