AUTHORITIES identified persons of interests behind the abduction of a 26-year-old American citizen in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, the police said Saturday, October 19, 2024.
The Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula has activated a Critical Incident Management Task Group (CIMTG) to focus on the investigation and swift resolution in the abduction of Elliot Onil Eastman in Barangay Poblacion, Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, on Thursday, October 17.
Police Brigadier General Bowenn Joey Masauding, PRO-Zamboanga Peninsula director, said that investigation is ongoing to confirm their involvement and relation to any known threat groups and the motive of the abduction.
“We are validating leads to ensure we are tracking the right group commander and we can build an airtight case,” Masauding, the CIMTG commander, said in a statement Saturday, October 19.
Masauding said the Anti-Kidnapping Group-Mindanao Field Unit is handling the family and confirmed that there has been no confirmed contact or demands from the abductors “as of this time”.
Masauding said the Sub-Task Group Quick Reaction Team is continuously conducting hot pursuit operations on the abductors, with additional security forces deployed to ensure peace and order in the affected areas.
He said that in addition, all police Units in Zamboanga Peninsula were directed to stay alert and conduct checkpoints for possible apprehension of the abductors and further, monitor the possible presence of the victim and his abductors in respective area of responsibilities.
He said joint intelligence operations with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are underway, and coordination efforts are continuing in the pursuit of those responsible for the abduction.
“The safety of the victim remains the top priority, and all available resources are being mobilized to resolve the situation swiftly and effectively,” he said.
Eastman was taken by four armed men around 11 p.m. Thursday, October 17, in Sitio Tungawan, Barangay Poblacion, Sibuco.
Police reports indicate the gunmen, posing as law enforcement officers, forcibly entered Eastman’s residence.
Eastman of Vermont, USA, who had been living in Barangay Poblacion for five months after marrying a local, resisted and was shot in the leg before being transported using a motorboat. (SunStar Zamboanga)