ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 18 October) – An American content creator was kidnapped last night, October 17, in Sitio Tungawan, Barangay Poblacion in Sibuco town, Zamboanga del Norte by alleged Abu Sayyaf members, the police said.
Brigadier General Bowenn Joey Masauding, Police Regional Office -9 director, told reporters the abduction transpired around 11 p.m.
Masauding said that Elliot Onil Eastman, of Hinesborg, Vermont, USA, was forcibly taken from his house by four armed men, believed to be Abu Sayyaf members.
Eastman’s content creations include daily life in Zamboanga del Norte, among others. He has 2.9K followers on Facebook, where he describes himself as a photographer, and 1.24K subscribers on YouTube.
His last live post on YouTube was around 9 p.m. and showed him eating lanzones alone inside a house, wearing only shorts.
Witness Abdulkmali Hamsiran Jala told the Sibuco police the suspects, who were wearing masks, black pants and shirts, identified themselves as police operatives and were armed with M-16 Armalite rifles.
The Sibuco police reported that the victim managed to run from the suspects, but was shot in the leg. He was then forced to board a white jongkong boat that headed towards the high seas of Sulu and Basilan.
Masauding said the police launched a hot pursuit operation against the suspects and at the same time conducted a deeper investigation of the incident.
Eastman is married to a woman from Sibuco town. (Frencie Carreon / MindaNews)
