Authorities said Thursday that blood traces were discovered on the boat of a suspect arrested in connection with the disappearance of a British journalist and a Brazilian indigenous specialist in the Amazon, as requests for the search to be intensified grew.
Dom Phillips, 57, a regular contributor to The Guardian newspaper, and Bruno Pereira, 41, an indigenous peoples expert, went missing in the Amazon rainforest on Sunday.
‘Traces of blood were found on the boat of Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41,’ Brazil police said in a statement, adding that the suspect known as ‘Pelado’ was arrested on Tuesday.
‘The material collected is on its way to Manaus,’ the capital of the Amazonas state, for expert analysis, the statement added.
It was accompanied by images of investigators taking photos of what appeared to be a small bloodstain on a blue tarp inside a motorboat with peeling paint.
The announcement is a somber development in the ongoing hunt for the two men, whose fate is still unknown.
Brazilian authorities said they hope to find the couple alive, but that any consequence, including homicide, is possible in a region where human trafficking is rampant.
President Jair Bolsonaro has been urged to speed up the hunt by high-profile figures as well as environmental and human rights organizations.
The two were investigating suspected attacks on indigenous tribespeople in the area by illegal fisherman, and were apparently threatened by Pelado, 41, who was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the event, as well as a number of other unknown individuals being sought by Brazilian authorities.
Phillips and Pereira were returning by boat to Atalaia do Norte from Lago do Jaburu, in the Vale do Javari indigenous land, where they had been conducting interviews about alleged attacks by illegal fishermen against indigenous tribesmen, reportedly receiving threats from loggers and miners along the way.
According to police, guide Pereira convened a meeting with a neighborhood elder known as ‘Barbeque,’ who is Pelado’s uncle.
Authorities announced today that blood traces were discovered on Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira’s boat, popularly known as ‘Pelado,’ as calls for the search to be intensified mount.
Illegal fishing and poaching, according to two Amazonas state police detectives directly involved in the case, were likely the cause of their disappearance.
Around 6,300 indigenous people dwell in the area, divided into more than 20 groups, with illegal loggers, miners, and hunters posing a threat.
Phillips and Pereira arrived Friday evening by boat at their destination of Lago do Jaburu, and were scheduled to return two days later by river to the city of Atalaia do Norte, according to the indigenous group Univaja. However, after failing to arrive by 2 p.m. on Sunday, the indigenous group raised the alarm and dispatched a search party.
Brazilian authorities said they hope to find the couple alive, but that any consequence, including homicide, is possible in a region where human trafficking is rampant.
‘Can you tell me where Dom Phillips is? ‘Where is Bruno Pereira?’ queried the journalist’s sister, Sian Phillips, during a press conference in front of Brazil’s embassy in London, which drew around 30 people.
‘We want the UK authorities to put pressure on the Brazilian government,’ she said before meeting with the ambassador and her family.
‘We want to continue our hunt.’ We’d like to know what’s going on with them, and we’d like to see whoever is responsible for any criminal acts brought to justice. ‘We want a long-term, thorough, and transparent investigation,’ she continued.
‘He is a fantastic journalist and writer. He is a compassionate individual. He is concerned about environmental issues. Phillips’ brother, who has written about dangers to the Amazon for numerous newspapers, “loves Brazil.”
‘He’s a fantastic guy, and we adore him.’
Phillips’ brother-in-law, Paul Sherwood, told AFP that the family had been informed that “all that can be done” had been done.
‘Let us pray to God that they are still alive,’ Bolsonaro remarked Wednesday at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
‘Those chances shrink with each passing day,’ he added.
He had come under fire in recent days for appearing to blame the missing soldiers, claiming they had gone on a “unwise adventure.”
According to the BBC, Phillips and Pereira were “hugely experienced” and had meticulously planned their expedition, packing plenty of fuel and other emergency supplies.
Phillips and Pereira vanished in the Javari Valley of Amazonas state, near Peru, in the western Amazon basin.
Due to the presence of miners, gold diggers, poachers, and drug traffickers, the remote region is facing an increase in violent conflict.
Phillips and Pereira were last seen in the early hours of Sunday morning (June 5) while on a two-day reporting trip. They were supposed to take the two-hour boat ride to So Rafael, Atalaia do Norte, and arrive at 8 a.m. on Sunday, but they never showed up.
The meeting was reportedly about ‘consolidating joint work between riverside dwellers and indigenous people in the surveillance of the territory’, reports Brazilian newspaper O Globo.
Witnesses said they saw the suspect speeding by in a boat going in the same direction as Phillips and Pereira when they were last seen.
Police said the man had been arrested for carrying unlicensed calibre ammunition and drugs.
Police did not clarify why he was being treated as a suspect but he is thought to have been among a group of men who threatened the pair near an indigenous territory.
She blamed the Brazilian authorities for delaying the search but said they ‘all have hope’ that the pair will be found.
‘He is a great writer and journalist. He is a caring man. He cares about the environment. He loves Brazil,’ Phillips said of her brother.
‘He’s a great guy and we love him with all our heart.’
Paul Sherwood, Phillips’ brother-in-law, told AFP the family had ‘been assured that everything has been done that can be done.’
Chelmsford MP Vicky Ford said she spoke with Brazil’s justice and public security minister Anderson Torres, who is also in charge of the federal police, at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
‘He assured me Brazilian authorities are doing all that can be done in air, boats & land in v difficult and remote terrain to find Dom and will keep searching,’ the minister tweeted.
‘(The) UK is ready to support (the) operation,’ she added.