The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) collaborated amid the search for the kidnapped American national in Zamboanga del Norte.
According to PNP Spokesperson PBGen. Jean Fajardo, the PNP, in coordination with the AFP and PCG, conducted coastal patrols in the area where the victim, Elliot Onil Eastman, is believed to have been brought.
However, there are currently no indications that the four suspects who used a boat crossed into Sulu or Basilan after shooting the foreigner in the leg during the kidnapping incident.
Furthermore, Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, spokesperson for the AFP, stated that they are fully prepared for tracking and pursuit operations.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) already arrived in Zamboanga to assess the progress of the investigation.
Based on the information, the US citizen had been living in the said barangay for five months prior to the incident.
On October 17, suspected members of a local terror group abducted the 26-year-old foreign national.
The PNP has identified two persons of interest believed to be connected to the terror group; however, there has been no contact with the Filipino wife of the U.S. citizen to demand ransom as of now.
