Brazilian police searching for a British journalist and an indigenous expert who went missing in a remote part of the Amazon rainforest say blood has been found on a boat belonging to a local fisherman who has been arrested.
Dom Phillips, a freelance journalist who has written about Brazil for The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New York Times and others, was last seen on Sunday, traveling in a lawless part of the jungle with Bruno Araujo Pereira. a former official with the Funai Indigenous Federal Agency.
The couple last saw each other over the weekend in the Javari Valley, in the state of Amazonas, near the border with Peru.
According to The Guardian, Pereira had received several threats from loggers and miners in the region.
Two Amazon state police detectives directly involved in the case told Reuters news agency that illegal fishing and poaching were likely behind their disappearance.
Police in the town of Atalaia do Norte questioned several fishermen as witnesses and arrested one of them, a local man named Amarildo da Costa, known as “Pelado”, who was one of the last people to be arrested. he saw the two men.
After searching for “possible genetic material” on Mr. da Costa’s boat, one of the detectives in the case said police were now investigating whether the blood remains were human or animal.
He was suspected of engaging in illegal fishing in indigenous areas.
His lawyer, Davi Oliveira, said his client was not involved in the disappearance of Messrs. Phillips and Pereira and was only engaged in legal fishing.
Image: Forensic examining a ship with traces of blood
Region that hosts the largest number of uncontacted tribes in the world
The wild and rebellious region of Javari where the couple last saw each other is home to the largest number of uncontacted indigenous people in the world.
It has also attracted cocaine smugglers, as well as illegal hunters and fishermen who travel to the depths of the Javari Valley to find protected species, such as pirarucu fish, which are sold in regional markets.
Javari has become increasingly tense and dangerous in recent years, and in 2019, Maxciel Pereira dos Santos, who worked with Funai to shut down illegal fishing in the valley, was shot dead in Tabatinga.
Politicians, celebrities, journalists and activists have urged Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his government to step up efforts to find Mr Phillips and Pereira.
Brazilian Justice Minister Anderson Torres said he had told British Foreign Secretary Vicky Ford that Brazil would continue to look for Phillips until all possibilities were exhausted.
Torres said he had 300 people, two planes and 20 boats doing research in what he called a “very difficult region.”
“Even if you have 30 planes, a million people, it might not work,” said Torres, who was also pressured to keep research at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles by U.S. climate envoy John Kerry.
Image: Sian Phillips with Gareth Phillips, brothers of the late journalist Dom Phillips
“Please find our dear Dom”
Mr Phillip’s family has urged the government to act.
Paul Sherwood, the partner of Mr Phillips’ sister Sian, wrote on Twitter: “We urge the Brazilian authorities to send the National Guard, the federal police and all the powers at their disposal to find our beloved Dom.
“He loves Brazil and has committed his career to covering the Amazon rainforest. We understand that time is of the essence, so please find our Dom as soon as possible.”
Sian Phillips told Sky News that he was concerned about illegal logging and drug trafficking in the area where he disappeared.
“I’m very anxious. I’m desperately worried. It’s your worst fear,” he said.
“We need to put everything in place. We want UK officials to put pressure on the Brazilian authorities to act.”