Phillips’ family told CNN in an email that Fred Arruda, Brazil’s ambassador to London, wrote to them on Tuesday, saying, “We deeply regret that the embassy passed information to the family yesterday that was incorrect.” .
According to the family, Roberto Doring, deputy head of mission at the Brazilian embassy in London, called them on Monday to tell them they had found bodies.
In a statement, the family said: “We were told by telephone that two bodies had been found but that (due to the fact that it was still early in the morning in Brazil) no identification had taken place.”
Brazilian Federal Police have repeatedly denied finding any bodies in search of Phillips and Brazilian investigator Bruno Pereira, and on Monday evening said the day’s searches were over “but nothing was found”.
“The information that is being disseminated about the finding of the bodies of Mr. Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips is not accurate,” said the Federal Police. “As already revealed, biological materials have been found and are being examined, as well as the personal belongings of the missing persons. As soon as something is found, the family and the media will be informed immediately.”
Indigenous organizations involved in the research also said the information about the two bodies was inaccurate.
On Monday, Pereira’s wife, Beatriz Matos, said on Twitter that police had told her family that “no one had been found.”
“We need to understand where the ambassador got this information from,” Matos wrote.
Police arrested a second suspect in connection with the couple’s disappearance on Tuesday, according to a Federal Police press release. The first suspect was arrested last week.
Police said the second suspect, a 41-year-old man, was being questioned and would be taken to a custody hearing in city court. They also said they seized a firearm cartridge and a trowel, which will be analyzed.
Arruda said in an email to Phillips’ family that officials close to the investigation had “tricked” embassy staff.
“On reflection, there was haste on the part of the multi-agency team, for which I apologize wholeheartedly,” he said, adding: “The search operation will continue, sparing no effort. Our thoughts remain with Dom, Bruno., Yourself and the other members of both families. ”
In a statement sent to CNN, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry also confirmed its ambassador’s apology for transmitting “information that turned out to be incorrect.”
Phillips and Pereira disappeared on June 5, during a trip to the Javari Valley, at the western end of the state of Amazonas.
They were conducting research for a draft book on conservation efforts in the region, which authorities have described as “complicated” and “dangerous” and known to host illegal miners, loggers and international drug traffickers.