No bodies only possessions found in hunt for British journalist

Police in Brazil say that despite reports to the contrary only the possessions of the missing British journalist and the indigenous expert have been found, but no bodies.

Making the announcement late on Monday, June 13, police confirmed that they had found the belongings of both Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, a former official at federal indigenous agency Funai, in a creek off the river where they were last seen on June 5.

A statement issued by the police and confirmed by a local indigenous association spokesperson said that reports of bodies being found were incorrect. Eliesio Marubo, a lawyer for UNIVAJA told Reuters: “I’ve spoken with the team in the field and it’s not true. The search goes on.”

Local indigenous people who have been protesting for better treatment near where the two went missing have been actively helping to find them, saying that both they and the missing pair deserved better treatment and justice.

The statement issued by the police over the weekend said that they had found the missing pairs’ personal belongings including a health identification card in his name, and a backpack with clothes belonging to Phillips, along with the boots of both men.

An Equinox backpack, containing clothes and a laptop, was also found tied to a half-sunken tree trunk in the area where the two men were last seen on Sunday.

Witnesses said they saw Pereira and Phillips, who were on a reporting trip in the remote jungle area near the border with Peru and Colombia that is home to the world’s largest number of uncontacted indigenous people, travelling down the river in the area where their belongings were found.

According to those involved the search goes on in the hope that they will find the British journalist and his companion and not just their bodies, although the chances are finding them alive are reducing with every day that passes.

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