YouTuber Elliot O'Neill Eastman Married to Local Woman
It has been reported that the victim of a kidnapping incident by armed assailants in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao was a YouTuber.
On the 22nd (local time), Asian-focused American online media NextShark reported that Elliot O'Neill Eastman was a YouTuber who had married a local woman just a few months ago.
Elliot O'Neill Eastman, an American who shared his daily life through YouTube. [Photo by YouTube channel 'Elliot Eastman']
Earlier, the New York Times (NYT) and others reported on the night of the 17th that a 26-year-old American man, Elliot O'Neill Eastman, was kidnapped in Sibucao City, a coastal city on the Zamboanga Peninsula of Mindanao Island in the Philippines. The southern Philippine island of Mindanao is known for its poor security situation.
The report was made by his Filipino father-in-law. According to the father-in-law, four assailants dressed in black clothes and masks, carrying M16 rifles, came to Eastman’s house, introduced themselves as police officers, and tried to take Eastman away.
When Eastman tried to escape, the group shot his leg and disappeared with him on a boat by the seaside. The police believe the assailants fled further south by sea and are pursuing them, but have not yet made any arrests.
According to media reports, Eastman married a Filipino Muslim woman last year and had been living in his own house there since May. He also converted to Islam, the religion his wife follows.
Philippine National Police Headquarters. This is not directly related to the article content. (This photo is not directly related to the article.) [Photo by Yonhap News]
Through YouTube, he introduced himself as the first and only foreigner who had lived in the area for a long time and shared his daily life. He also mentioned that the coastal area of Mindanao Island where he lived was dangerous for foreign travelers.
The southern Philippines, including Mindanao Island, is known as a stronghold for Islamic separatist rebel groups such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Islamic State (IS)-affiliated armed groups like Abu Sayyaf, and security issues are serious. In particular, during the 2010s, Abu Sayyaf repeatedly committed crimes such as kidnapping foreigners for ransom or beheading them.
Local investigative authorities are reportedly conducting an investigation with the possibility that the assailants kidnapped Eastman for ransom.
Regarding this incident, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines issued a notice requesting caution from Korean nationals. The embassy warned that the southwestern part of Mindanao Island, Zamboanga, and the Sulu Archipelago are “areas where risks such as kidnapping and bombings by Islamic extremist terrorist groups persist, and especially the Zamboanga area is a prohibited travel zone for Koreans.”
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