Update: Blood Found In Boat As Search For Missing British Journalist Continues

Blood has been found on the boat of the suspect who is linked with the disappearance of a British journalist and an indigenous expert in the Amazon rainforest, police have said.

The missing British Guardian journalist, who is identified as Dom Phillips, alongside his colleague; Bruno Araujo Pereira disappeared from a remote part of the rainforest more than four days ago when they were last seen in the So Rafael community on Sunday.

Mr. Phillips and Mr. Pereira were on a reporting trip to the Javari Valley, a remote wilderness area near Peru and the Colombian border that is home to the world’s largest number of uncontacted indigenous peoples. The region is currently experiencing an increase in violence driven by miners, gold diggers, and drug traffickers.

Local authorities investigating his disappearance found traces of blood on the boat of the fisherman Amarildo da Costa, known as the “Pelado”, who was arrested and questioned by police earlier this week.

He has since been charged with illegal possession of banned ammunition.

Federal police on Thursday said that a forensic officer and state police were examining “possible genetic material” on the boat with the reagent luminol, which revealed blood stains.

“The materials collected are on their way to Manaus,” the statement said, for expert analysis of the capital of the Amazonas state region.

According to Reuters, a detective working on the case revealed that police were investigating whether the blood on the boat was human.

Mr da Costa’s lawyer, Davy Oliveira, told the news agency that his client was not involved in the disappearances of Phillips and Pereira. Police said six others have been questioned in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, football legend Pele on Thursday joined calls from authorities in Brazil to expedite the search, as well-wishers gathered at a vigil in London.

Pele, 81, retweeted a video made by Mr. Phillips’ wife that called for the pair’s immediate search.

The three-time World Cup winner wrote on Twitter: “We all fight for the protection of the Amazon jungle and indigenous groups.”

“I am deeply affected by the disappearances of Dom Phillips and Bruno Ferreira, who dedicated their lives to this cause. I join the many voices that appeal to speed up the search.”

Mr. Phillips, 57, has been reporting from Brazil for more than a decade and is working on a book about conserving the Amazon.

Earlier this week, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro criticized the work of the two men in the Amazon, describing it as an “adventure”.

“In fact, just two people in a boat in a completely wooded area is not a recommended adventure. Anything can happen. It could be an accident, maybe they were killed,” he told television network SBT in an interview.

Photo Credit: Dailymail.co.uk