American YouTuber shot and kidnapped in Philippines after marrying local women

Elliot Onil Eastman, an American from Vermont, was allegedly kidnapped in Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, after being shot.

Philippine police are on the search for an American national who traveled to the country and was allegedly kidnapped by a group of men after being shot in the leg and dragged away in the southern part of the country. The incident occurred in Sibuco town, Zamboanga del Norte, on Thursday night.

In this photo provided by the Philippine National Police Regional Office 9, a policeman checks an area Friday Oct. 18, 2024, where an American identified as Elliot Onil Eastman, from Vermont, was reportedly abducted by gunmen in Sibuco town, Zamboanga del Norte province, southern Philippines.)(AP)

The victim, identified as Elliot Onil Eastman from Vermont, was taken away by armed men in a speedboat. If confirmed as a kidnapping for ransom, this would mark the latest in a series of such incidents in a region that has faced security issues for many years, reports CBS.

American kidnapped in the Philippines

Reportedly, the southern Philippines has had a history of violence and kidnapping and the Vermont native was the recent victim. “We confirm that there was a report of the alleged abduction of an American national," the authorities said in a statement according to CBS after launching an investigation into the case. “We want to assure the public, particularly the community of Sibuco, that we are doing everything in our power to secure the safe recovery of the victim.”

Local police have allegedly asked the public for assistance in the search, hoping it will help solve the case quickly. Two reports described by the Associated Press detail a statement from a local resident who witnessed four armed men carrying M16 rifles. The men, dressed in black clothing, falsely introduced themselves as police officers and attempted to forcibly abduct Eastman. When he attempted to fight back, they fired at him in the leg and pulled him onto a speedboat, escaping by water towards the areas of Basilan or Sulu, as stated in the police reports.

Eastman married a local woman: Reports

While the Philippine authorities have not provided a detailed account of the victim, a news outlet reported that a person with a similar name and appearance posted pictures and videos of himself on Facebook, claiming he had married a Muslim woman in Sibuco.

"Based on the initial profile given to us, he (Eastman) got married to a local in the area. He has been there for about five months," the local officer told Agence France-Presse. In his YouTube profile under the name ElliotBeastman, who's thought to be the missing American Elliot Eastman, he described himself as a 26-year-old who had lived in the Philippines for about a year and a half. He met the love of his life in the remote mountainous region of Zamboanga del Norte

Eastman was excited to document his daily life as the first and only foreigner to live in Sibuco for an extended period. Following his reported abduction on Thursday night, Sibuco police confirmed the incident and launched a search for the suspected kidnappers.