Police have found bloodstains on a fisherman’s boat during their search for a British journalist and a Brazilian indigenous expert who went missing in a remote part of the Amazon.
Brazilian detectives said they were investigating whether it was animal or human blood.
The development comes a few days after Dom Phillips, a freelance reporter, wrote to Guardiansand Bruno Pereira, who used to work for the federal Indigenous agency Funai, have disappeared.
The couple had a reporting trip in the Javari Valley, a jungle area near Brazil’s borders with Colombia and Peru.
Investigators believe their disappearance may be linked to organized crime, as Mr Pereira was recently threatened by fishermen poaching protected species.
A federal police officer told Reuters: “The main criminal hypothesis at this point is that the people involved, and their motives, were related to illegal fishing and poaching activities in the territories. native.
Amarildo da Costa, a fisherman from the town of Atalaia do Norte, was arrested by authorities and charged with possession of limited ammunition. They said he was one of the last to see Mr. Phillips and Mr. Pereira.
His attorney has denied that he was involved in any way in the man’s disappearance, insisting that his client only fished legally.
The family of the missing couple has called on the Brazilian government to do everything it can to help locate the men.
Celebrities including soccer player Pelé have echoed these pleas. “The fight for the preservation of the Amazon Forest and of indigenous groups belongs to all of us,” said the 81-year-old.
“I am deeply moved by the disappearance of Dom Phillips and Bruno Ferreira, who have dedicated their lives to this cause. I join many of the voices calling for increased search,” he added.
“Let us pray to God that they are still alive,” said Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil, noting that “those opportunities will fade” day by day.
Currently, 300 hundred people, two planes and 20 boats are involved in the search operation, according to Brazilian Justice Minister Anderson Torres.
