YouTuber Elliot Eastman, 26, shot dead and dumped at sea after he was kidnapped in Philippines

A missing American vlogger was shot dead and his body dumped at sea during a botched kidnapping in the Philippines.

Elliot Eastman, 26, reportedly died on the night of his abduction from his home in the poverty-stricken town of Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte on October 17. 

It is believed he was shot in the leg while trying to resist the gunmen, who pretended to be police officers, but d!ed while being whisked away on a boat.

Speaking today, Lieutenant Colonel Ramoncelio Sawan, the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Zamboanga Peninsula acting spokesman, said: ‘Sometime late October, during our investigation, we encountered one witness who claimed Eastman had been shot during the abduction.

‘On their way to escape by sea, the abductors noticed that Elliot Eastman was already dead. They threw his body into the water.’

He said officials had treated the testimony as speculation, before it was this week verified by a suspect allegedly involved in the abduction.

He continued: ‘But then later on, sometime in November, we caught a suspect linked to the kidnapping. He himself confirmed what happened.

He confirmed Elliot had been shot and that the man was dumped overboard.

‘This suspect was able to execute an extrajudicial confession and then we submitted it to the Prosecutor’s Office where we filed the complaint. The prosecutors accepted it.’

Eastman’s family has been informed through the US Embassy, the police spokesman added. 

Authorities have hoped for weeks that Eastman was alive and have been frantically searching for the missing expat.

The operation resulted in clashes with armed kidnapping groups on the conflict-torn island of Mindanao.

Police said they are yet to find Eastman’s body and have not clarified the motive behind the abduction. 

The American YouTuber was reportedly in the house with his Muslim Filipina wife Karisha Jala when four armed men allegedly burst through the door around 10pm on October 17.

The attackers falsely claimed they were police and reportedly shot the expat in the leg when he tried to resist. 

He was then bundled away in a speedboat off the coast of Zamboanga del Norte – one of the most dangerous parts of the notoriously crime-ridden country.

Police arrived at around 11pm and took pictures of the suspected crime scene. Blood believed to be from Elliot’s gunshot wound was smeared across a length of vinyl flooring. 

An empty bullet cartridge from an M16 rifle could also be seen alongside everyday items including a hat, handbag, and food.

Former Sibuco Mayor Norbideiri Edding said kidnappers may have targetted the American because they thought he was a rich foreigner and resented that he was living with a local Muslim woman.

He also claimed Elliot had been facing financial difficulties after allegedly being scammed by his previous girlfriend whom he had planned to marry.

Just weeks before he was abducted, Eastman posted said on a Facebook livestream that he was afraid of living in the area, where he had been for about five months, according to police.

‘As long as I’m here, my life is still at risk, you know,’ Eastman said on September 22.

‘That’s the reality. especially the area that I’m in….It’s not even just the Philippines.

‘This area that I’m in is like the most dangerous are in the country so it’s literally like the red zone.’