Now, two men who were with the couple the day before they disappeared said on Thursday that they were trying to enlist the help of authorities after being threatened by three local fishermen who threw their weapons at them the day before their disappearance. Paulo Marubo, president of an association of Indigenous people in the Javari Valley, Univaja, said Phillips took a photo of the men at the time, including local Amarildo da Costa, who is considered the prime suspect in the couple’s disappearance. After being threatened by locals, the two men who were with Phillips and Pereira said the couple went to a nearby federal base to seek help from officials. The base permanently houses Brazil’s office for Indigenous affairs, known as FUNAI, as well as National Guard police officers. “We went there but did nothing,” said Raimundo Mayoruna, one of the men who was with Phillips and Pereira the night before they disappeared. “They did not go at all after Pelados. “They did not want to help us.” Navy sailors search for Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira on a speedboat in the Javari Valley region of Brazil on June 9, 2022. AP
CALL FOR ACTION
Actor Mark Raffaello, football legend Pelé and US President Joe Biden are among the high-profile names urging the Brazilian government to step up efforts to locate the missing men on Sunday. There must be an international response to this. The tendency of journalists to be attacked, assassinated or disappeared in right-wing “democracies” must be documented. https://t.co/0pBQGOpUIL – Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) June 9, 2022 The “Shutter Island” actor wrote on Twitter, calling for an “international response”, stressing the alarming number of journalists who were “attacked, killed or disappeared”. “There has to be an international response to that. “The tendency of journalists to be attacked, assassinated or disappeared in right-wing” democracies must be recorded, “Rafalo wrote on Twitter. Football superstar Pelé said he was “moved” by the disappearances of Phillips and Pereira as he called on leaders to step up investigative efforts. “I am moved by the disappearance of Dom Phillips and Bruno Ferreira, who dedicate their lives to this cause. I participate in the many voices that call for the search to be intensified “. – Pele (@Pele) June 8, 2022 Brazilian actress Camila Pitanga also spoke about the ordeal on Twitter, writing, “WHERE ARE BRUNO AND DOM? @govbr @DefesaGovBR and @policiafederal, Bruno and Dom have been missing for over 48 hours and we need ALL the necessary resources to find them as soon as possible. “Contempt for environmental activists must end.” On Thursday, President Biden met with Brazilian President Zaire Bolsonaro in Los Angeles to discuss what is being done to find the missing. WHERE ARE BRUNO AND DOM? @govbr @DefesaGovBR and @policiafederal, Bruno and Dom have been missing for over 48 hours and we need ALL the necessary resources to find them as soon as possible. The contempt for environmental activists must end. – Camila Pitanga (@CamilaPitanga) June 8, 2022 As the couple met for emergency talks, two trucks parked in the middle of an avenue showed illustrations of Phillips and Pereira, along with the message, “THREATENS. NOW MISSING. WHERE ARE DOM AND BRUNO? “ Several U.S. lawmakers have called for action on Twitter, including Sen. Ed Markey, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. – Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) June 8, 2022
ELEMENTS OF THE CASE
Police found blood on a boat belonging to local fisherman da Costa, who was arrested and questioned by police. On Thursday, officials said a medical examiner and state police were checking for “possible genetic material” on the boat containing bloodstains to determine if it belonged to a human or animal. A volunteer diver assists Navy men in search of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira in the Javari Valley Indigenous area on June 9, 2022.AP Da Costa, also known as “Pelado” in his community, was charged with illegal possession of limited ammunition. Police say he was one of the last people to see the two missing and is suspected of engaging in illegal fishing for a shopper in Peru. In their search for the two missing, officials say they are focusing on people involved in illegal fishing and poaching in indigenous areas. Police are investigating six other people in connection with the disappearances of Phillips and Pereira. Pereira — who recently received threats to combat illegal fishing — and Phillips were on a reference trip to the Javari Valley, a remote jungle near the Peruvian-Colombian border, when they disappeared. The area is often seen by illegal hunters and fishermen, according to police. Phillips has also contributed to the Washington Post and the New York Times. He currently resides in Salvador, a city in the Brazilian state of Bahia, with his wife, Alessandra Sampaio. With Post cables
