The family of a Lancashire man who has gone missing in Brazil were wrongly told by authorities that his body had been found. The Brazilian ambassador to the UK has been forced to apologise for the blunder in a letter.
Journalist Dom Phillips and his travelling partner and tour guide Bruno Pereira went missing in a remote part of the Amazon last week. This week, the family were informed that their bodies has been found tied to trees in the rainforest, LancsLive reports.
However, officials only suspected the bodies belonged to the missing men and never confirmed their identities, according to reports in the Guardian. Mr Phillips' brother-in-law Paul Sherwood, confirmed on Tuesday, June 14, that ambassador Fred Arruda had written to the family to say the statement was incorrect.
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Mr Arruda said Brazilian authorities were "deeply sorry the embassy passed on to the family yesterday information that did not prove correct". He went on to say the embassy had been “misled” by information it had received from “investigating officials”. Mr Arruda insisted: “The search operation will go on, with no efforts being spared.”
It comes as Brazilian police have arrested a second suspect in the disappearance of Mr Phillips, from Lancaster, and Mr Pereira. Officers said the suspect, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, 41, was the brother of the first suspect arrested.
Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, also known as Pelado, has been named as a suspect in the disappearance but arrested for allegedly carrying a firearm without a permit, a common practice in the region. He is thought to have been among a group of men who threatened the missing men near an indigenous territory on June 4.
Personal items belonging to the two missing men were discovered in a river on Sunday. In a statement, they said the objects included a backpack and a pair of boots belonging to Mr Phillips, as well as a health card, black trousers, a black sandal and a pair of boots belonging to Mr Pereira.
Mr Phillips, 57, and Brazilian indigenous expert Mr Pereira, 41, are believed to have last been seen early on June 5 in the Sao Rafael community. On Saturday, separate reports emerged that police had discovered human matter in the Itaquai River, near Atalaia do Norte’s port. Authorities previously said blood found on Pelado’s boat had been sent for analysis.
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