Authorities in the Philippines have reached a devastating potential conclusion about the fate of Elliot Eastman.
After the 26-year-old YouTuber was kidnapped Oct. 17 in the Philippines, authorities investigating the case believe he was most likely killed by his abductors, Philippine National Police told the New York Times.
Eastman was taken by gunpoint in the town of Sibuco in the country’s Zamboanga del Norte province and was shot twice by an M16 rifle while attempting to fight off his four kidnappers—who had posed as police officers—authorities also told the Associated Press.
Lt. Col. Ramoncelio Sawan told the outlet that investigators were informed by a relative of a suspect, who said Eastman died due to gunshot wounds in the thigh and abdomen. The informant added that the suspects in question decided to throw Eastman’s body into the sea, per the Associated Press. (Prior reports from the police say that Eastman had struggled as he was forced onto a motorboat in his abduction, before the water vehicle sped off).
While Eastman’s body has yet to be found, authorities’ search has led them to arrest several suspects. Police also said, according to the Associated Press, that three possible suspects were killed in a shootout with authorities last month.
Sawan also noted that the story told to authorities was later corroborated by a key suspect in the case who was recently arrested. His sworn statement has been submitted to government prosecutors.
“We are constrained to believe that he has died,” Sawan told the Associated Press. “All of the information that we have points to that.”
But, because Eastman’s body has yet to be recovered, Sawan noted of Eastman’s possible death, “we’re still leaving a little bit of hope that it may not be the case.”
According to his YouTube profile, Eastman had been residing in the Philippines consistently for about “a year and a half” leading up to his abduction. He explained that during a visit to the Southeast Asian country, he had met his wife, or “the love of my life deep in the mountains of the red zone of the Philippines.”
E! News has reached out to authorities in the Philippines regarding Eastman’s case but has not yet heard back.