Brazilian authorities find boat of slain British journalist, indigenous expert

A child holds a flower, during a protest to demand justice for journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who were murdered in the Amazon, in Brasilia, Brazil June 19, 2022. REUTERS

SAO PAULO — The boat used by killed British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira to travel Brazil’s Amazon was found on Sunday evening, authorities said in a press statement.

The speedboat was submerged about 20 meters (65 ft) deep under the Itacoai river in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil with the help of six sandbags, authorities said.

They added they were led to the site of boat’s sinking by the latest suspect in the killings, Jeferson da Silva Lima, or ‘Pelado da Dinha’, who surrendered himself to police on Saturday.

Phillips, a freelance reporter, was doing research for a book on the trip with Pereira, a former head of isolated and recently contacted tribes at federal indigenous affairs agency Funai.

They were reported missing on June 5 after traveling together by boat through the Javari Valley, a remote region bordering Peru and Colombia. According to police, both were shot with hunting ammunition.

Shock at their fate has echoed across Brazil and around the world, highlighting the overhaul of indigenous agency Funai under President Jair Bolsonaro, along with a rising tide of violence and criminal incursions on native lands.

On Sunday, police identified five more suspects for the murders.

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