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| Photo Credit: Getty Images via BBC |
The remains of a UK journalist Dom Phillips who was reported missing more than a week ago has been found in the remote Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Brazilian police has said, according to the BBC.
Police said
the identification was based on dental records. The second body which is
believed to be that of indigenous expert Bruno Pereira is still being examined,
the BBC said.
On 5 June
the 57 year old Philips and Mr Pereira who is 41 were reported missing. A suspect was arrested earlier this week by
the Brazilian police who confessed to killing the two men and burying the
bodies.
According to
the BBC the suspect was later named as Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira.
The suspect’s
brother Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, was also arrested in connected with the murder
even though he has denied any involvement.
"We are
grateful to all those who have taken part in the search, especially the
indigenous groups who worked tirelessly to find evidence of the attack,"
they said in a statement on Wednesday, according to the BBC.
"We
thank the many people who have joined us in urging the authorities to intensify
the search and those who have reached out with words of comfort and
sympathy," they added.
In a
statement Mr Phillips’ wife, Alexandra Sampalo said : "Now we can bring
them home and say goodbye with love." She added that the confession marked
the beginning of a "quest for justice", according to the BBC.
Mr Pereira
had been introducing the journalist to contacts and was acting as his guide
when their boat failed to arrive at an expected point near the border with Peru.
The duo went missing in the Javari valley near Brazil’s border with Peru in the
country’s far west, a remote region home to thousands of indigenous people from
more than 20 groups, the BBC reported.
The region
has little or no government oversight and has become a hotbed for crime. The
area is also a battle ground for drug gangs who fight for control of the
waterways to smuggle their illicit products.