This third arrest occurred hours after the PF announced that the remains of Phillips, 57, were identified among the “material” found in the place where the first detainee, the fisherman Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, known as ‘Pelado ‘, he confessed to having buried it next to the body of Pereira, 41 years old.
Phillips and Pereira were in the Amazon doing research for a book on environmental conservation.
They were last seen on June 5, when they were on their way to Atalaia do Norte by boat. From there, a good part of the military began to withdraw this Friday, many of them heavily armed, deployed for search work, AFP journalists confirmed.