Philippine police checking reports that a kidnapped American has died after being shot

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police officials say they are checking reports that a kidnapped American died after being shot twice while resisting his Oct. 17 abduction by gunmen in the country’s south. Police say Elliot Onil Eastman, from Vermont, was shot twice with an M16 rifle while trying to fight off his four kidnappers, who posed as police officers, in Zamboanga del Norte province. According to earlier police reports, the kidnappers dragged him to a motorboat and sped off. A massive search for Eastman and his abductors led to the arrest of a number of suspects, but he has not been found.