Brazilian Authorities Deny Reports Of Bodies Found In Missing Journalist Search Transcript

Speaker 1: (00:00)
Tonight, confusion turning into frustration, as a search intensifies for British journalists, Dom Phillips and his guide, Bruno Pereira, deep in the Amazon. The Guardian, a UK paper Phillips had worked for, reports a Brazilian diplomat notified the family this morning the pair’s bodies were found, only later to have Brazilian federal police say only their belongings were discovered in a remote part of the Amazon jungle more than a week after the duo vanished. The conflicting reports come as the very community Phillips spent years reporting on is calling for answers and justice in the disappearance of the veteran reporter and his expert guide. In the town of Atalaia do Norte, one of the last areas the men were spotted, hundreds of protestors gathering, some holding signs asking, “Who killed Bruno and Dom?”

Sian Phillips: (00:48)
We are praying, and we are crossing our fingers, and hoping.

Speaker 1: (00:53)
Phillips’s sister spoke to Top Story days after her brother disappeared. The family has criticized the Brazilian government’s search response.

Sian Phillips: (01:00)
We keep the pressure on. We have to. We have to find answers, and we have to hold those responsible to justice. We have to have justice for these two men.

Speaker 1: (01:11)
Just this weekend, the Brazilian Army, once again, took to the air to search this vast area of the Amazon jungle. Also, taking to the river, conducting a more focused search near where they were last seen, investigators have sent organic matter found in the river for analysis, and are investigating a fisherman after local detectives found possible human blood in his boat. Phillips spent years covering the remote area, hoping to raise awareness of the illegal activity, including illegal fishing, logging, and drug trafficking that threatens the indigenous people who call Brazil’s Javari Valley region home.

Speaker 3: (01:40)
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Speaker 1: (01:41)
A union representing them says the pair had been threatened days before they vanished.

Speaker 4: (01:56)
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Speaker 1: (02:01)
Some concrete evidence did come over the weekend, when authorities found items belonging to both men. Balled in this blue tarp are what Brazilian federal authorities say are a backpack, laptop, and other personal items.

Speaker 5: (02:14)
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Speaker 1: (02:16)
As the local people march for both answers and justice, Phillips’s family is keeping the pair’s work in the spotlight. What do you want the world to know about Bruno and your brother?

Speaker 6: (02:26)
He was very brave. I mean, he went into a place. He must have known that he was taking risks with his own safety to expose the dangers that these indigenous people are living under at the moment.

Speaker 1: (02:37)
And Tom, we reached out to the family who was trying to separate fact from fiction. They are angry, and heartbroken. And they declined to comment until they have more clarity in an investigation that continues to grow more complicated.

Speaker 7: (02:50)
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