NEW DELHI — The Latest on the death of an American who was killed by an isolated Indian tribe (all times local):
7 a.m.
Police
investigating the apparent killing of an American by an isolated island
tribe off the coast of India said they have surveyed the island by air
and have carefully visited the area to identify where the man died.
A
statement issued by the police for the Andaman and Nicobar islands late
Wednesday said the police and India’s coast guard carried out an aerial
survey of Northern Sentinel Island on Tuesday. A team of police and
forest department officials used a coast guard boat to visit the island
Wednesday and another visit was planned Thursday.
The
Sentinelese people are highly resistant to outsiders and the government
tightly restricts visits to the island. Police officer Vijay Singh said
Thursday morning that police were exploring their options since they
cannot go directly to the restricted area and confront the tribespeople.
Police
on Wednesday said fishermen who helped John Allen Chau visit the island
saw a dead person being buried at the shore who appeared to be Chau.
The fishermen then returned to Port Blair, the capital of the islands,
and reported what happened.
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4:30 a.m.
John
Allen Chau spent summers alone in a California cabin as a wilderness
emergency responder. He led backpacking expeditions in the Northwest’s
Cascade Mountains, almost lost his leg to a rattlesnake bite, and
coached soccer for poor children in Iraq and South Africa.
But
kayaking to a remote Indian island, home to a tribe known for firing
arrows at outsiders, proved an adventure too far for the avid
outdoorsman and Christian missionary.
Police in
India said Wednesday he had been killed, and authorities were working
with anthropologists to try to recover his body from North Sentinel, in
the Andaman Islands.
The 26-year-old was from
southwestern Washington state, where he attended Vancouver Christian
High School. He went on to graduate from Oral Roberts University, a
Christian college in Oklahoma, in 2014, with a degree health and
exercise science.
While there, he worked with the university’s missions and outreach department.
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4 a.m.
The family of an American killed by isolated Indian tribesmen says it is forgiving those who did it.
Relatives
of John Allen Chau have posted a statement on Instagram in which they
said they were mourning him as a “beloved son, brother, uncle and best
friend to us.”
The family also called for the release of those who assisted him in his quest to reach the island.
Police say Chau was killed on North Sentinel Island by a tribe known for shooting bows and arrows at outsiders.
They say seven fishermen have been arrested for helping Chau visit the island last week.
Visits
to the island are heavily restricted, and the Sentinelese people are
known to resist contact with outsiders, often attacking them.
___
12:15 p.m.
Police
say an American is believed to have been killed by an isolated Indian
island tribe known to fire at outsiders with bows and arrows.
Police
officer Vijay Singh says seven fishermen have been arrested for
facilitating the American’s visit to North Sentinel Island, where the
killing apparently occurred. Visits to the island are heavily restricted
by the government.
The Sentinelese people live
on a small forested island and are known to resist all contact with
outsiders, often attacking anyone who comes near.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
Indian media reports said the American was on an adventure trip to the islands and his body was found by the fishermen.
