It was discovered submerged about 65 feet below the Itacoai River with the help of six sandbags. Police say the third suspect in the killings, Jefferson da Silva Lima, led them to discover the boat. The suspect – nicknamed “Pelado da Dinha” in his community – turned himself in to police on Saturday. The next day, police said five more suspects helped hide the two men’s bodies. Officials did not name the new suspects, saying that ongoing investigations were aimed at “clarifying all the circumstances, motives and those involved in the case”. The search has caught the world’s attention as the most famous celebrities, lawmakers and sports stars have called for more to be done to find the missing. Actor Marc Roufalo, football legend Pelé and US President Biden are among the high-profile names who have urged the Brazilian government to step up its search efforts. The “Shutter Island” actor wrote on Twitter as he called for an “international response”, stressing the alarming number of journalists who were “attacked, killed or disappeared”, he initially wrote on Twitter. Experts from the Brazilian Federal Police assist in the search for Dom Phillips and Brune Pereira.AFP via Getty Images After hearing the latest developments regarding the remains of the two men being found, Ruffalo wrote on Twitter: “These developments are horrible. “We must protect journalists from dangers and threats against their honorable work.” Football superstar Pelé said he was “moved” by the disappearance of Phillips and Pereira as he called on leaders to step up search efforts earlier this month. Phillips, 57, and Pereira were last seen on June 5 aboard their boat on the Itaquai River, near the entrance to the Javari Indigenous Territory along the Peruvian-Colombian border. The case quickly gained international attention. According to police, both were shot with hunting ammunition. The suspect Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, a fisherman who police say confessed to killing the two victims, his brother Oseney da Costa, and a third man, Jeferson da Silva Lima, has been arrested. Police said Amarildo, nicknamed Pelado, confessed to shooting and killing both men on June 14. He then led the authorities to the area where the remains were found. The bodies of the men were found in an area where there were violent clashes between fishermen, poachers and government officials. UNIVAJA, the local Indigenous association Pereira worked for, said the government had failed to think that the men could have been targeted by a criminal organization that funded illegal fishing and poaching in the Javari Indigenous Territory. “This is why Bruno Pereira became one of the main targets of this criminal group, as well as other UNIVAJA members who received death threats,” the statement said. The post was addressed to UNIVAJA for further comments. With Post cables
