Human remains found in Amazon belong to missing British journalist

17 June 2022, 21:18 | Updated: 18 June 2022, 10:01

Dom Phillips went missing in Brazil.
Dom Phillips went missing in Brazil. Picture: Getty

By Emma Soteriou

Police in Brazil have confirmed human remains found in the Amazon are those of missing British journalist Dom Phillips.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The identification was based on dental records, authorities said.

The second body, believed to be that of Mr Phillips' Brazilian companion Bruno Pereira, is still under forensic analysis.

Latin America minister Vicky Ford confirmed on Saturday the remains were those of Mr Phillips.

Writing on Twitter, she said: "I am very sad to hear confirmation Dom Phillips's body has been identified.

"My thoughts are with his family.

"I am grateful to everyone involved in the searches.

"We will continue to support Mr Phillips's family, and the Brazilian authorities as the investigations proceed."

Read more: Suspect admits killing Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira in Amazon and leads police to bodies

Read more: Second arrest in search for missing British journalist in Amazon

Investigators are still working to establish a cause of death, the country's federal police said in their latest statement, and identification of Mr Pereira's body has not yet been confirmed.

On Saturday, Mr Phillips' sister said he had been on his final of several trips in the Amazon this year, where he was speaking to people working on projects including sustainable agro-forestry.

"I think he underplayed the risks to some extent," told the BBC.

"But we knew that there were risks.

"It was an area he had travelled in with Bruno before but of course things have changed since Bolsonaro has been in power.

"The rights of the indigenous people have been rolled back."

It comes after a suspect confessed to fatally shooting the pair earlier in the week.

Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, nicknamed Pelado, led officers to two bodies in the rainforest.

His brother, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, was also arrested in connection with the killings, but denies any involvement.

Mr Phillips and Mr Pereira vanished on June 5 when they were working on a story about protecting the rainforest.

They were last seen on their boat in a river near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia.

Police searched the Amazon for the bodies.
Police searched the Amazon for the bodies. Picture: Getty

The area has seen violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents.

Developments began moving on Wednesday when federal police officers took a suspect they did not identify at the time out on the river toward search parties looking for the missing men.

An Associated Press photographer in Atalaia do Norte, the city closest to the search zone, witnessed police taking the suspect, who was in a hood.

After the suspect's confession, Dom Phillips' family said they were "heartbroken".

"We are grateful to all those who have taken part in the search, especially the indigenous groups who worked tirelessly to find evidence of the attack," they said on Wednesday.

"We thank the many people who have joined us in urging the authorities to intensify the search and those who have reached out with words of comfort and sympathy," they added.

Mr Phillips' wife, Alessandra Sampaio, said in a separate statement that "we can now bring them home and say goodbye with love".

She added that the confession marked the beginning of a "quest for justice".

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Dame Judi Dench played M in several James Bond films

Who is Blaise Metreweli - the real life M and first female head of MI6?

British Prime Minister Kier Starmer arrives at Calgary International Airport, Sunday,June, 15, 2025, ahead of the G7 Summit.

Starmer threatens Putin with more sanctions if Russia resits ceasefire calls

Exclusive
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds was flummoxed by questions about the Lower Thames crossing

Treasury minister unable to answer basic questions on £10bn infrastructure project in car crash LBC interview

Belinda Taylor, left, and Adam Harrison, right, died during a tandem jump on Friday.

Tributes pour in for 'selfless' mother-of-four and 'wonderful' skydiving instructor who died during tandem jump

An Air India flight takes off.

Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight forced to turn back with 'technical issue'

NATO Scramble RAF Typhoons Four Times In Seven Days To Intercept Russian Aircraft

RAF fighter jets scrambled six days in a row as fifteen Russian military aircraft intercepted

J.J. Spaun holds the U.S. Open trophy

JJ Spaun hails 'fairytale' victory as Robert MacIntyre’s US Open dream crushed

The trilateral Aukus partnership, believed to be aimed at countering China, involves building a new fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines and co-operating in other areas of defence

Starmer has 'no doubt' Trump will back Aukus submarine deal despite ‘America First’ review

Falmouth youth fights for Transgender rights as Section 35 enacted repealing a Scottish Bill that would benefit the transgender community

Nearly 10,000 gender certificates granted as Gen Z applications soar

Israeli security personnel and first responders inspect an area hit by an Iranian missile strike on central Tel Aviv.

Israel-Iran LIVE: At least five dead and 287 injured in latest strikes on Tel Aviv as fighting enters its fourth day

Seven men who groomed two vulnerable teenage girls in Rochdale were found guilty of multiple offences last week

Starmer calls in 'Britain's FBI' to investigate grooming gangs after U-turn on national inquiry

Vance Boelter, 57, is suspected of fatally shooting the Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark

Man suspected of shooting Minnesota politicians in 'targeted assassination' arrested after two-day manhunt

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a missile launched from Iran struck Haifa, in northern Israel, on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Rami Shlush)

UK warns against all travel to Israel as missile strikes continue into third night

Sources told US media that Israel had briefed the Trump administration on a covert operation to target Iran’s top political figure

Donald Trump rejected Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Khamenei amid spiralling Middle East tensions

A third of children’s sunglasses bought from online marketplaces including Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay and Temu do not provide the required protection and are unsafe, according to a Which? investigation.

Third of sunglasses sold online pose risk to children’s eyesight, Which? says

Belinda Taylor

Family demand answers after ‘selfless’ woman dies in 'tragic' skydiving accident