On Monday morning, the family of missing British journalist Dom Phillips awoke to the news that the body of their cherished relative — along with that of his travel companion, indigenous expert Bruno Pereira — had been found dead in the remote western Amazon.
Mr. Phillips’s brother-in-law, Paul Sherwood, received the news from Roberto Doring, the minister-counselor of the Brazilian Embassy in London. He said two bodies had been found in the surrounding area, tied to trees, and that they were likely to be Messrs. Phillips and Pereira.
Mr. Sherwood quickly made a phone call to Brazil to speak with Alessandra Sampaio, Mr. Phillips’s wife, who then informed the Brazilian press of the news.
As tributes began rolling in on social media, however, it quickly became clear that there was something not quite right about the story. Neither the Federal Police, Fire Brigade, Navy, or indigenous organizations — all of which have been actively involved in the search for the missing men — had confirmed the information.
The Brazilian Report promptly consulted its sources on the ground in Atalaia do Norte, close to where the pair disappeared eight days ago. “They haven’t found any bodies,” said one source, involved in the search along the Ituí and Itaquaí rivers. “The Federal Police haven’t even gone out in the field yet today,” they added, at roughly 7:30 am, Amazonas time.
Soon after,...
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