The family of Dom Phillips, a Guardian contributor and former Washington Post contractor, received a message from Brazilian embassy officials early Monday asking them to speak. Phillips’s brother-in-law Paul Serwood was then informed that two bodies had been found tied to a tree. Officials suspected – but had not yet confirmed – that the bodies belonged to Phillips and his traveler, Bruno Pereira, a longtime Brazilian Indigenous Service official. The family says that bodies were found in search of a journalist and a colleague The family passed the disturbing information to the journalists. But the information was not accurate, as the embassy acknowledged in a letter sent to the family. “We are deeply saddened that the Embassy passed on to the family information yesterday that was incorrect,” wrote Ambassador Fred Arruda. “The information received from investigating officials misled the team of many services at the Embassy.” He said the embassy acted with “precipitation” in the disclosure of information to the family. “I apologize wholeheartedly,” the ambassador wrote. The confusion was the latest mistake made by officials in a search attempt that has filled them, critics say. Hopes fade, anger grows over disappearance of British journalist in Brazil Phillips and Pereira disappeared on June 5 after entering the remote Javari Valley to investigate the growing pressure from poachers and fishermen. But just days later the government mobilized a full-fledged search team to search for the missing. A helicopter, considered a critical tool in the hunt for men lost in a vast area, was absent in the early hours of the morning. As the days passed and additional information emerged, hopes that the men would be found alive have diminished. Pereira, who was mapping criminal activity in the area, had been threatened earlier. Then, during the mission, an indigenous surveillance team reported being threatened again. A man reportedly fired a gun. Police have since arrested the man, and officials say blood was found on his boat. Research parties have also recovered what appear to be human remains and sent them for genetic testing. Items belonging to the men – boots, ID, backpack – were also found, officials said. “All indications are that they did something wrong with the men,” said Brazilian President Zaire Bolsonaro this week. “With the time frame we have, the eight days become nine, and what happened, it will be very unlikely that we will find them alive.”
