Authorities wrongly told the family of Dom Phillips that his body had been found and the Brazilian ambassador to the UK has been forced to apologise in a letter.
Phillips, 57, and his travelling partner Bruno Pereira, 41, went missing in a remote part of the Amazon last week, with the family informed that their bodies has been found tied to trees in the rainforest.
According to reports in the Guardian, the family of Phillips received a call on June 13 to tell them of the discovery, but officials only suspected the bodies belonged to the missing men and never confirmed their identities.
However, Phillips’ brother-in-law, Paul Sherwood, confirmed that ambassador Fred Arruda had written to the family to say the statement was incorrect.
Arruda said: “We are deeply sorry the embassy passed on to the family yesterday information that did not prove correct.”
He went on to say the embassy had been “misled” by information it had received from “investigating officials”.
Arruda added: “The search operation will go on, with no efforts being spared. Our thoughts remain with Dom, Bruno, yourselves and the other members of both families.”
Brazilian Federal Police said the latest development in the search for the two men was the discovery of their personal items.
In a statement, they said the objects included a backpack and a pair of boots belonging to Phillips, as well as a health card, black trousers, a black sandal and a pair of boots belonging to Pereira.
On June 11, separate reports emerged that police had discovered human matter in the River Itaquai, near Atalaia do Norte’s port.
Authorities previously said blood found on a suspect’s boat had been sent for analysis.
Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, also known as Pelado, was earlier named as a suspect and arrested for allegedly carrying a firearm without a permit, a common practice in the region.
Police did not clarify why he was being treated as a suspect, but he is thought to have been among a group of men who threatened the missing men near an indigenous territory on June 4.
Phillips and Pereira vanished on June 5 while returning from a four-day trip in the Javari region of the Amazon.
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