Were two German sailors Kidnapped in the Phillipines?

[nomadic mama]

Right- that's the first place I saw it, too, a few weeks ago. But Noonsite is getting their info from the news, which only have this MSU Professor as the apparent sole source of info that they are kidnapped and not just 'missing.'

Again, it doesn't add up.

[Jubilee39]

We have digested what information availible but dont have any definitive answers. My belief is that they were not abducted but I do not know. We are currently transiting south along the coast of Palawan following several other boats who are weeks and days ahead of us. We will be passing through the area iwhere Catherine was found in the next few days. Everyone needs to make their own decisions and ypur points of sloppy journalism are valid . Stories get picked up and passed along without fact checking. My decision is based on what I observed when the sailboat Catherine was towed in to Puerto Princessa and the recent reporting in BBC and other sources about release of recent kidnappings and no further mention of the German couple. One would think that if Abu Sayaf was holding this couple demands would have beem made.

Joe
Jubilee
SE coast of Palawan

[pbmaise]

Everyone is always selling something. I am selling the Philippines and have the incentive I may begin tourist business here. I love the place and people. I arrived in Coron at north end Palawan today. Fantastic trip. I even found cave paintings and sculptures. An insurance firm is running a website on piracy and they wrote up report on this and claimed area was "statisitically more dangerous than Somlia". Did I mention that it was an insurance company? I met Joe in Puerto on Tuesday at immigration office. They had no new information other than this claim from that professor. Last week I met with Coast Guard officials near the underground river. They had no new information. When we were in the town of Balabac a big croc was sighted at night club. I also have a new theory. Perhaps they were doing exactly what I did. I hauled several loads of washing to shore by kayak. I then stood knee deep in mangroves for two hours. I hung towels to dry too. Philip

[pbmaise]

Croc was sighted under nightclub.

The largest saltwater crocodile in captivity has died in the Philippines.

Officials said the six-metre reptile, weighing more than 1,000kg, flipped over with a bloated stomach and was declared dead several hours later.

The crocodile, blamed for the death of at least one person, was caught in September 2011 and then became the star attraction of an eco-tourism park.

It was formally declared the world's largest in captivity by Guinness World Records last year.

The crocodile, which was given the name Lolong, was captured in the town of Bunawan after a three-week hunt involving dozens of people.

The giant reptile, which measured 6.4m (21ft) and weighed in at 1,075kg (2,370lb), had begun to draw local and foreign tourists to the town.

Bunawan Mayor Edwin Elorde said Lolong had been off colour for a month.

"He refused to eat since last month and we noticed a change in the colour of his faeces," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper. "Our personnel also noticed an unusual ballooning of the reptile's belly."

Local vet Alex Collantes said that unseasonably cold weather could have affected the crocodile.

Mr Elorde told the Inquirer wildlife experts would conduct an investigation into the death and said he hoped Lolong's body could be preserved.

[category4jay]

So what has the German Embassy officially said on the disappearance of two of their citizens?

[Tellus]

Originally Posted by category4jay

So what has the German Embassy officially said on the disappearance of two of their citizens?

Nothing yet...only rumors.

[Jubilee39]

I just passed through Rio Tuba, I talked with the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy and this is what I was told, keep in mind that it is not official information but mostly verifiable

Crocofiles, very recently a fisherman was killed by a crocodile in Coral Bay outside of Rio Tuba. He was only found because he was tied to his boat and people in the village saw the boat being towed upriver with no one aboard and called the coast guard.

Location of Catherine.. I talked with a Coastguardman who came up from Balabac on the ferry through Coral Bay. He spotted the Catherine 5 miles SOUTH of Rio Tuba not in the location reported on this forum earlier. The Coast Guard was asked to be looking out for the boat but I could not find out who asked them to do so. He also told me hearsay that locals had seen armed men around the boat. The Coast Guard subsequently had the Catherine towed to Puerto Princessa.

On Thursday, 12 June I talked with the Captain of the navy patrol boat stationed in Rio Tuba. He advised me not to go down Coral Bay but to go the outside route to Balabac. That evening I found on interaksyon.com marines were hunting for 10 abu sayaf in this region. On Saturday he was all smiles and told me it was safe to go to Balabac anyway I wanted. He would not say more than that but we left that day and anchored overnight near the tip of Palawan.

Both the Navy and Coastguard people I talked to were very skeptical of the report of sighting the Germans in the Abu Sayuf camp. They stressed there is no official determination as to their fate.

There is much speculation on this subject. I will say everyone we met in this region was very friendly to us. As an aside we were about 30 miles south of Balabac town nearing Malaysian waters when the Balabac Coast Guard called us. They had picked up our AIS and wanted vessel particulars. Their antenna is pretty high up in Balabac so that may account for the range of VHF. All in all a very friendly and comforting exchange.

[Teremoana]

The contradictory reports are confusing, but I'm inclined to believe that this was probably not terrorism, but some sort of misadventure. If they have been kidnapped, where is the ransom demand? If it is terrorism, where is the publicity that is usually one of the objectives of the terrorists?

It's easy to forget that risks less spectacular than piracy and crocs are often much more deadly. Perhaps one of the crew simply had a stroke or heart attack while swimming, and the other drowned while attempting to shave his/her partner?

[gyap]

Originally Posted by pbmaise

Everyone is always selling something. I am selling the Philippines and have the incentive I may begin tourist business here. I love the place and people. I arrived in Coron at north end Palawan today. Fantastic trip. I even found cave paintings and sculptures. An insurance firm is running a website on piracy and they wrote up report on this and claimed area was "statisitically more dangerous than Somlia". Did I mention that it was an insurance company? I met Joe in Puerto on Tuesday at immigration office. They had no new information other than this claim from that professor. Last week I met with Coast Guard officials near the underground river. They had no new information. When we were in the town of Balabac a big croc was sighted at night club. I also have a new theory. Perhaps they were doing exactly what I did. I hauled several loads of washing to shore by kayak. I then stood knee deep in mangroves for two hours. I hung towels to dry too. Philip

Really you're selling the Philippines? It seems to me that you're bad mouthing it. You even mention the croc, in the first place the crocs was found in Agusan Marsh not in a nightclub. Stop making up a stories and of course common sense will tell you that they live there so why go there unless you're desperate or a moron. Have you found a country that's totally has a 0 crime rate? Common sense will tell you that research the place first before going to it. Philippines is relatively safe just stay out of Western Mindanao specially Jolo, Sulu and Southern Palawan. Really Sulu is more dangerous than Somalia? Can you provide a statistical evidence to prove it?

[delmarrey]

For Americans or Caucasians in general, the Philippines is safer then NYC IMO. As a semi gray hair and white beard man I travel around PH with out a worry. One just stays out of the bad areas like anywhere else in the world.

I've spent the past 3 weeks here in Imus, Cavite in my house and as people pass by they either don't notice me or just smile and wave. As I travel around people hardly notice when I'm on/in a trike.

The people here like Westerners because they know they bring in money which helps boost their economy. Their constitution is based upon the US and is even written in English. I predict that within the next score this will be a fully English speaking nation. Most everywhere I go the majority I can communicate in English. And if you throw in a little Tagalog you gain points in friendliness.

The only time I ever got a bad vibe was when I sat down next to a guy on a bus between the Boracay landing and Kalibo. So the next stop I let a lady with a kid have my seat.

[Tellus]

Now it 's establish fact that the German couple has been kidnapped by Abus.
DPA , German Press Agency, wrote that on FB a pict has shown the couple with armed men in background. An armyspeaker said the pict is true

[Jubilee39]

Originally Posted by Tellus

Now it 's establish fact that the German couple has been kidnapped by Abus.
DPA , German Press Agency, wrote that on FB a pict has shown the couple with armed men in background. An armyspeaker said the pict is true

Is it possible to post links to this information? There has been so much hearsay going around it would be nice to see the fb pictures for confirmation. It does not appear that after 4 months demands have been made.

[LeaseOnLife]

philnews.com - Philippines News Link - Photo shows 2 abducted German tourists apparently in hands of ASG

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Jubilee39

Is it possible to post links to this information?...

Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Herike Diesen, 55

➥ https://www.google.ca/search?q=Stefa...ficial&tbm=nws

[sailcruiser]

For those with limited internet connections:
"ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - A photograph of two German tourists believed kidnapped by an al-Qaeda-linked militant group has been posted on Facebook -- raising suspicion they are being held by the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines' Muslim south.
In the undated picture, masked gunmen with heavy automatic weapons surround the sailors -- Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Herike Diesen, 55 -- behind a German flag in a forest.
An Arabic inscription can also be seen in the background. It remains unknown who posted the photograph.
Okonek and Diesen were reportedly abducted by heavily armed men while headed to Malaysia’s Sabah from the nearby Philippine island province of Palawan on April 14.
Authorities said the two Germans had just come from an island-hopping trip around the coast of Mindanao -- the second largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines -- when they were snatched in the waters off Bataraza town.
Rescue operations are currently active in the island provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi -- areas where the group is known to operate.
Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of the army’s Western Mindanao Command, said they were facing difficulties as hostages were being used as human shields, and called on locals to provide information.
The German Embassy could not be reached Wednesday for comment on the authenticity of the picture.
However, Filipino construction workers who were released late last month had reported seeing five foreigners held captive by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu.
They told reporters that two Germans who appeared to be a couple had been among those remaining.
Other captives are believed to include a 45-year-old Chinese businesswoman and her 19-year-old daughter, who were snatched from a karaoke bar in Basilan province May 22, and two European birdwatchers taken from Tawi-Tawi in February 2012.
A ransom of over $680,000 (P30 million) has been demanded for the mother and daughter.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortions in a self-determined fight for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines.
It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release."

Second article:
http://dalje.com/en-world/philippine...-girlie/518238

AUGUST 13 2014 14:12h
Philippine military searching for German hostages in southern jungle Girlie
Photo
World0 Text
Philippine troops were scouring the jungles of a southern island where Islamist militants were suspected to be holding captive two German nationals, military sources said Wednesday.
"Search and rescue efforts are ongoing," an intelligence source said, asked about photos of the missing men that surfaced on the internet. The photos circulating online showed Stephan Victor Okoveix, 71, and Henrike Diesen, 55, holding a German flag and surrounded by 10 armed men with partly covered faces. The intelligence source said the photo appears to be authentic, but declined to give more details. Senior Superintendent Abraham Orbita, police commander in Sulu province, where the hostages are believed to be held, said the photo "is one of several pictures and videos we know that are spreading around." He said Abu Sayyaf rebels were believed to be the source of the photos and videos. Okoveix and Diesen were allegedly seized by Abu Sayyaf rebels from their yacht off the western province of Palawan on April 25. Orbita said they were believed to have been brought to Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, a part of Sulu province, which is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for previous kidnappings of foreigners. A Filipino hostage freed by the Abu Sayyaf last month told authorities that he saw the German nationals during his time in captivity.


SC