Sulu residents found a dead woman in an abandoned yacht on Sunday, the same day the Abu Sayyaf claimed they had abducted a German man from his yacht and killed his female companion in Tawi-Tawi.
Major Filemon Tan Jr., Western Mindanao Command spokesperson, said on Monday that the female foreigner in her 50s was found on a sky blue yacht with the markings “ROCK ALL” and flying a German flag.
Tan said the yacht was found on Laparan Island in Pangutaran, Sulu, at about 6 a.m. “The cadaver was found to have had gunshot wounds and a gun was found beside the body,” he added.
During a phone call with the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday, Muammar Askali, a spokesman for Abu Sayyaf, said that the group had captured the two tourists from a yacht. “Unfortunately, the other one died,” Askali said, referring to the woman. “She tried to shoot us, so we shot her.”
Askali reportedly allowed his captive to talk with Inquirer journalists. The alleged kidnap victim identified himself as Juegen Kantner, 70. He identified his female companion only as “Sabrina.”
“Pirates took our boat and they took us. We [ask] the [German] embassy to help us,” he told the Inquirer.
The military has recovered the couple’s yacht.
It appeared the victims were the same as those abducted by Somali pirates off the Gulf of Aden and held hostage for 52 days in 2008. See noonsite report here.[Broken Link]
Story by the Sydney Morning Herald – 8 November
ReCAAP: Kidnappings Rise in Sulu-Celebes, Eastern Sabah Regions
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When the Abu Sayyaf group realized that they were not going to obtain the huge ransom money for Juegen’s head they killed him about 4 months after his capture.
He is the last yachtie to be killed in the Basilan area. Do not sail anywhere on West coast of Mindanao. see my advice in Pirate Attack, Tom’s tips for Cruising Yachtsmen.