Two weeks ago, American missionary John Allen Chau was reportedly killed by a group of remote tribesmen in North Sentinel, India—but several close loved ones think there’s a chance he survived the bow-and-arrow attack.
Fishermen claim they saw members of the Sentinelese shoot Chau with bows and arrows on the beach and then drag and bury his body in the sand.
Authorities have struggled to retrieve Chau’s body, as attempts could result in deaths on both sides. For now, they have paused their plans to find the missionary’s body in order to avoid confrontation. The 60 to 100 tribesmen on North Sentinel are known to be violent toward outsiders and are also at risk of deadly disease due to their lack of immunity to many viruses common to other cultures.
But Chau’s mother, Linda, believes the lack of corpse could indicate her son is still alive, according to The Irish Sun. Chau’s close friend, John, also thinks he might have survived.
“I think there’s a possibility he may have survived,” John says. “I wouldn’t rule it out. His mother is a Christian too, and she has said that in her prayers that she had feelings that John might still be alive.”
