Cops probe if American killed by Sentinelese tribe in Andaman was on religious mission

Mangalore Today News Network

Adaman, Dec 01, 2018 : American John Allen Chau, feared murdered by the Sentinelese on their isolated and off-limits island, was a member of a US-based missionary organisation that works to spread Christianity across the globe, and police are probing if he was sent on a task by the group to introduce religion to the last known uncontacted tribe in the world, HindustanTimes reported.

 

The Andaman police have found proof that Chau was in regular contact with the Kansas-based organisation, All Nations, through handwritten notes and the confession of one of the people accused of helping him sneak into the island on November 17, when he was ostensibly killed.

In one of the notes, Chau told a contact to hand over his diary describing an interaction with the tribe to an American woman from Tennessee so that she could forward the update to “ALL NATIONS”. These instructions were written in capital letters. The Washington Post first reported the 27-year-old’s All Nations connection on November 28, although this is the first time the existence and details of his note to the organisation are being published.

An investigator who asked not to be named said they first thought ‘all nations’ was a generic reference to ‘other countries’, but realised after further investigation that it referred to a missionary group that Chau was part of. One of the investigators cited above said the note shows that he was in touch with them during his time in Andaman.

The investigator said one of the people arrested in connection with the case — a Port Blair resident named Alexander, who is referenced in Chau’s notes as ‘A’ — told police that Chau was a member of the group. He also said two other US citizens – the 53-year-old Tennessee woman and a 25-year-old man from Colorado, who held several meetings with Chau at a ‘safehouse’ in Andaman between November 5 and 10, as reported by HT this week — are part of same group.

Alexander told police that these two were trying to “encourage” Chau in contacting the tribe. HT is not writing the names of these American citizens because the investigation is ongoing.

“Alexander, who helped Chau get in touch with the fishermen, confessed that Chau and the two US nationals held meetings in his house, discussing their plans of entering the prohibited North Sentinel Island,” the officer said.

The Americans left a day before Chau was originally supposed to go to the island on November 11 — a 50km boat ride in the Indian Ocean that takes about three hours from the nearest village. Indian laws do not allow anyone to venture within 10km of the island, where the Sentinelese have lived for centuries and repulsed all attempts to be contacted by modern world.

“Chau stayed in a hotel where the tariff is about Rs1,600. After checking out, he also stayed at Alexander’s house. It is possible he was given money by someone to pay (Rs 25,000) the fishermen to take him to the island,” the officer said, but added that Chau has not made any mention of mention of money in his notes.

On Thursday, in response to a query by HT, All Nations sent a statement condoning the death of Chau and said it is in “contact with the US state department and continue to cooperate fully with international, national and regional officials”.

The statement, issued by Jennifer Baldridge of All Nations, confirmed that Chau was one of its missionaries. It did not say, however, whether or not the group sent Chau on a mission to meet the islanders. In the statement, the group described itself as an “international Christians Mission Sending and Training Organisation, committed to preparing Christians to share the gospel and establishing churches in parts of the world where the name of Jesus Christ is little or not known”.

The statement also quoted the group’s global executive leader Mary Ho describing Chau as “a gracious and sensitive ambassador of Jesus Christ who wanted others to know of God’s great love for them”.

Police said because Chau’s mobile phone and other belongings are yet to be recovered, things are a “little unclear”. Investigators believe Chau hid the phone and other essentials somewhere on the island before meeting the Sentinelese when he first sneaked into the island on November 16.

Alexander told the police that Chau had been to India three times in the past (twice in 2016 and once in January 2018).