Authorities learned John Allen Chau was dead from the fishermen who had ferried him near North Sentinel Island. They later told police they saw the Sentinelese dragging what appeared to be his body along the beach and burying it, which is how officials first concluded he had been killed.

What happened

  • The first signs came from the fishermen who had helped Chau reach the island.
  • They reported seeing tribespeople drag a body on the shore and bury it.
  • Police then used that account to map the likely burial area, but they could not independently recover or confirm the body right away.

Why officials were unsure at first

The island is remote and the Sentinelese are hostile to outsiders, so police avoided a direct approach that could have caused more harm.

Officers later used binoculars from a boat and a helicopter search, but they still did not immediately find the body.

Short version

In practical terms, they found out through witness reports from the fishermen, then tried to verify it by surveying the area from a distance.