Washington state missionary killed by remote island natives

A Washington state resident was convinced that he could could convert a notoriously hostile island tribe off the coast of India to Christianity. Tragically, he ended up killed for his efforts.

A native of Vancouver, Washington, John Allen Chau was amply warned before attempting to land on a remote island in the Andaman Sea near India. The native tribe residing on the island is reputed for its hostility to outsiders, living a largely primitive lifestyle for the last 55,000 years.

The tribe has been isolated from the outside world throughout its history, known for killing any outsider that steps foot on its North Sentinel island.

Outreach to the Sentinelese people ceased in 1996, with the Indian navy enacting a buffer zone. Ten years after that, a pair of fishermen were killed by the tribe after inadvertently drifting to the shore of the island. The tribe has even been known to fire arrows and throw spears at passing helicopters.

Despite the tribe’s violent history, Chau remained unfazed, insisting in a letter to law enforcement officials that he had God’s protection. “God sheltered me and camouflaged me against the coast guard and the navy,” he wrote.

Chau hired a fishing boat at the neighboring island of Point Blair, and left under the cover of night to avoid attention from local authorities. When first approaching the island, a young boy fired an arrow at him, hitting the Bible Chau was carrying with him at the time.

It’s unclear what exactly happened when Chau next made landfall at the island, but it’s known that he did not survive the encounter. Indian authorities have yet to recover his body — the fishermen Chau hired did witness his body being dragged along the beach and buried by tribesmen.

In the wake of Chau’s death, seven people were arrested as accessories to murder, including five fishermen, a friend of Chau’s, and a local tourist guide.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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