The best friend of a British woman who was last seen aboard her boyfriend’s luxury catamaran in the US Virgin Islands two weeks ago says the timeline of her disappearance “makes no sense”.
Sarm Heslop, 41, of Southampton, was last seen on the night of March 7 aboard the 14-meter Siren Song, which was moored in Frank Bay, St. John, officials said.
Her boyfriend Ryan Bane, 44, woke up at 2 a.m. the next day when he was awakened by the anchor alarm from his charter ship, which was about 30 meters offshore.
He reportedly alerted the United States Coast Guard about 10 hours after he noticed the former flight attendant was missing.
Bane, a US citizen, has reportedly hired a lawyer and is refusing to allow authorities to search his vessel.
“This timeline just doesn’t make sense to us,” Andrew Baldwin, 41, a friend of the missing woman for 25 years, told The Mirror.
“We know Mr. Bane called the local police at 1:30 in the morning and told him to call the Coast Guard,” he said. The Coast Guard was reportedly informed by Mr Bane of her disappearance at 11:46 am Monday.
“We know they ate at a local restaurant and left at 10pm. What we don’t know is what happened in those intervening hours,” Baldwin added.
A dog walker on the island reportedly heard a scream during the time Heslop disappeared, The Sun reported.
Friends have said they don’t point the finger at Bane, who met Heslop on Tinder, but simply want her to be found.
She wouldn’t just disappear and leave no trace. She’s smart and sensible, it’s not like her at all, it just doesn’t make sense, ”Baldwin told the Mirror.
Local police said Bane is not talking to them.
“Shortly after Ms. Heslop was reported missing, Mr. Bane engaged the services of a lawyer,” Virgin Islands police said in a statement.
On the advice of his attorney, Mr. Bane exercised his constitutional right to remain silent and refused requests from officers to search the ship.
“VIPD continues its efforts to locate Ms. Heslop by conducting multiple searches daily, speaking to potential witnesses and digging through surveillance video for hours,” it added.
Bane’s attorney, David Cattie, said his client immediately called the emergency number when he realized his girlfriend was missing.
“Later that morning, at Mr. Bane’s request, the US Coast Guard came to Mr. Bane’s (Siren Song) ship,” Cattie told Fox News. Several USCG officers boarded the ship and interviewed Mr. Bane on the ship.
Mr. Bane, at the request of Sarm’s family, then reported her personal belongings [Virgin Islands Police Department]including her cell phone, iPad, passport, etc. “
Heslop’s family said they were “shocked and distraught” by her disappearance, adding, “We will never give up looking for Sarm and we still hope to find her safe.”