US Virgin Is - Sarm Joan Lillian Heslop, 41, British, aboard vessel Siren Song, St. John, 7 Mar 2021

[Satchie]

So....we now have a situation whereby several different law enforcement bodies / agencies are involved in an alleged missing persons case - the FBI, UK law enforcement (according to Sarm's friends/family search FB page), USVIPD and allegedly at least one private investigator (according to The Times article). Oh yes, and then we have David Cattie, Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer, who incidentally is also being investigated in the USVI (GM, that is).

What on earth is going on here? I am trying hard not to be conspiratorial about this.

I don't see a conspiracy, why would there be a conspiracy? IMO, the only conspiracy may be that one man is seemingly refusing to state the truth about what happened, to anyone.

 

[Mandalas]

I don't see a conspiracy, why would there be a conspiracy? IMO, the only conspiracy may be that one man is seemingly refusing to say the truth what happened, to anybody.

Why is there ever a conspiracy... I'm just curious about all the developments in that region that have been in the MSM over the last few years, eg. Epstein. Also, I have a tendency to get overly suspicious of things, especially when tired or overdoing sleuthing.... So take it with a pinch of salt!

 

[margarita25]

(@DeDee & @andalso, I haven’t forgotten about you guys here, knee deep in the Chauvin trial, but will catch up here when I get a chance. )

 

[Mandalas]

Just thinking about Bane's friend's comments about how much he was in love with Sarm. If she is the first woman he has fallen for in a serious way since his major life change in 2014 (quitting the corporate career, divorced from his wife), then that could explain why no other women have come forward other than his ex wife. For someone with DV tendencies, without wanting to generalise too much, it is perhaps the more emotionally invested/intense relationships that would bring that side out at its worst.

MOO.

 

[Inthedetails]

Just thinking about Bane's friend's comments about how much he was in love with Sarm. If she is the first woman he has fallen for in a serious way since his major life change in 2014 (quitting the corporate career, divorced from his wife), then that could explain why no other women have come forward other than his ex wife. For someone with DV tendencies, without wanting to generalise too much, it is perhaps the more emotionally invested/intense relationships that would bring that side out at its worst.

MOO.

Or, it might be the first time since his marriage that he felt "tied down" again. Maybe he likes the chase but not the settling into couplehood. speculation.

jmo

 

[pizzaman12]

Maybe looking for somewhere he can get the boat re-named and re-painted?

I highly doubt that. My guess is dock it and step out of the spotlight as much as possible. I'm guessing he's being instructed as to what to do. I will say that the fact that the authorities have still been so adamant that it's currently a missing person case and that they know where he is makes me think he/his lawyer is in contact with them.

 

[KALI]

In my opinion, they are kind of like sharks in the water.
Money. Is the motivation. Imo.
I do not care about their belated interest. I do care a lot about the recovery of
Sarm's body.
Yes. I said body.
This beautiful person is dead.
Absolutely my opinion.

So....we now have a situation whereby several different law enforcement bodies / agencies are involved in an alleged missing persons case - the FBI, UK law enforcement (according to Sarm's friends/family search FB page), USVIPD and allegedly at least one private investigator (according to The Times article). Oh yes, and then we have David Cattie, Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer, who incidentally is also being investigated in the USVI (GM, that is).

What on earth is going on here? I am trying hard not to be conspiratorial about this.

 

[Mandalas]

Or, it might be the first time since his marriage that he felt "tied down" again. Maybe he likes the chase but not the settling into couplehood. speculation.

jmo

Yes indeed, especially if she had returned to USVI from Malta for the relationship, for him, moving in, working and being together 24/7.... Sounds very intense to me, and a lot of pressure for someone who has deliberately moved to that lifestyle to get space, privacy, the quiet life.... Or running away from something.

 

[andalso]

(@DeDee & @andalso, I haven’t forgotten about you guys here, knee deep in the Chauvin trial, but will catch up here when I get a chance. )

(Hi @margarita don't stress about it! The weed angle was just that he might smoke weed and might have it on the boat, but it prob has little to do with her missing/finding her.)

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

I wonder what the 'differential' theories might be here. Of course we all see the circumstances and Bane's history and reach similar conclusions, but if we were detectives stopping there would be a poor approach as it blinds us to any other possibility.

I wonder what the kidnap angle is here. The FBI don't really ever investigate "missing persons" cases unless the missing is a child. The only other time they get involved is if a local authority requests their assistance with a missing adult, but in that circumstance they only provide assistance with identification and forensics (from what I can find publicly).

The FBI has jurisdiction to investigate kidnap of an adult in six circumstances, including this one:

- (2) kidnapping within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States;

Is kidnap what they're investigating?

A very intense spotlight has been on Bane for two week now. That's a good thing, and from the public information available there's a 50%+ chance that he has something to do with this.

But what if there's a counterfactual and we've been distracted by a red herring? I think it's really important we ask the question: Is there anything else that might have happened?

Some ideas:

- Perhaps she wanted some alone time and went for a stroll just as they got back to the dinghy;
- Perhaps they're swingers/have an open sex life and some activities happened that night involving third parties;
- Perhaps she really wanted off the USVI and willingly got on someone else's boat - which boats were in the vicinity?
- Perhaps Bane himself left the boat after they returned and she wasn't there when he got back.

One thing is for sure. Whatever level of complicity Bane has, he has handled this horrifically. But my impression of him - beyond his conviction for DV - is that he's likely a weed-smoking alcoholic who lives on a boat, the type of guy who could very well do harm to a woman, but also the type of guy who is quite able to pass out for hours and not know what the hell's going on around him.

A technical point on anchor alarms. Modern anchor alarms work like this: you set your 'anchor' point on an iPhone app or a device (e.g. a Garmin device), as well as the acceptable distance you're happy for the boat to drift around the point. The software then monitors how much the boat moves around that point, and if it goes beyond that distance (e.g. 10m) it warns you with an alarm. It isn't a physical alarm attached to or monitoring the physical anchor. It just means the boat moved too far at that point, away from where it was meant to sit.

With the recent Sarah Everard search in the UK, the primary theory was that her boyfriend was involved, and he abjectly was not. I wonder if some opportunities were missed, and some energy mis-spent on the certainty of that theory, that could have been spent elsewhere.

All MOO of course!

 

[pizzaman12]

One thing is for sure. Whatever level of complicity Bane has, he has handled this horrifically. But my impression of him - beyond his conviction for DV - is that he's likely a weed-smoking alcoholic who lives on a boat, the type of guy who could very well do harm to a woman, but also the type of guy who is quite able to pass out for hours and not know what the hell's going on around him.

All MOO of course!

Snipped for focus. I'll agree that on the surface it appears he's handled it horribly. However, many people think they can just talk with authorities and get things straightened out which is not the advisable move by any lawyer I'm familiar with. (They're also in an area that there is a concern of widespread corruption) I would bet money that he's been doing whatever his lawyer has been advising him of from the beginning. Does it look bad? Yeah, I think few would dispute that and I'm not saying he's guilty/not guilty, but there are many people sitting in jail right now because they didn't seek professional counsel sooner.

While I know it's just your opinion and your impression of him, curious how you make the bold leap to the dope-smoking, alcoholic, incoherent, passing out type? Because they were at a well known local dive bar called "420 to Center"? Because they had drinks?

Again, I'm not defending RB because if this were my family or friends, I'd be sitting on the Siren Song asking him myself. However, the authorities job is not to be emotionally involved and to investigate on facts and evidence, which unfortunately seems like very little right now. Hopefully, there is more going on behind the scenes that we're unaware of.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

Snipped for focus. I'll agree that on the surface it appears he's handled it horribly. However, many people think they can just talk with authorities and get things straightened out which is not the advisable move by any lawyer I'm familiar with. (They're also in an area that there is a concern of widespread corruption) I would bet money that he's been doing whatever his lawyer has been advising him of from the beginning. Does it look bad? Yeah, I think few would dispute that and I'm not saying he's guilty/not guilty, but there are many people sitting in jail right now because they didn't seek professional counsel sooner.

While I know it's just your opinion and your impression of him, curious how you make the bold leap to the dope-smoking, alcoholic, incoherent, passing out type? Because they were at a well known local dive bar called "420 to Center"? Because they had drinks?

Again, I'm not defending RB because if this were my family or friends, I'd be sitting on the Siren Song asking him myself. However, the authorities job is not to be emotionally involved and to investigate on facts and evidence, which unfortunately seems like very little right now. Hopefully, there is more going on behind the scenes that we're unaware of.

We’re emotionally involved bc apparently, LE is taking its time investigating facts and evidence. 5 days after the disappearance, and they still had not interviewed the lady restaurant/bar owner who had seen them that evening. She was stunned that LE had not contacted her in that length of time.

<modsnip>

 

[CocoChanel]

MOD NOTE:

There have been numerous violations of Websleuths TOS recently posted on this thread. Many posts have been removed. These violations include:
- naming people who have NOT been named as POIs or suspects by LE or MSM regarding this case.
- sleuthing and posting info/links about these people.
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- replying to any posts that do the above.

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[Mandalas]

Today's update from the BBC:

Police have said they are unsure if a British woman reported missing from a yacht in the Caribbean was onboard.

Sarm Heslop, 41, from Southampton, had been staying with her boyfriend, US citizen Ryan Bane, on the boat moored off St John in the US Virgin Islands.

Mr Bane reported her missing from the boat at 02:30 local time on 8 March.

Virgin Islands Police Department said: "Investigators cannot confirm with certainty, if and when Ms Heslop boarded the Siren Song on March 7."

 

[Satchie]

I wonder what the kidnap angle is here. The FBI don't really ever investigate "missing persons" cases unless the missing is a child. The only other time they get involved is if a local authority requests their assistance with a missing adult, but in that circumstance they only provide assistance with identification and forensics (from what I can find publicly).

I think the FBI go beyond those limits now, especially overseas.

For example, they investigated and prosecuted in the case of an American, who disappeared off her British boyfriend's yacht in the Caribbean. There was no question of kidnapping. Documents: From Day 1, feds suspected foul play in Isabella Hellmann's disappearance at sea

They investigated and prosecuted an American for the murder of his American girlfriend in Panama.
FBI searches Panama hostel where woman vanished | Taiwan News | 2012/04/28

They investigated but did not solve the murder of an American woman in Belize: FBI seeks any local witness in Belize murder of ABC7 producer Anne Swaney

I think as long as a case potentially involves an American, and murder, and local LE request assistance, they will take the lead, to whatever extent they can. They have access, for eg, to US-based cellphone data, DNA testing, criminal profiling, etc, and will definitely use it.

 

[DeDee]

Today's update from the BBC:

Police have said they are unsure if a British woman reported missing from a yacht in the Caribbean was onboard.

Sarm Heslop, 41, from Southampton, had been staying with her boyfriend, US citizen Ryan Bane, on the boat moored off St John in the US Virgin Islands.

Mr Bane reported her missing from the boat at 02:30 local time on 8 March.

Virgin Islands Police Department said: "Investigators cannot confirm with certainty, if and when Ms Heslop boarded the Siren Song on March 7."

"Police have said they are unsure if a British woman reported missing from a yacht in the Caribbean was onboard.

...

Mr Bane reported her missing from the boat at 02:30 local time on 8 March.

Virgin Islands Police Department said: "Investigators cannot confirm with certainty, if and when Ms Heslop boarded the Siren Song on March 7."

Bane places her in official reports: on the boat and inside the cabin after 10.
Why would he do that if LEO can prove Sarm did not board the Siren Song meaning: he rode back to the SS alone? If so, what time did he arrive alone?

 

[pizzaman12]

"Police have said they are unsure if a British woman reported missing from a yacht in the Caribbean was onboard.

...

Mr Bane reported her missing from the boat at 02:30 local time on 8 March.

Virgin Islands Police Department said: "Investigators cannot confirm with certainty, if and when Ms Heslop boarded the Siren Song on March 7."

Bane places her in official reports: on the boat and inside the cabin after 10.
Why would he do that if LEO can prove Sarm did not board the Siren Song meaning: he rode back to the SS alone? If so, what time did he arrive alone

BBM- Where do you see that LEO can prove it? They just stated they cannot confirm with certainty that she boarded the Siren Song on March 7th

 

[Satchie]

BBM- Where do you see that LEO can prove it? They just stated they cannot confirm with certainty that she boarded the Siren Song on March 7th

Very interesting for them to publicly release that: IMO it's equivalent to sending a letter through the media: "Dear Mr. Bane, we don't believe you. Sincerely, the police."

 

[DeDee]

BBM- Where do you see that LEO can prove it? They just stated they cannot confirm with certainty that she boarded the Siren Song on March 7th

"Why would he do that if LEO can prove Sarm did not board the Siren Song meaning: he rode back to the SS alone? If so, what time did he arrive alone"

Please note the word if is used twice. My question's not stipulating fact but more one of observing human behavior.

It's time for Captain B to be transparent. Sarm was residing with him yet was last seen over 3 weeks ago, with him, at a restaurant onshore. Where is Sarm?

 

[LovelyLAM]

Yachtsman partner of missing Briton Sarm Heslop, ‘was too calm’ | World | The Times

Anyone got a subscription?

This article (I can only read the first part) is quoting the neighbouring boat to RB.