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

[genuineusa77]

This is quite a charitable reading of the situation, if you don't mind my saying so. If someone I loved had gone overboard in shark-infested waters, I wouldn't keep quiet until the morning just because I knew people were sleeping. Seriously, who would??

And if my next reaction after that was to start drinking and not stop until oblivion, I think I might wonder the next day what else I'd done during my alcoholic blackout. Which I guess might explain some of what happened next.

So, charitable and yet simultaneously strangely damning.

JMO

I am hoping he is not a killer and has good midwest values. He called right away. If he did something to her, why would he call??? I think unfortunately he might have started drinking and thus the delay calling the coast guard,

 

[genuineusa77]

This is quite a charitable reading of the situation, if you don't mind my saying so. If someone I loved had gone overboard in shark-infested waters, I wouldn't keep quiet until the morning just because I knew people were sleeping. Seriously, who would??

And if my next reaction after that was to start drinking and not stop until oblivion, I think I might wonder the next day what else I'd done during my alcoholic blackout. Which I guess might explain some of what happened next.

So, charitable and yet simultaneously strangely damning.

JMO

I am hoping he is not a killer and has good midwest values. He called right away. If he did something to her, why would he call??? I think unfortunately he might have started drinking and thus the delay calling the coast guard,

 

[genuineusa77]

What?? As the captain of the boat he knew full well the protocol for a man overboard situation. He reported to LE that he believed Sarm fell overboard yet did nothing to alert other boaters. And he lied to the Coast Guard, claiming he did alert other boaters. He's a liar.

US coastguard logs obtained by The Times noted that when Ryan Bane called them at 11.46am on March 8 to report that Sarm Heslop had disappeared from his vessel during the night, he told them that he had alerted others to see if anyone had spotted her.

Yet the captains of the two other charter yachts moored overnight on March 7 and 8 in Frank Bay, off the island of St John, have stated that Bane made no such contact.​

Skippers deny partner of missing Sarm Heslop sought help | The Times

Heaven forbid that someone who proclaimed they loved me would act this way. RB is a liar.

I agree he did lie. Maybe drinking?

 

[Pitkin]

If we could

I agree he did lie. Maybe drinking?

Sorry to say but I think you're putting your faith in the wrong mid westerner.

RB has a conviction and spent time in jail for violence towards his ex wife. Her interview with a British newspaper (posted previously) paints a picture of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I'm sure most mid westerners aren't lying wife-beaters but from what we've read in the news, this one is.

 

[MsMarple]

I am hoping he is not a killer and has good midwest values. He called right away. If he did something to her, why would he call??? I think unfortunately he might have started drinking and thus the delay calling the coast guard,

I'm originally from Michigan and I would never, ever hang my loved one out to dry by not bothering to sound the proper alarms in an attempt to save them. I would have been screaming to the heavens to alert everyone in the area to help me look. His behavior that night is an insult to Midwest values IMO.

He had to call LE - Sarm was known to be very sociable and for her to suddenly stop posting on sm or texting friends and family would have been a big red flag. Notice that he refused to participate in an investigation and quickly left the area - that tells me all I need to know.

I do agree with you that he was probably drinking - yet another sign that a drunken argument may have occurred that night that developed into domestic violence, like what he did years earlier to his ex-wife. MOO.

 

[KING Charles]

Like I said in an earlier post..if my other half was all of a sudden missing in the house, boat hotel or whatever, I would be alerting everyone nearby. Last thing on my mind would be going off to see the police handing over my other half’s documents such as phone passport etc. I would expect them to come to the place they went missing. In the meanwhile alerting people nearby of the urgency. Like @MsMarple mentioned there was a yacht close by that night and the Captain of that boat made a statement saying he was surprised Sarm had gone missing and RB did not inform him until much later the following day.

 

[genuineusa77]

If we could


Sorry to say but I think you're putting your faith in the wrong mid westerner.

RB has a conviction and spent time in jail for violence towards his ex wife. Her interview with a British newspaper (posted previously) paints a picture of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I'm sure most mid westerners aren't lying wife-beaters but from what we've read in the news, this one is.

I'm guessing this all stems from a drinking problem.

 

[ForensicToxicologist]

IMO, he was drinking and started when he found she was gone and was in too much of a stupor to call coast guard. Just a guess on my part, I could be 100% wrong. Other than that, I don't know.

I am hoping he is not a killer and has good midwest values. He called right away. If he did something to her, why would he call??? I think unfortunately he might have started drinking and thus the delay calling the coast guard,

Wouldn’t the theory on drinking work both ways though? He was too drunk to call the coast guard that night, but not to drunk to notify police “right away” and take a dinghy inland to meet them? And respectfully, we don’t know that he called police right away. Sarm could’ve “gone missing” anytime between being seen at dinner and his phone call to authorities. Potentially, that gives 4-6 hours (there’s discrepancies on what time they left the restaurant) to take care of things before making the call. His charges against his ex-wife prove he doesn’t have good values, whether that has anything to do with this case or not.

IMO, Sarm met harm that night which resulted in her death and disposal. What I haven’t decided yet is whether it was accidental (“knock some sense into her” but it went too far) or intentional. I’m also not sure if preventing the boat search was because of evidence related to her or another crime. Either way, suspect and the ending are the same IMO.

 

[JuicyLucy]

I'd love to know what ***** originally said...

 

[genuineusa77]

IMO, I think he was a druggie and an alcoholic, but I can't say he was a killer.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Detectives admit they've 'lost' missing British woman Sarm Heslop's boyfriend | Daily Mail Online

 

[JuicyLucy]

Detectives admit they've 'lost' missing British woman Sarm Heslop's boyfriend | Daily Mail Online

From the linked article:
'We have been keeping track of Ryan Bane but right now we don't know where he is,' USVI police department spokesman Toby Derima told The Mirror.

'I appeal to him now to contact us. I want to appeal to his conscience, to let us know what happened the night Sarm disappeared.'

Derima added that police believed Bane could be on another Caribbean island.

'He is a person of interest to us and he is the only person of interest. We are not looking for anyone else.'

Whilst this news is obviously pathetic, disappointing and totally unsurprising in almost equal measure from the VIPD, I think I am right in saying that it's the first time he's actually been described as a person of interest - which changes the game, does it not? Especially for us, here at WS.

JMO

 

[MsMarple]

From the linked article:
'We have been keeping track of Ryan Bane but right now we don't know where he is,' USVI police department spokesman Toby Derima told The Mirror.

'I appeal to him now to contact us. I want to appeal to his conscience, to let us know what happened the night Sarm disappeared.'

Derima added that police believed Bane could be on another Caribbean island.

'He is a person of interest to us and he is the only person of interest. We are not looking for anyone else.'

Whilst this news is obviously pathetic, disappointing and totally unsurprising in almost equal measure from the VIPD, I think I am right in saying that it's the first time he's actually been described as a person of interest - which changes the game, does it not? Especially for us, here at WS.

JMO

Well thanks so much USVIPD.

Can't LE get a warrant out for him for obstruction in the investigation? I know darn well that this would never happen in the States, LE would have been able to obtain a search warrant for that boat.

I'm so angry!! "Appeal to his conscience" indeed. Bah. I had to delete the rest of this paragraph but I bet y'all know what I'm thinking...

 

[Bogyo13]

Can't believe they let him slip away! Poor Sarm!
But at least he's officially a person of interest finally! Let's hope they find him again.

 

[KING Charles]

JMO..it was stated months ago LE knew where RB was located. At one point they stated they knew where Siren Song was located and they felt confident where the yacht was then so too was RB. But nothing has been mentioned for many weeks. So now seems like questions have been asked and now they have to admit they have no idea where he is.
‘We have been keeping track, but right now we don’t know where he is.’ Hmmm really!
I’m just absolutely fuming!

 

[infinit]

I am hoping he is not a killer and has good midwest values. He called right away. If he did something to her, why would he call??? I think unfortunately he might have started drinking and thus the delay calling the coast guard,

If he had good values, why would he not let the Police examine his boat as part of a missing persons investigation? If he was a randomer I would understand not wanting to expose yourself to that, I am one of those people who believes the Police are not always your friend... But anyone with "good" values who genuinly thought their partner had been abducted in the middle of the night by unknown persons would want the Police all over that boat with every bit of kit they have to try to figure out who has got her. Any implications of involement could be dealt with by lawyering up appropriately and taking their advice on what questions to answer to be helpful and which to not.

Calling is the only thing he could do if he was guilty to attempt to cover it up. If he doesn't report her missing and it's proved she was on his boat then he's between a rock and a hard place because there is no logical reason why he wouldn't report her missing if he was innocent.

 

[Pitkin]

I wonder whether we should believe what USVI LE have said. Why would they broadcast their incompetence to the media? It's tempting to think of them as fools but I don't believe that to be the case.

MOO

 

[Lucy6226]

I wonder whether we should believe what USVI LE have said. Why would they broadcast their incompetence to the media? It's tempting to think of them as fools but I don't believe that to be the case.

MOO

Not fools, but maybe corrupt as suggested previously?

It would be nice to think they are saying this publicly to lure him into a trap but sadly I don't think this is the case

 

[Mandalas]

Doesn't RB have friends/family who can provide insight or intelligence on his whereabouts? As a POI in the case, don't they have legitimate grounds to check records eg. cards, phone etc? Can he really have vanished into thin air without a trace with a luxury yacht on his hands? Seriously??

Why would LE announce they do not know his whereabouts? To seek reports of sightings from the public? To spook him?

What does his lawyer make of this??

So many questions, still no answers. It must be easy to conceal corruption beneath a veil of implied incompetence.... But I'm keeping an open mind and giving the USVI police the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Alethea]

I wonder whether we should believe what USVI LE have said. Why would they broadcast their incompetence to the media? It's tempting to think of them as fools but I don't believe that to be the case.

MOO

They may have put out a request for help to other LE agencies or INTERPOL and figured they should announce it before someone else did?