FL FL - Isabella Hellmann, 41, catamaran off Cay Sal, SE of the FL Keys, 14 May 2017 #1 *GUILTY*

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I am curious about why they went to the British Virgin islands as they are east of Puerto Rico and Cuba so it was out of the way.

Just an observation: On the BVI islands, Bennett (a dual British-Australian citizen) would be considered a citizen, but not Isabella (who is a U.S. citizen), correct?

 

[msphilosopher]

Do we know for sure that LB didn't salvage the boat.

CG could have said here's the coordinates, up to you to salvage it. And so LB sent his business partner?

ETA: We know the locator beacon was "no longer working" or "battery died" at some point. The cat could have been salvaged already if it was up to him... who would know if he did/didn't? It was up to him.

 

[Satchie]

The Daily Mail, which seems to have interviewed LB, indicates they left from Havana. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4555370/Husband-center-FBI-probe-wife-vanishing-speaks.html

They may have been in Varadero the previous day, I think they probably took several days to cruise along the north coast of Cuba, it's quite long.

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[inmyhumbleopinion]

Yes, IMHO, it makes sense FBI wants everyone out of the condo.

FWIW! a neighbor in a FB story (my palm beach?!?) posted that she saw LB moving out with large luggage (suggesting a permanent move? Don't know) and she called police to let them know and they didn't even come out. (Neighbor seemed exasperated).

I assume this means LB is free to go where he wants to with the baby as no one tried to stop him.

Barring an arrest warrant, the US authorities have no grounds to stop Bennett from leaving the country, or going anywhere for that matter.

 

[Satchie]

Barring an arrest warrant, the US authorities have no grounds to stop Bennett from leaving the country, or going anywhere for that matter.

The baby needed a passport too, and there are sometimes issues around one parent taking a child without a permission letter from the other, butbI guess it could have all been expedited.

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[msphilosopher]

The Daily Mail, which seems to have interviewed LB, indicates they left from Havana. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4555370/Husband-center-FBI-probe-wife-vanishing-speaks.html

They may have been in Varadero the previous day, I think they probably took several days to cruise along the north coast of Cuba, it's quite long.

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We need to see records.

Everything is she said, he said, the neighbor said.

Right now it seems like Varadero was the last "seen" locations for IH not Havana but we really don't know.

 

[JerseyGirl]

We need to see records.

Everything is she said, he said, the neighbor said.

Right now it seems like Varadero was the last "seen" locations for IH not Havana but we really don't know.

The [Coast Guard] has generated incident reports, but attempts by The Post to obtain them were steered toward a Freedom of Information Request, which can take weeks or months to fulfill.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/c...e-sea-authorities-say/3uWJS7CTyP09oFJAd7siKJ/

 

[Hiandmighty]

"The Coast Guard also tagged the catamaran so they can track it as currents move the wreck about the sea."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/p...ay-woman-missing-day-four-20170517-story.html

"The Palm Beach Post reported that after being struck around 1:00 a.m., the boat then went topside — one of the sides was sinking into the water, and Bennett realized his wife was missing.

Aboard a sinking boat, Bennett quickly used an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) to notify rescuers he was in distress, as well as a personal locator beacon aboard a life raft, according to the Sun Sentinel."

As for the current investigation, Coast Guard Miami spokesman Eric Woodall told the Post that the responders inspected the boat as best they could “from the surface,” but that officials have been unable to search inside due to its dangerous position in the water.

Because of this, Woodall said they can't rule out that Hellman is still inside the boat...
http://ijr.com/2017/05/882998-newly...nt-with-husband-and-foul-play-isnt-ruled-out/

 

[Hiandmighty]

"Hellmann, a Colombian national, had gone through a difficult local divorce and became a real-estate broker. Court records show she and Bennett married in the Atlanta area in February."
http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news...mystery-missing-woman/5reNR5lTYpl2kcOKNxdxaP/

It appears that she is not a US citizen...

 

[Hiandmighty]

"Bennett told the Coast Guard he pulled Surf into Summer out of Havana at 5:30 p.m. May 14. He said that at 8 p.m — around the time, almanacs say, that the sun began to set — he went below. At the time, he said, his wife was on deck and wore a life jacket.

At about 1 a.m., the Coast Guard says, Bennett used a satellite phone to call the International Response Coordination Center, a private company, which passed the SOS to the Coast Guard. Managers at the coordination center did not respond either to calls or to an email seeking details of Bennett’s SOS.

Bennett said that when he saw the catamaran was taking on water, he dropped the lifeboat into the water and got into it, fired his emergency position beacon — commonly called an EPIRB — and called for help. At about 4:30 a.m., the Coast Guard said, a chopper pinpointed Bennett about 1,000 yards from the now upside-down Surf into Summer. At that time, the boat was in an area about 4,000 feet deep in international waters about 30 miles west of Cay Sal, the westernmost island in the Bahamas.

A basket pulled Bennett from his raft in 2-to-4-foot seas and flew him to Marathon in the middle Keys, where he did not require medical treatment.

Coast Guard Miami spokesman Eric Woodall said Bennett told the agency the boat had been in the Bahamas and its ultimate destination was Boca Raton. Calls to the Cuban ministry that oversees the Port of Havana were not returned.

Woodall said responders inspected the boat “the best they could from the surface,” and never saw what it might have struck. He said the catamaran is steered by a tiller alongside a canvas seat, near the stern, close enough that a person in it could be flung overboard by the impact of a collision."

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news...mystery-missing-woman/5reNR5lTYpl2kcOKNxdxaP/

"Woodall said it is Bennett’s responsibility to retrieve the boat. He said the agency marked it and sent out a “navigation hazard” advisory. But, Woodall said, the electronic beacon stopped working, so the Coast Guard can’t say with confidence where the boat is now."

I took that to mean Bennett had nothing to do with the coast guard beacon, which stopped working

 

[Hiandmighty]

I think locator beacons only work for 24-48 hours. They are guaranteed to work for 24, so that really doesn't give a man who ws just rescued time to go look for the boat when he wants to find his wife...

 

[Hatfield]

If their boat is still out there bobbing around then I can see the types of hazards that would be in the deep sea for other boats. Their boat was pretty large IMO and if another boat hits that partially submerged boat then it could do some serious damage or even sink another boat.

Articles have said the coast guard put out a "navigation hazard” advisory which is a good thing but if the beacon has stopped transmitting and if boat had not been recovered then its a hazard just waiting to cause other problems for others.

Which is why I found it very surprising that once things like this happen on the open seas that there isnt a formal procedure for the coast guard to make attempts to retrieve the boat and investigators really look it over. They could hold the boat hostage until an owner pays fees to cover the cost of the salvage.

I suppose the cost of salvaging and hauling a boat back is probably very costly and I am guessing this is the reason those procedures are not in place. Which is a sad and scary thing for other boaters that have to travel deep sea waters.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I suppose the cost of salvaging and hauling a boat back is probably very costly and I am guessing this is the reason those procedures are not in place. Which is a sad and scary thing for other boaters that have to travel deep sea waters.

That is why only the very experienced boater will travel uncharted waters at night.

Why didn't they wait until just hours before sunrise to leave Cuba? That would have given them a good 15 hours of daylight on the open waters. Why did IH have to be on night watch from Cuba after she obviously had a long day too, is just absurd.

 

[Hiandmighty]

They weren't on uncharted waters

 

[Hatfield]

I think locator beacons only work for 24-48 hours. They are guaranteed to work for 24, so that really doesn't give a man who ws just rescued time to go look for the boat when he wants to find his wife...

I agree that he did not have much time to look for the boat if the beacon stopped transmitting that quickly. I have to wonder about his trip to Cuba when he said he wanted to go look for his wife and they checked hospitals there. Wonder if he also was going there for a dual purpose to maybe also try to find the boat.

I have a question about deep sea boating that you may be able to answer since you have experience in open waters.

When traveling at night do most boats on the ocean have "headlights" to see what is approaching in front of the boat? Would that be a standard thing to have on most night traveling boats in the ocean?

 

[Hiandmighty]

Some boats have attached lights, some use hand held. You don't use them like headlights. Just more like a spot light. You don't want to blind yourself or mess with your night vision.

I was curious what the moon phase was that night, but I haven't looked yet....

 

[Hiandmighty]

That is why only the very experienced boater will travel uncharted waters at night.

Why didn't they wait until just hours before sunrise to leave Cuba? That would have given them a good 15 hours of daylight on the open waters. Why did IH have to be on night watch from Cuba after she obviously had a long day too, is just absurd.

Most of the time the reason you boat at night is to be able to approach land during the day.

It seems they had been island/marina hopping and he was probably the one doing all of that sailing, so he was probably tired.

ETA: we don't know if he had a power cat or a sail cat. We don't know how long it would take to boat from Havana to Boca.

Why do you say she "obviously" had a long day? We don't know what time she woke up: maybe he let her sleep in for mother's day. My DH does that. It's my relaxing day.

Maybe she slept in and also took a nap and then wanted him to get some rest...

 

[Hatfield]

Some boats have attached lights, some use hand held. You don't use them like headlights. Just more like a spot light.

I was curious what the moon phase was that night, but I haven't looked yet....

Thanks. Ive always wondered what kind of lights they may have had on their boat to be able to see if something was approaching.

My local fresh water lake and local inland state rules for night boating were fairly simple and I had to have a 1/2 green/red light mounted on back which gave an approaching boat a signal how to veer off. I think I also needed one other white light but it did not have to be a fancy light and could just be a flashlight mounted to the boat.

Im not sure if larger boats had different rules. I do know some rules were based on footage of the boat so maybe the rules get stricter for larger boats.

I guess even if they had a good bright light shining out in front it may have not been enough warning to veer away from a submerged object.
Partially submerged debris is very difficult to see even in daylight if only small portions are at the surface.

 

[MsArk]

Most of the time the reason you boat at night is to be able to approach land during the day.

It seems they had been island/marina hopping and he was probably the one doing all of that sailing, so he was probably tired.

Do you find it curious she, with much less experience, was navigating the cat at night? Also, does sailing at night require the use of instrumentation or GPS? I keep thinking of piloting a plane at night. No horizon so the pilot must be instrument trained. Sorry if this is an obvious question. My only experience is with a ski boat!

 

[msphilosopher]

Poor Lewis, he lost his soulmate to the sea and now has to raise their daughter alone. Truly heartbreaking no matter which way you look at it.

I guess the silver linings are that he gets to live where he wanted in Australia, no longer has to raise Emilia with Colombian traditions or influences, will recover the boat loss from boat insurance and will make a pretty penny selling the renovated condo Isabella dumped her savings into.

These things are nothing compared to the loss of a loved one. Poor Bennet. Poor Emilia.

Poor Isabella's family who stand to gain nothing except maybe an iPad, computer, engagement ring, clothes and a handbag but lost Isabella and Emilia within a matter of 15 days.

These things are nothing compared to the loss of two loved ones.

Wishing all the victims here love and healing.