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

[JuicyLucy]

I guess what I'm imagining is a scenario where she goes overboard during the short dinghy ride from the shore back to the yacht, caused because he's legless. He knows he'll fail a BAC test if he raises the alarm. So he doesn't. Then he concocts a story about waking up in the night to find her missing but he knows he's still visibly over the limit and - although he's not actually operating a vessel at that time - he can't know who might have witnessed what earlier and thinks it best to build in a bit of a delay before dealing with the CG. It's not strictly logical but might seem like it if you're panicking (and intoxicated).

The flaw in this scenario is the lack of a body, but in 12+ hours it could drift, I suppose. I wondered upthread if anyone had looked at the tide timetables, which might be instructive. I wouldn't expect him to worry unduly one way or the other about whether the body was found if it was a genuine (albeit negligent) accident, and there was no evidence of foul play on the body, but in his shoes and with his history, I would lawyer up at that point too. Then the lawyer takes over and searches are refused, the client is silenced, etc.

It makes a kind of sense to me. But it's pure speculation and JMO of course.

 

[Tortoise]

The boyfriend of a British woman missing in the US Virgin Islands allegedly declined to allow coastguards to access the inside of his yacht after they boarded on a search-and-rescue mission.

Ryan Bane refused permission for a US coastguard team to look inside the staterooms of Siren Song, his 47ft catamaran, from which he says Sarm Heslop disappeared in the early hours of March 8. “They stayed on the upper aft deck and Mr Bane wasn’t wanting anyone to go inside the vessel,” Ricardo Castrodad, of the coastguard, said.

Boyfriend of missing Briton Sarm Heslop ‘blocked search team’ from boat search | News | The Times

 

[Tortoise]

An article from 2 days ago -

[One of his friends, unnamed] said Bane had relationships with two previous girlfriends who joined him on the boat but they did not work out.

[...]

Hours earlier he [RB] said Sarm had tied up the dinghy they used to get ashore to the side of the Siren Song after the night out. He said she was not drunk.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14436...isappearance-brit-sarm-heslop-virgin-islands/

 

[Tortoise]

An article from 25 March -

A spokesperson for the FBI’s San Juan field office confirmed to The Independent they are supporting local law enforcement in the investigation, which is being led by the US Virgin Islands Police Department.

FBI investigating disappearance of British woman Sarm Heslop

 

[Tortoise]

Today -

The yacht left St. John at some point overnight and it is not clear where Bane is.

(Also - new quotes from RB's ex-wife in the article.)

Sarm Heslop's boyfriend was quick to anger, his ex-wife says | Daily Mail Online

 

[LovelyLAM]

Siren Song by Robert Edric...umm. pretty eerie.
9780552771436 - Siren Song by Robert Edric

Wow.... very creepy...
that seems too coincidental! (IMO ) Either that or the author is an unknowing prophet.

thanks for the Interesting share.

 

[LovelyLAM]

Today -

The yacht left St. John at some point overnight and it is not clear where Bane is.

(Also - new quotes from RB's ex-wife in the article.)

Sarm Heslop's boyfriend was quick to anger, his ex-wife says | Daily Mail Online

So I guess legally... because it isn’t a murder Investigation - he can leave? Anyone know the ins and outs here.

Not sure what covid boating rules are with travelling? He could have gone anywhere really!

if he is innocent - running away from the intensity of the press and loss / grief.

if he is guilty.... then running away with a potential crime scene.

it’s such a peculiar case!

 

[JuicyLucy]

So I guess legally... because it isn’t a murder Investigation - he can leave? Anyone know the ins and outs here.

Not sure what covid boating rules are with travelling? He could have gone anywhere really!

if he is innocent - running away from the intensity of the press and loss / grief.

if he is guilty.... then running away with a potential crime scene.

it’s such a peculiar case!

I wondered this upthread. @zelmajane has local knowledge and speculated that the FBI or the USCG might try to stop him leaving if necessary.

If he has left US territorial waters, I guess it's no longer their jurisdiction though. He wouldn't need to go very far for that to be the case, if my understanding is correct.

U.S. Maritime Limits & Boundaries

What a shitshow. JMO

 

[Inthedetails]

Ryan Bane refused permission for a US coastguard team to look inside the staterooms of Siren Song, his 47ft catamaran, from which he says Sarm Heslop disappeared in the early hours of March 8. “They stayed on the upper aft deck and Mr Bane wasn’t wanting anyone to go inside the vessel,” Ricardo Castrodad, of the coastguard, said.

So much for the story of him allowing "two searches" of his boat. They were hardly searches at all.

jmo

 

[Inthedetails]

But they took the dinghy to shore to go for dinner, iirc, and then back again obviously. If there was a chance he might lose his captain's ticket because of that, then I think it goes without saying he would delay.

What would be the penalty if he failed a BAC test, @TreiseOg?

JMO

I don't think he delayed calling the police. I think he was forced to call much earlier than he wanted because he accidentally tripped the anchor alarm. IMO, he would have preferred to wait until the morning.

But, he also could have been drinking too. There's nothing to rule that out as of yet, imo.

Speculation only.

jmo

 

[Inthedetails]

Sarm Heslop's boyfriend was quick to anger, his ex-wife says | Daily Mail Online

The American boyfriend of missing British woman Sarm Heslop has been described by his ex-wife as quick to anger and narcissistic - as it's revealed he and his yacht have now left the spot in the US Virgin Islands where she vanished.

I'm sure he'll say the media scrutiny was unbearable, forgetting to mention that his girlfriend is missing and he's literally distancing himself from it.

jmo

 

[Warwick1991]

I wondered this upthread. @zelmajane has local knowledge and speculated that the FBI or the USCG might try to stop him leaving if necessary.

If he has left US territorial waters, I guess it's no longer their jurisdiction though. He wouldn't need to go very far for that to be the case, if my understanding is correct.

U.S. Maritime Limits & Boundaries

What a shitshow. JMO

The USCG can stop and search the boat because it is US-owned, placing it under their jurisdiction no matter where it is...

 

[Inthedetails]

The USCG can stop and search the boat because it is US-owned, placing it under their jurisdiction no matter where it is...

That is good news. Thanks for sharing it.

jmo

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Orion Township native at center of search for missing woman in Virgin Islands (clickondetroit.com)

FBI joins police in search for Sarm Heslop

Girlfriend disappears off Ryan Bane's boat, FBI called (radio.com)

Stories are swirling after the girlfriend of a Michigan native disappeared while the two were vacationing on his luxury catamaran in the the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Sarm Heslop, 41, of Southampton, disappeared while on a 47-foot boat owned by Ryan Bane' of Lake Orion, Mich. She was last seen on the night of March 7 aboard the Siren Song, which was moored in St. John, officials told the New York Post...

I'm not really following this case closely but will share local news reports about the missing woman when I see them. The boyfriend, Ryan Bane, is from Orion Township in Oakland County, Michigan that is about 10 miles north of where I live.

 

[Yesiamapirate]

Siren Song by Robert Edric...umm. pretty eerie.
9780552771436 - Siren Song by Robert Edric

Wow.

 

[KALI]

Boy, could he do anything more to look guilty?

Today -

The yacht left St. John at some point overnight and it is not clear where Bane is.

(Also - new quotes from RB's ex-wife in the article.)

Sarm Heslop's boyfriend was quick to anger, his ex-wife says | Daily Mail Online

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Is this guy supposed to be well off? Does he own the yacht? His home in Lake Orion (MI) is basically a tiny cottage (less than 1,000 sq ft) on lakefront property. Maybe he spends winters on his yacht in the Caribbean.

 

[Inthedetails]

Is this guy supposed to be well off? Does he own the yacht? His home in Lake Orion (MI) is basically a tiny cottage (less than 1,000 sq ft) on lakefront property. Maybe he spends winters on his yacht in the Caribbean. Does he work?

The yacht is his work. He rents it out for entertaining. His missing girlfriend was the chef for the events.

jmo

 

[Satchie]

I guess what I'm imagining is a scenario where she goes overboard during the short dinghy ride from the shore back to the yacht, caused because he's legless. He knows he'll fail a BAC test if he raises the alarm. So he doesn't. Then he concocts a story about waking up in the night to find her missing but he knows he's still visibly over the limit and - although he's not actually operating a vessel at that time - he can't know who might have witnessed what earlier and thinks it best to build in a bit of a delay before dealing with the CG. It's not strictly logical but might seem like it if you're panicking (and intoxicated).

The flaw in this scenario is the lack of a body, but in 12+ hours it could drift, I suppose. I wondered upthread if anyone had looked at the tide timetables, which might be instructive. I wouldn't expect him to worry unduly one way or the other about whether the body was found if it was a genuine (albeit negligent) accident, and there was no evidence of foul play on the body, but in his shoes and with his history, I would lawyer up at that point too. Then the lawyer takes over and searches are refused, the client is silenced, etc.

It makes a kind of sense to me. But it's pure speculation and JMO of course.

My question about this scenario is, if you care one iota about your girlfriend, you don't just assume she's dead because she fell overboard. A good swimmer can tread water or float or swim to shore, though may not be able to call out.

 

[whitelilac]

"The pal said the yacht skipper told them he went out in the boat’s dinghy when he realized Sarm was gone “screaming for her, yelling her name”."

He did? Yet the nearby boat's occupants didn't hear a thing?

And we know he didn't let the other boat's occupants know there was an emergency. Earlier it was stated a person on the other boat didn't understand why he wouldn't alert them.

FBI now investigating disappearance of Brit Sarm Heslop who vanished off yacht