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

[Inthedetails]

It is possible for people to reform from being a-holes.

snipped

People can change, but it is my observation that people who have reformed from being a-holes usually are open and upfront about it - and they don't seem like a-holes anymore. I'm not seeing that with this guy and instead sense a pattern more than a change. IMO.

I do think anyone in that situation, however, would be worried about being railroaded so I actually don't fault him for lawyering up. Wish he had contacted the Coast Guard first, though, and put a priority on rescue. But he didn't.

jmo

 

[shotgun09]

Most, if not all here have suspected foul play from the beginning. Just how foul is coming to light, thanks to his ex-wife coming forward. This monster, ( IMO ) has an assault record on file. Many of us here personally know someone just like him....and we are incensed that this one is roaming the waters, free as a bird. But, he's a coward....as always. He can't face reality, and he runs. He will be found, and he will be followed, and he will be caught. He may have money, he may "know" some people who he thinks can help him. But, he's really just another narcissist who will end up caged, one way or another. I have no doubts. We know

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

I see. That's interesting... I interpreted your comment at the time that he could have hired a lawyer who knew the workings of the local LE expressly because he feared being framed. I'm still not convinced that's not a potential consideration for this, and that he is desperately wanting to keep a low profile.

Whilst I completely see the rationale that he has a history, not much else has come forward (other women/exes?) to reinforce that, unless I'm mistaken. It is possible for people to reform from being a-holes.

I don't deny his behaviour is suspicious but it could also be interpreted as someone who is very private, introverted, suffering in other ways.

I'm still not convinced yet, but can see how it does look.

You make an important point.

 

[MsMarple]

I thought his dad showed up after Sarm went missing. I bet there is a link here but too lazy to search hard, so MOO

Yes, it was in msm. I don't recall anything about his father actually staying on the Siren Song, only that he flew in to the VI to be with his son. He may not have even stepped onboard.
Sailor in Virgin Islands catamaran riddle was jailed for beating his ex-wife | Daily Mail Online

and while I have that link open I thought I'd refresh some info. Like not only did RB spend time in jail for assaulting his ex-wife he also spent time in jail again for violating his probation by contacting her. IMO leopards don't often change their spots and violent leopards *never* change their spots. MOO.

And his lawyer fools no one by insisting RB is cooperating with LE and is devastated. Quite the opposite according to reports. Sail on RB, you can run but you can't hide.

Mr Bane was taken to police cells before appearing in court charged with domestic violence. Despite having told officers he was 'defending himself', he pleaded guilty and was jailed for 21 days.

In 2013 he was jailed again, for ten days, for violating his two-year probation. He had been ordered not to contact his wife.

ETA: To add:

A phone call that their friend, an experienced boater, had gone missing from her boyfriend's luxury catamaran was the last thing friends of Sarm Heslop expected.

"When you get a call to say that Sarm has gone missing and she was last seen on a boat that was moored and anchored in 11 foot of water and she hasn't been seen since 2:00 in the morning, the fear is unexplainable," said Kate Vernalls, one of Heslop's close friends in the UK.​

https://www.wxyz.com/news/lake-orio...ng-from-his-luxury-boat-in-u-s-virgin-islands​

 

[DeDee]

Saw this story when perusing the NYT so I'm not totally up to date on all details. Sarm's been missing since March 7!

RB hired the lawyer after calling Police but before the CG came aboard. It doesn't make sense to call the Police if he was hiding her onboard his catamaran.

As a certified PADI diver, those waters are nearly crystal clear. Wearing a mask allows you to see further distances but rescue divers spotted no sign of her at all. Yet the dingy was still tied to the yacht so what could have happened to her? She has to be on that boat!

RE: the book titled the same name as his yacht
RB was about 29yo when it was published so there's a chance that he's read it and the story about human trafficking and governmental corruption may have appealed to him. Siren Song is an eerie name for a luxury cruiser.

Siren Song is a poem that takes a different look at the ancient Greek myth of the sirens, the half bird, half woman creatures who lured passing sailors to their death with an irresistible song.

March 12, 2021

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[Mandalas]

Looking at the map and locality again, has it always been assumed they took the dinghy to the restaurant (because originally it was suggested they'd eaten in St Thomas)? It's less than a 10min walk from Frank Bay to restaurant 420, and passes by the very murky looking salt pond... Another sleuther asked in a discussion elsewhere very early on whether they had searched it. Do we know the answer to this? I'm assuming not...

 

[Mandalas]

Image attached showing the pond for ref.

 

[andalso]

Is weed legal in the USVI?
The restaurant being named 420 and all.


eta: found this Cannabis in the United States Virgin Islands - Wikipedia


I was just thinking in terms of other reasons, besides homicide, that someone might not want their boat searched. I do, however, believe this case is likely homicide.

 

[Tortoise]

"Police investigating the disappearance of a British woman in the US Virgin Islands are questioning whether she may never have made it back to her boyfriend’s boat as he claimed.
[...]
Toby Derima, spokesman for US Virgin Islands Police Department (USVIPD, said: “Nothing so far actually confirms the couple went back to the yacht together that night. That’s why we are looking through the surveillance video, to establish if there is evidence of them going back to the vessel.
[...]
He added: “They have to go by Ryan Bane’s story, but they are still trying to verify it. Obviously we know the dinghy did go back to the yacht, but it has not so far been verified that Sarm was on it.”

[...]

Ricardo Castrodad, the US Coast Guard’s San Juan Sector public affairs officer, told The Telegraph: “On March 8, following a search of the bay and shoreline from both a helicopter and small boat, the Coast Guard went initially aboard the Siren Song to conduct a reporting source interview to gather information to assist with the surface-water search, and then again, on a second occasion that afternoon, to conduct a standard vessel safety inspection. “

He added: “The operator denied access to the interior of the vessel and was cited for obstruction of a boarding. The vessel operator was cited for multiple violations, including failure to provide a certificate of documentation for the vessel, obstruction of a boarding, and safety equipment violations.”

Sarm Heslop: Police fear she may not have made it back to boyfriend's boat

 

[Tortoise]

US Virgin Islands Police Department spokesman Toby Derima told The Sun: “We do not know where Ryan Bane has gone. It would only have taken him a couple of hours to sail to Puerto Rico.

“He is a person we want to talk to, but I cannot say he is a suspect. We are still very anxious to speak to him and would urge him to allow us to do that.

“We also want to search his boat. He is not legally required to stay on the US Virgin Islands, and we have not had the chance to speak to him directly to request he stays around pending further inquiries.

Bane has said they watched a film and went to sleep, before he was woken at 2am by his yacht’s anchor alarm and found that Sarm, from Southampton, was missing.

[...]

He also refused to let a US Coast Guard team see inside the rooms of his catamaran, forcing them to stay on the upper deck as he handed over some of her possessions.


Probe into Brit's disappearance stalls after cops let lover leave on £500k yacht

(also more quotes from ex-wife in article)

 

[JerseyGirl]

Sarm Heslop: Police question whether missing British woman actually boarded boyfriend's boat

VI Officers told him to call the US coast guard so that a search and rescue could begin, but he did not do so until 11.46am, more than nine hours later, at which point a coast guard team was sent to the yacht.

When the coast guard boarded the Siren Song, Mr Bane refused to let them search below decks - leading to him receiving a citation for impeding officers.

Mr Bane - who is not being treated as a suspect - has also continued to refuse to allow police officers to search his yacht, citing his constitutional rights as a US citizen.

 

[Tortoise]

Why would he have handed over Sarm's possessions? Does that seem rather premature? Did he think he would be leaving the area imminently, or wanted to give them no excuse to board again?

 

[Kitkat28]

Given that Sarm is a U.K. citizen, it’s interesting that Hampshire Constabulary (the police force that covers Sarm’s home town) don’t appear to be showing much interest.

 

[Inthedetails]

US Virgin Islands Police Department spokesman Toby Derima told The Sun: “We do not know where Ryan Bane has gone. It would only have taken him a couple of hours to sail to Puerto Rico.

“He is a person we want to talk to, but I cannot say he is a suspect. We are still very anxious to speak to him and would urge him to allow us to do that.

“We also want to search his boat. He is not legally required to stay on the US Virgin Islands, and we have not had the chance to speak to him directly to request he stays around pending further inquiries.

Snipped.

Now that he's gone the local police say they would like to talk to him and search the boat, but he's not around so....oh well?

jmo

 

[Lucy6226]

Sounds like he realised the LE were starting to question his version of events, so he sailed away into the night. If he were innocent and wanted to get away from the media spotlight then surely he would still have let the LE know where he was going. It's all very odd behaviour from a guy apparently heartbroken from his gf's disappearance. MOO

 

[Deleted member 285579]

Sarm Heslop: Police question whether missing British woman actually boarded boyfriend's boat

 

[JuicyLucy]

Is weed legal in the USVI?
The restaurant being named 420 and all.
<sbm>

God, I feel old.

 

[whitelilac]

What happens now? Isn't the FBI involved? They weren't watching the boat? He could be anywhere. Mooring on another island, he would need to register, right? Surely they can find him. .....if they have the wherewithal.
Does his friend F know where he is?

 

[janewall]

What happens now? Isn't the FBI involved? They weren't watching the boat? He could be anywhere. Mooring on another island, he would need to register, right? Surely they can find him. .....if they have the wherewithal.
Does his friend F know where he is?

I'm rather interested in the nature of the relationship between F and RB. I hope that's an angle being explored.

If Sarm is suspected never to have re-boarded the SS after the dinner at 420 To Center, the staff there may be the last known sighting of her. And that pond @Mandalas linked above looks awfully darned convenient.

Is there any witness to RB and Sarm even landing the dinghy at Cruz Bay?

Perhaps Sarm left RB while they were on land, and he can't admit to being dumped? From my perspective that could well be the best outcome for her, although without her phone and other belongings it's dubious, and why she wouldn't have made contact with even her oldest friend, or a family member, to say she's okay but has chosen to take extensive downtime and won't be in contact for a few weeks/months doesn't seem like something they think she'd do – but she also seems fairly resourceful and able to pull up stakes quickly.

 

[Yesiamapirate]

I wonder if she used her phone at all while out at dinner. The fact that the phone came back means RB has to be committed to his story of her being back on the boat for bedtime. If the phone was on the dinghy on the way back to the boat, did it leave a signal trail? If it was turned off, is that unusual for her to turn her phone off? Was it back on at any time in the location of the boat in the night? I know these are hypothetical questions that hopefully the investigators have some answers to. I think phones nowadays tell a lot of story and may be an easy way in general to verify a story or at least raise a flag. People may think turning it off will eliminate the issue of tracking were it has been but in some cases it would raise a red flag in general. Not just here but in other cases I have followed on WS.