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

[Inthedetails]

Exactly, and what I was hoping to convey ie that reports can all be very misleading.

But what I can't quite recall is where the original 10pm reference arose. Was it in Bane's original alert to the police or simply reported in the press? Because if it came from Bane himself, then there could be an issue with timings if what we are seeing reported from the bar owner is true.... (and not compromised )

I could be off, but I thought he said they were home to watch a movie at 10, which is why I wonder if there was a show broadcast/streaming at that time.

But I could be wrong - it has turned into a game of telephone.

jmo

 

[Mandalas]

[Snipped to remove duplicate quote]

I could be off, but I thought he said they were home to watch a movie at 10, which is why I wonder if there was a show broadcast/streaming at that time.

But I could be wrong - it has turned into a game of telephone.

jmo

I have traced back through reports, and the reference to 10pm seems to originate from the original press release / statement by SH's friend, AB, at least I can't find an earlier or official reference. That doesn't make it fact...

Ms Heslop’s best friend in the UK, 41-year-old Andrew Baldwin, queried the timeline around when the Briton disappeared in a statement on findsarm.com.

He said: “We know that Mr Bane called the local police at 2.30am and was told to call the Coastguard The Coastguard was reported as saying that it was alerted to her disappearance by Mr Bane at 11.46am on Monday. This timeline just does not make sense to us.

“We also cannot understand why Mr Bane’s lawyer has denied officers’ requests to search the boat and exercised his constitutional rights to remain silent.

“We know they had dinner in a local restaurant and left at 10pm. What we don’t know is what happened in those intervening hours.”

 

[janewall]

Hang on, the CCTV at 420 to Center was trashed by a power outage a couple of days before the night Sarm disappeared...

Missing Brit's final movements not caught on bar CCTV due to power failure

...but hours of CCTV footage from other locations on St John was recovered and reviewed by LE without anyone mentioning a similar problem?

UK woman 'missing at sea' may not have boarded boat (Patrick Sawyer of the Telegraph's byline)

Is this plausible? Have the VIPD been fobbed off?

Power outages can be hyperlocal. Or, if it wasn't a failure caused by an external event (storm, a vehicle hit a pole, etc.) but rather a matter of people at the 420 causing a circuit to fry by running too many appliances + air conditioning + a sound system, cleaning and cooking equipment etc., it could have been just that building/business involved.

It still seems like awfully convenient timing for anyone who might want to block a review of camera footage.

ETA: It's also convenient that this power outage messed up camera function, but nothing more vital to the restaurant's being open for business that night such as as stoves, refrigeration, lighting. I guess maybe the camera wasn't important enough to power via backup generator.

 

[Hexe]

Hang on, the CCTV at 420 to Center was trashed by a power outage a couple of days before the night Sarm disappeared...

Missing Brit's final movements not caught on bar CCTV due to power failure

...but hours of CCTV footage from other locations on St John was recovered and reviewed by LE without anyone mentioning a similar problem?

How freaking convenient.

 

[Mandalas]

I could be off, but I thought he said they were home to watch a movie at 10, which is why I wonder if there was a show broadcast/streaming at that time.

But I could be wrong - it has turned into a game of telephone.

jmo

I thought "game of telephone" was some sort of canny policing terminology. Just looked it up and it's another way of saying 'Chinese whispers'.

 

[Tortoise]

The owner of the bar, Ryan Sharkey, told The Mirror: “The CCTV was blown out a few days before by an electrical outage.

“She and Ryan were at the edge of the bar, no arguing, no trouble, not that we know about. They were talking, that was it. It was about 6pm or 7pm when they came in. I think he had three beers and Sarm no more than two. They were here for about an hour-and-a-half.”
Missing woman Sarm Heslop’s last known visit to bar wasn’t caught on CCTV because cameras were broken

No mention of food is what I find interesting. Only drinks, and they were "at the edge of the bar", not at a table.

I've looked at the photos on the 420 the Center facebook page and I haven't found any photos of diners seated at the bar, only drinkers. That's not to say one can't eat at the bar, but why leave out that detail?

Perhaps it's one more thing to add to the list of unconfirmed facts that came through friends, yet more chinese whispers, until it comes from officials, or the establishment itself. Unless I've missed it, which is a possibility.

 

[DeDee]

No mention of food is what I find interesting. Only drinks, and they were "at the edge of the bar", not at a table.

I've looked at the photos on the 420 the Center facebook page and I haven't found any photos of diners seated at the bar, only drinkers. That's not to say one can't eat at the bar, but why leave out that detail?

Perhaps it's one more thing to add to the list of unconfirmed facts that came through friends, yet more chinese whispers, until it comes from officials, or the establishment itself. Unless I've missed it, which is a possibility.

Why leave out the detail of their food choices? Perhaps the guy was only asked about the couple's drink orders.

I looked at Trip Advisor and read one review that specified dining with his wife at the bar. Apparently, the crab rangoon's are terrific.

The formal name is the Dugout at 420 to Center. It seems to be a place locals are fond of going to especially if one is a Red Sox fan. It is hidden, thus easy to miss as it's tucked behind the church & Slimman's, across from Wharfside.
Rankings:
#1 of 1 Chinese in St. John
#7 of 17 Restaurants in St. John

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

I thought "game of telephone" was some sort of canny policing terminology. Just looked it up and it's another way of saying 'Chinese whispers'.

I saw this on a movie or tv show this week also - I love it as a replacement for Chinese whispers!

 

[Wishingwell]

What puzzles me is why he didn’t make a commotion when he discovered she was missing such as shouting for help, searching using the dinghy unless I have missed something.
The reason this puzzles me is because friends of mine live on a boat in a marina. She accidentally fell in one evening when returning home whilst her partner was paying for the taxi. When he got on the boat and found she wasn’t there he started shouting for assistance, and attracted the attention of some people to call for help then dived in the water and rescued her from under the boat.
I don’t know what the waters are like there and if it’s safe to do so but his reaction doesn’t appear concerned for her wellbeing.

 

[Tortoise]

Why leave out the detail of their food choices? Perhaps the guy was only asked about the couple's drink orders.

I looked at Trip Advisor and read one review that specified dining with his wife at the bar. Apparently, the crab rangoon's are terrific.

The formal name is the Dugout at 420 to Center. It seems to be a place locals are fond of going to especially if one is a Red Sox fan. It is hidden, thus easy to miss as it's tucked behind the church & Slimman's, across from Wharfside.
Rankings:
#1 of 1 Chinese in St. John
#7 of 17 Restaurants in St. John

I did wonder if he was only asked about how much they had to drink but the way they've quoted him it doesn't appear that was the question, because he talks about so many other things first. It looks like one continued statement, but it could be a series of questions and answers condensed into one quote.

 

[Inthedetails]

What puzzles me is why he didn’t make a commotion when he discovered she was missing such as shouting for help, searching using the dinghy unless I have missed something.
The reason this puzzles me is because friends of mine live on a boat in a marina. She accidentally fell in one evening when returning home whilst her partner was paying for the taxi. When he got on the boat and found she wasn’t there he started shouting for assistance, and attracted the attention of some people to call for help then dived in the water and rescued her from under the boat.
I don’t know what the waters are like there and if it’s safe to do so but his reaction doesn’t appear concerned for her wellbeing.

It also looks like he knew there was no reason to call the alarm and search. How would he know that?

jmo

 

[Wishingwell]

It also looks like he knew there was no reason to call the alarm and search. How would he know that?

jmo

I agree. It’s not a reaction most people would take IMO, I tend to believe most people would be in sheer panic.
Could the alarm have triggered with her pulling on the anchor if she was in the water? Surely he would have investigated as to why the alarm triggered especially when he realised she was missing. We obviously don’t know the full details only what the media reports but it is strange.

 

[Mandalas]

Why leave out the detail of their food choices? Perhaps the guy was only asked about the couple's drink orders.

I looked at Trip Advisor and read one review that specified dining with his wife at the bar. Apparently, the crab rangoon's are terrific.

The formal name is the Dugout at 420 to Center. It seems to be a place locals are fond of going to especially if one is a Red Sox fan. It is hidden, thus easy to miss as it's tucked behind the church & Slimman's, across from Wharfside.
Rankings:
#1 of 1 Chinese in St. John
#7 of 17 Restaurants in St. John

Have screen grabbed the bar from streetview, very hidden and tucked away, behind the main beach strip which has a beach bar and club.

It's not uncommon for local seasonal workers to avoid tourist traps / busy popular venues in favour of local gems. I grew up in a very touristic area, working in seasonal roles, and it was common for each seasonal 'clique' to have a preferred bar/eatery of choice, away from the main haunts.

 

[Mandalas]

So it seems at least from the latest family update on the official search FB page that the investigation is now being treated as major crime rather than missing persons ...

 

[jenn83]

So it seems at least from the latest family update on the official search FB page that the investigation is now being treated as major crime rather than missing persons ...

It's about time

 

[MsMarple]

So it seems at least from the latest family update on the official search FB page that the investigation is now being treated as major crime rather than missing persons ...

I can't find that information. The video is repeating old news as far as I can tell and there's nothing in the posts indicating the status of Sarm's case has changed. Help me out. Thanks!

 

[kccorona]

I can't find that information. The video is repeating old news as far as I can tell and there's nothing in the posts indicating the status of Sarm's case has changed. Help me out. Thanks!

third paragraph here:

 

[pizzaman12]

So it seems at least from the latest family update on the official search FB page that the investigation is now being treated as major crime rather than missing persons ...

third paragraph here:

View attachment 292689

Not sure what you guys are seeing. "major crimes" is not new. It's the same as it's been. It's been like that since at least April 2nd. I'd have to look back further but I know at least then which is almost 2 weeks ago

 

[Mandalas]

Not sure what you guys are seeing. "major crimes" is not new. It's the same as it's been. It's been like that since at least April 2nd. I'd have to look back further but I know at least then which is almost 2 weeks ago

I thought they were treating it still as a missing persons case, so was pleased to see the contact details provided in the family's latest update were for the major crime unit in USVI, as per @kccorona's post above (thanks kcc!) . I have assumed that means the case is being treated as a criminal investigation rather than missing persons, but I appreciate that is an assumption rather than fact. I would be surprised though if a major crime unit was hanging a missing persons inquiry...?

Has it always been the major crime unit handling inquiries? Sorry, was not intending to be misleading. MOO...

 

[Mandalas]

Sorry, I realise I may have misled with my assumption that it had shifted from being a missing persons case to a criminal investigation. This is only IMO.

Prior to 2nd April, the Major Crime desk has not been specifically mentioned in the official FB search page updates (only the Criminal Investigation Bureau contact info, which they started listing alongside 911 and Crimestoppers from 22nd March).