Question boyfriend, missing woman’s parents urge police
FAMILY and friends of a British woman who went missing in the Virgin Islands have said police must question her boyfriend, after the first photographs came to light of him now living in the US.
Speaking ahead of the third anniversary of the disappearance of Sarm Heslop, on March 8 2021, they said it is “unimaginable” that detectives have never interviewed Ryan Bane, even though he was the last person to see her before she disappeared off his boat.
Brenda Street and Peter Heslop spoke out after Mr Bane – who served 21 days in jail for assault and battery in 2011 on his then wife – was spotted using a gym in his native Michigan, where he has reappeared after maintaining a low profile since their daughter vanished.
The family has demanded the US Virgin Islands Police Department (USVIPD) interview him about her final hours. A family spokesman said: “It’s inconceivable that the last person to see Sarm alive is just getting on with his life whilst we continue to live with the torment of her disappearance.”
Sarm, 41, went missing from Siren Song, Mr Bane’s yacht, in the early hours while it was anchored off St John. When Mr Bane woke up at 2am, Ms Heslop was nowhere to be found. Police said Mr Bane reported her missing to police at 2.30am local time, but did not inform the coastguard about her disappearance until around noon the same day.
Coastguard officials said when they visited his boat during a search and rescue operation that afternoon, they found him drunk and uncooperative. Mr Bane refused to answer questions and prevented them from searching his boat, leading to his receiving a citation for impeding officers. But police took no steps to search the yacht in the days and weeks after her disappearance.
USVIPD and the USVI Department of Justice have been approached for comment.