Couple feared dead after boat hijacked in Caribbean
Family remembers pair as ‘seasoned sailors’
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – A GoFundMe account has been set up by the family of an American couple who went missing when their catamaran yacht was hijacked off the coast of Grenada last week.
The Royal Grenada Police Force said in a statement released Friday that they were working on leads “that suggest” that the two occupants of the yacht – named Simplicity – may have been killed, The Associated Press reported.
Ralph Hendry, 66, and his wife, Kathy Brendel, 71, spent their winters docked at a marina in Fort Pierce, Florida, according to Hendry’s sister, Suellen Desmaris.
“This was their whole life. They didn’t own another home, they didn’t own cars, they owned Simplicity,” Desmarais told local television station WPTV. “And when you were invited onto Simplicity, you were made to feel as magical as they were and as magical as that boat was.”
While Desmarais told WPTV she hoped the couple would be found alive, a GoFundMe account in their name has been set up to pay for funeral expenses and help recover the couple’s yacht.
“It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the senseless act of violence that tragically claimed the lives of husband and wife, Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brendel,” said a statement on the account set up by Brendel’s son, Nick Buro, and friend Jessica Mause.
The GoFundMe account described the Virginia couple as “seasoned sailors” and “experienced adventurers” who spent their retirement sailing.
Hendry and Brendel sailed to the Caribbean in November, according to the WPTV report. They were reportedly last seen Feb. 18.
Authorities are investigating what happened to them after their yacht was apparently hijacked by three prisoners, ages 19, 25 and 30, who escaped from their holding cell in Grenada on Feb. 18, The Associated Press said, citing reports from the Royal Grenada Police Force.
Each of the prisoners had been charged with one count of robbery with violence. The 30-year-old also had been charged with one count of rape, three counts of attempted rape and two counts of indecent assault, the AP said.
Preliminary reports suggest the prisoners hijacked the yacht in St. George’s, Grenada, and traveled to the nearby island of St. Vincent, where they were captured Wednesday, according to the AP.
“They were the sweetest people,” Keith Mallamo said in an email to Treasure Coast Newspapers. Mallamo said he was friends with the couple when they docked their vessels at the Safe Harbor Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce.
One Christmas, Brendel baked cookies for everyone on the dock, and Hendry was always available to help his fellow sailors, Mallamo wrote.
As of Saturday, the family’s GoFundMe account had raised $16,216. The money raised will go directly to Buro and Hendry’s son, Bryan Hendry.