Boyfriend of missing yacht Briton hires Ghislaine case lawyer
THE boyfriend of missing Briton Sarm Heslop has hired a lawyer who is also representing Ghislaine Maxwell.
Yacht skipper Ryan Bane is being represented by David Cattie, whose clients have included a boat captain accused of manslaughter in 2019.
The move suggests Mr Bane, 44, could be preparing for a legal battle over the disappearance of his 41year- old girlfriend, who was last seen on his vessel at St John in the US Virgin Islands on March 8.
The American is neither a suspect nor person of interest in the case, however he has drawn media attention for failing to cooperate with authorities. His nine-hour delay in calling the US Coast Guard has also raised eyebrows.
Instead, Mr Bane called Mr Cattie and refused to let police search his 47ft catamaran, Siren Song, where he and Miss Heslop were staying. Mr Cattie represented Maxwell in her lawsuit against Jeffrey epstein’s estate over her legal fees. The British socialite is accused of recruiting girls for the paedophile financier.
Mr Cattie’s clients include Rick Smith who was cleared in January 2019 over the death of crewman David Pontious. According to media reports, Mr Pontious had a mental episode while on board and took control of the helm from Mr Smith while sailing from Maine to the US Virgin Islands. Mr Pontious then jumped overboard and made no effort to swim back.
Mr Smith was cleared on a legal technicality by a judge before a trial could take place. He told the Virgin Islands Daily News: ‘I’m not thrilled about it. I don’t know why they spent three years trying to destroy me, but they did’.
Mr Bane met Miss Heslop, a former flight attendant from Southampton, on Tinder eight months ago and she travelled to the Caribbean to work as a cook on Siren Song, which he charters out for £1,500 a day.
It is understood the couple had lined up ten or more bookings for the coming season, worth around £75,000. Mr Bane raised the alarm at 2.30am on March 8, telling police Miss Heslop was gone but her belongings were still on board.
In his initial account to police later that morning Mr Bane said the pair had been out for dinner before going back to the boat at 10pm.
He said he was woken up at 2am by an anchor alarm, which triggers if the boat is straying from its position. By then Miss Heslop had vanished. Police say Mr Bane was advised to ring the US Coast Guard but it later emerged they did not receive the SOS call until 11.46am – more than nine hours later.
A search involving divers, a helicopter and an island-wide appeal failed to find Miss Heslop.