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

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I'd always thought the couple had a scheduled excursion for the following morning as the reason they wanted to be on the SS by ten. The bars and restaurants closed at ten due to covid restrictions.

This is becoming increasingly frustrating since the Skipper manages to elude formal interviews. Sarm was seen with RB on the island. He stated they returned to the SS and proceeded to watch a movie.

Somehow, Sarm disappears. Even though a male walking his dog said he heard a scream, police state there's a lot of noise on the island. Well, maybe it's not all that noisy if all of the businesses are closed!

I'm almost positive if Sarm fell overboard, then the chances of being swept away in a rip current are zero, esp. considering the boat was in only 11' waters, att.

More dangerous that a rip tide are the sharks. Sarm wouldn't want to take a late night swim with them.

RB was the last person to see Sarm alive. Only he knows what happened.

Someone here offered a valid speculative option in that perhaps Sarm was carried further out to sea in the dinghy. If she was left bleeding, it would attract sharks.

What happened to Sarm, Captain Bane? Tell us what happened to her and why!
 
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A bit of background. My husband use to live and work in the USVI. We have a home in St. Thomas. That said...

My husband and I were discussing this morning if we think the Feds are involved yet. There are a ton of Federal agents in the USVI. So I don’t have an answer to your question, but I’d hope if he tried to leave, the Feds or Coast Guard would stop him.
This could also be why you aren’t hearing much from VIPD, if Federal agents are working the case, VIPD likely wouldn’t say.
 
It's been mentioned previously, I think, that Hampshire Police are now taking an interest, or acting in conjunction with the VIPD/FBI to some extent. Does anyone know if there's an operation name or public portal that relates specifically to Sarm's case? I've just done a search on the HP website and come up empty, so if anyone's keeping a weather eye on other sites or pages that may have info, or a contact name, I'd be grateful for some signposting.
 
How safe is the area they were in? Maybe this skipper is a sound sleeper and someone came in, attacked her and took her. Why else the scream and why else would he call for help if he did anything to her?!
 
How safe is the area they were in? Maybe this skipper is a sound sleeper and someone came in, attacked her and took her. Why else the scream and why else would he call for help if he did anything to her?!
This is the one tiny thing that makes me wonder. He could have just sailed to anywhere, dumped her stuff in the middle of the ocean, and told everyone they parted ways after dinner that night and never saw her again. Why call the police at 2:00 in the morning, then the coast guard, albeit late? That story is no more or less suspicious than I woke up and she wasn't there, the end...
 
This is the one tiny thing that makes me wonder. He could have just sailed to anywhere, dumped her stuff in the middle of the ocean, and told everyone they parted ways after dinner that night and never saw her again. Why call the police at 2:00 in the morning, then the coast guard, albeit late? That story is no more or less suspicious than I woke up and she wasn't there, the end...

I've thought the same thing. Who would have even noticed her missing. He could have waited
 
It's been mentioned previously, I think, that Hampshire Police are now taking an interest, or acting in conjunction with the VIPD/FBI to some extent. Does anyone know if there's an operation name or public portal that relates specifically to Sarm's case? I've just done a search on the HP website and come up empty, so if anyone's keeping a weather eye on other sites or pages that may have info, or a contact name, I'd be grateful for some signposting.

Yes, I recall Hampshire Police investigating, but I haven’t seen any further info for quite a while. There are several newspapers that have mentioned it, but all of them had this in the news around the first week of April and I can’t find any updates since then.

UK police assisting probe into missing Sarm Heslop in US Virgin Islands


A Hampshire police spokeswoman said: “Hampshire Constabulary is providing operational support in the UK to assist a US Virgin Islands Police Department investigation.

“This assistance is being facilitated through the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Hampshire Constabulary cannot comment further on another force’s investigation.”
 
Did he though? No one in the surrounding boats heard any cries for help.
Exactly! And in fact the people on the boats moored nearby also plainly stated RB did not alert them; one captain commented on how unusual that was.

RB claimed the anchor alarm went off at 2 am, he noticed Sarm wasn't there and after searching he called USVIPD at 2:30, telling them he believed she fell overboard. He met LE on shore, LE told him to call the Coast Guard, which he didn't bother to do until app. 9 hours later.

He refused to allow LE or the CG to board the boat, citing his 5th Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. The CG even returned to do a safety check and again was refused permission to go below. They issued a citation as a result.

There's no history or cases in the Virgin Islands of druggies/sea pirates/misc. bad people boarding boats and abducting women but RB has a history of domestic violence and having a hot temper.

Sarm was simply acting as the chef on Siren Song. What possible motive would someone have to attack her but not RB? Because she was so active on social media and in constant contact with friends and family - in fact the night she disappeared she had been texting with a friend - it would appear highly suspicious if she suddenly stopped. MOO.
 
I think someone came on the boat and abducted her. Reason being, Bane
called for help.

Many killers call authorities to report a “missing” loved one, report an attack, or ask for help. The fact that he did so hours later and then waited until the next day to call the coast guard (which he refused to let search the boat) is a huge red flag. It doesn’t divert suspicion. For me, it adds more.
 
I also think she was hurt on the boat or even before getting back on the boat. If you have nothing to do with your loved one's disappearance you do everything you can to find them and to help authorities find them in my opinion. Nothing of the sort happened here imo.
I fear she was put in the water far away and I think if the dinghy was checked with luminol there would have been some interesting findings. Shame on LE that didn't happen.
All my opinion and speculation
 
Many killers call authorities to report a “missing” loved one, report an attack, or ask for help. The fact that he did so hours later and then waited until the next day to call the coast guard (which he refused to let search the boat) is a huge red flag. It doesn’t divert suspicion. For me, it adds more.
IMO, he was drinking and started when he found she was gone and was in too much of a stupor to call coast guard. Just a guess on my part, I could be 100% wrong. Other than that, I don't know.
 
He called. As far as calling other boaters, no it was the middle of the night, he knew they were sleeping. MOO

IMO, he was drinking and started when he found she was gone and was in too much of a stupor to call coast guard. Just a guess on my part, I could be 100% wrong. Other than that, I don't know.

This is quite a charitable reading of the situation, if you don't mind my saying so. If someone I loved had gone overboard in shark-infested waters, I wouldn't keep quiet until the morning just because I knew people were sleeping. Seriously, who would??

And if my next reaction after that was to start drinking and not stop until oblivion, I think I might wonder the next day what else I'd done during my alcoholic blackout. Which I guess might explain some of what happened next.

So, charitable and yet simultaneously strangely damning.

JMO
 
He called. As far as calling other boaters, no it was the middle of the night, he knew they were sleeping. MOO
What?? As the captain of the boat he knew full well the protocol for a man overboard situation. He reported to LE that he believed Sarm fell overboard yet did nothing to alert other boaters. And he lied to the Coast Guard, claiming he did alert other boaters. He's a liar.

US coastguard logs obtained by The Times noted that when Ryan Bane called them at 11.46am on March 8 to report that Sarm Heslop had disappeared from his vessel during the night, he told them that he had alerted others to see if anyone had spotted her.

Yet the captains of the two other charter yachts moored overnight on March 7 and 8 in Frank Bay, off the island of St John, have stated that Bane made no such contact.​
Skippers deny partner of missing Sarm Heslop sought help | The Times

Heaven forbid that someone who proclaimed they loved me would act this way. RB is a liar.
 
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