FBI joins search for missing British woman Sarm Heslop
The FBI has joined the search for missing British woman Sarm Heslop, who mysteriously vanished from her American boyfriend’s yacht on March 7, the agency said Wednesday.
“At this time, the FBI is supporting local law enforcement
in their investigation efforts,” a spokesman confirmed to The Post in an email
Wednesday, adding that the investigation is being led by the US Virgin Islands
Police Department.
Virgin Islands cops also confirmed Wednesday that the feds
are assisting them in their investigation into the missing 41-year-old.
The probe has focused on Ryan Bane, Heslop’s 44-year-old
boyfriend, who has retained a lawyer and has refused to cooperate with
authorities in the case.
Heslop went missing from the 47-foot catamaran Siren Song,
prompting a search of nearby beaches and the waters surrounding St. John Island
by US Coast Guard, police and local volunteers, the Telegraph reported.
Bane claimed he woke up around 2 a.m. the day after Heslop
disappeared when he was alerted by an anchor alarm on the boat, which was 100
feet offshore.
According to reports, he called police but didn’t reach out
to the Coast Guard for hours.
However, Bane has refused to let authorities search his yacht
— and a longtime friend of Heslop’s told the Mirror that his timeline “just
does not make sense.“
“We know that Mr. Bane called the local police at 2:30 a.m.
and was told to call the Coast Guard,” Andrew Baldwin told the outlet. “The
Coast Guard was reported saying that it was alerted to her disappearance by Mr.
Bane at 11:46 a.m. Monday.”
“We know they had dinner in a local restaurant and left at
10 p.m.,” he said. “What we don’t know what happened in those intervening
hours.”
The manager of the restaurant, 420 to Center, told The Post
Wednesday that the FBI has not shown up at the eatery, but said Virgin Island
police interviewed staffers who were on duty the night the couple was there.
“The police came to the restaurant and questioned the two folks
who worked that night,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified.
“It seemed as though they had been drinking and whatnot, and
then they left,” she said. “They were just regular customers. Nothing seemed
out of the ordinary. The bartender recognized the gentleman, not the young
lady.”
Meanwhile, the Sun reported this week that Bane was arrested
in 2011 on suspicion of domestic violence and served 21 days in jail for
slamming his ex-wife’s head on the floor.
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