Police ‘denied right to search’ yacht where British woman vanished by US boyfriend
A British woman who was last seen aboard her boyfriend’s yacht in the US Virgin Islands is still missing nearly two weeks later — and now cops say her beau won’t let them search the boat.
Ryan Bane, who owns the 47-foot luxury catamaran, had
reported girlfriend Sarm Heslop, 41, missing on March 8, but then immediately
lawyered up, Virgin Islands Police told the UK’s Telegram on Friday night.
The boat has remained moored — and off limits to cops — off
the coast of St. John as a massive search of the waters continues.
“Soon after reporting Ms. Heslop missing, Mr. Bane acquired
the services of an attorney,” the police told the Telegram in a statement.
“Upon his attorney’s advice, Mr. Bane exercised his
constitutional right to remain silent and denied officers’ requests to search
the vessel.”
Authorities would need a warrant to search the boat. But
they can’t get one because Heslop’s disappearance has not been ruled a criminal
case.
“We thought we could just ask Mr. Bane to search the boat
and he would say yes,” police spokesman Toby Derima told the UK paper.
“But he didn’t.”
The couple went to dinner on shore and then returned to the
yacht at 10 p.m. on Sunday, March 7, authorities have said.
Ryan called local police at 2:30 a.m. the next morning,
saying he had just awakened and realized Heslop was no longer on board, though
her passport, purse and phone remained behind.
The cops told Ryan to call the US Coast Guard immediately.
But Ryan allegedly waited until almost noon the next day to report Heslop’s
disappearance to the US Coast Guard’s San Juan station.
The missing woman’s family on Friday urged British
authorities to step in and help.
“We would like assurance that the authorities in the Virgin
Islands are doing everything possible to find her and that the investigation
into our beautiful and cherished daughter’s disappearance includes a
comprehensive fingertip search of the boat,” family members said in a
statement.
“We will never give up looking for Sarm and we still have
hope of finding her safe.”
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