(CMR) Family and friends of Sarm Heslop are calling for the authorities in the US Virgin Islands to do more in their investigations after the woman went missing while on her boyfriend's boat earlier this month.
According to The Telegraph,, friends of the 41-year-old woman said police were yet to search the boat for any evidence. They have called for an urgent and thorough investigation of the boat, moored close to the island of St John.
Heslop from Southampton reportedly vanished in the early hours of Monday, March 8, from her boyfriend Ryan Bane’s 47ft catamaran Siren Song.
The couple had gone for dinner on Sunday night and returned to the yacht at 10 pm where they had gone to sleep.
Heslop’s boyfriend told the US Coast Guard's San Juan station that “at 2 am he woke up and realized that she was not on board,” his catamaran, The Telegraph reported.
The Coast Guard said it was alerted to Heslop’s disappearance more than nine hours later by Bane at 11.46 am on Monday.
Friends believe that Heslop, a strong swimmer, “would not just disappear, leaving no trace.”
They said that the smaller boat used to ferry the couple to and from shore was still attached to the yacht, and Heslop’s belongings, including her passport, were accounted for.
One friend, who doesn’t wish to be named, demanded that the search of the boat be made a “critical priority,” The Telegraph reported.
Reports are that Bane has since acquired a lawyer and has not allowed authorities to search the boat that Heslop disappeared from.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid