'We NEED them': Missing air hostess Sarm Heslop's family wants British police to 'get involved'
ST JOHN, VIRGIN ISLANDS: According to Sarm Heslop's closest friend, the missing air hostess' family wants British police to look into her disappearance. Heslop, a 43-year-old ex-flight attendant, vanished from her boyfriend's luxurious yacht that was docked close to the US Virgin Islands on March 8, 2021.
In November, her family frantically begged Virgin Islands' authorities to acquire a video of the night she vanished. Despite being shown the video, they were not provided a copy. The grieving family, facing their second Christmas without her, is frustrated by the lack of development in the case.
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The Mirror quoted Kate Owen, Heslop's friend as saying that the family's top priority was having the UK authorities get involved. She stated that the family wanted "more than anything else in the world. There's been no investigation this side, and the one over there hasn't given us any answers. We're no clearer as to what happened that night than at the start. We need them to get involved."
According to Owen, who worked as an air hostess with missing air hostess, the family also wanted the items that belonged to Heslop to be forensically analyzed. As reported by the outlet she stated, "We'd like the UK police ideally to travel to the US Virgin Islands to question Ryan. Sarm deserves someone out there asking questions. They want to help and are willing to, they just need to be invited by the US Virgin Islands Police."
On March 8, 2021, at 11 am, Heslop's boyfriend Ryan Bane texted the missing air hostess' mother, Brenda Street, informing her that her daughter was missing. He claimed he had slept off and been awakened by the anchor alarm, which sounds when movement is detected. "Once he'd checked it, he said he went down to bed — and she wasn't there," Street stated. "He said he'd phoned the police. I felt totally numb," she added, as reported by Daily Mail.
Bane, 45, revealed to Street that he and Heslop had dinner on a little US Virgin Island the night before, then returned to the boat, which was parked 120 feet from the shore, and watched a movie. She was a strong swimmer who was 41 years old at the time she went missing and appeared to be in good health. Friends and family described her as independent and responsible. Despite a worldwide investigation, there are no suspects sought in link with her vanishing and no clarification as to why she would just disappear without a trace.
The family's top suspect is Heslop's boyfriend, American yacht captain Bane. Emergency personnel advised him to contact the US Coast Guard, but he delayed doing so until Heslop had been missing for more than nine hours. He allegedly refused to give them permission to search his 47-foot catamaran, according to the US Coast Guard and the Virgin Islands Police Department.
Bane is said to have stood in a doorway when the officials boarded and informed them they couldn't go inside. He received a citation which does not add to his criminal history. The couple was spotted leaving the 420 to Center bar and restaurant on the St John island at around 10 pm on March 7, but police have been unable to locate any proof that Heslop went back to the yacht. In order to fund inquiries and offer a prize for new information, the family started a GoFundMe website in May.