Ryan Bane (right), boyfriend of missing British woman Sarm Heslop (left), was recently spotted in Grenada. Photo: VIC

Ryan Bane, 44, sits on the deck of his boat in March 2021. Photo: VIV

About two weeks ago, Bane and his catamaran, on which both he and Heslop lived before she went missing, were spotted in a somewhat secluded marina in Grenada. Bane was seen walking his distinctive white dog, lounging in the sunshine on the yacht’s deck, and sipping coffees in the cafe of Le Phere Bleu Marina. International media outlets reported rumours later confirmed by the Consortium’s on-the-ground sources that the catamaran’s identifying details — name and registration number, usually prominently displayed by all registered seagoing vessels had been removed from the sides of the boat, with only faint outlines remaining of where “Siren Song” was painted.

The VIC Regional News Desk received a message from our source about 2 o’clock Tuesday afternoon. They sent a photo of the marina. Bane’s boat was not in its usual spot. 

Has the catamaran finally been sold, over the objections of Sarm Heslop’s family and friends, is a question that remains. The 47-foot Leopard 4-head vessel was listed on several sites - asking price, $229,0000. One of the listings indicates a recent upgrade of the onboard refrigerator and freezer, among other things. Heslop’s family had been pleading for Bane to return to the US Virgin Islands so that law enforcement there could examine the boat.

Hindrance to investigation

Despite claiming, through his lawyer, that he was “devastated” by his girlfriend’s disappearance over eight months ago, Bane has never allowed authorities to look for clues in the place he says Heslop was last seen - aboard the catamaran. US Coast Guard officers, responding to Bane’s belated report of his girlfriend’s disappearance, were denied the opportunity to do anything but a cursory inspection of the deck of the vessel — they cited Bane for denying them full access to the boat, contrary to the narrative spun by Bane’s lawyer, who’d said the responding officers were able to inspect the vessel without limitation.

Sarm Heslop’s friends and family say that even the smallest clue gleaned from the boat could hold the key to solving the mystery of her disappearance. For their part, the US Virgin Islands Police Department says they are very interested in interviewing Bane and searching his boat, but several attempts at obtaining a search warrant for that purpose had been rebuffed by the courts because, according to a police source close to the investigation, detectives had not provided anything of “evidentiary value” to justify such a warrant. Because Bane has never been declared a suspect in Heslop’s disappearance, he is free to sail the open seas — at least for now.