Missing British Woman in Virgin Islands: Police Seek Warrant to Search Oakland Man's Boat

U.S. Virgin Islands police want to search the catamaran of Ryan Bane, 44, after his girlfriend Sarm Heslop, 41, went missing March 8. Bane has not spoken to police since reporting her disappearance.

Virgin Islands Authorities Pursue Search Warrant for Catamaran in Heslop Disappearance

U.S. Virgin Islands police are seeking a search warrant to board a catamaran belonging to Ryan Bane, a 44-year-old resident of Lake Orion, Oakland County, whose British girlfriend was reported missing three weeks ago, according to detroitnews.com.

Toby Derima, spokesman for the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department, confirmed Monday that authorities want access to Bane's vessel. "We're working on it," Derima said. "We would like to speak to him. We would like to search his boat."

Bane's girlfriend, 41-year-old Sarm Heslop, from Southampton, England, was last seen aboard the catamaran on the night of March 8. The couple had returned to the boat, anchored in Frank Bay, St. John, after dinner that evening. Bane called 911 at approximately 2:30 a.m. to report her missing.

Derima said Bane has not spoken with police since that initial contact on March 8 and has declined to allow officers onto the vessel, exercising his constitutional rights. Despite this, Derima stressed that Bane "is not considered a suspect because this is not a criminal case — this is a missing persons case," though authorities want to keep track of his whereabouts.

Bane remains in the U.S. Virgin Islands area and is "free to move about," Derima said, though that could change once police are able to speak with him about the circumstances surrounding Heslop's disappearance.

Bane's attorney, David Cattie, told The Detroit News last week that his client cooperated immediately after discovering Heslop missing. "Mr. Bane then traveled to meet members of the VIPD to give a statement regarding Sarm," Cattie wrote in a statement. "Mr. Bane also provided a photograph of Sarm to officers."

The FBI has joined the investigation. Search teams including the Virgin Islands Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, and volunteers — some operating drones — have combed both land and sea for Heslop. A reported sighting of her on March 11 in St. Thomas did not lead to any confirmed trace of the missing woman, Derima said.

Heslop had reportedly relocated to the U.S. Virgin Islands with aspirations of becoming a chef. A dedicated website, findsarm.com, has been set up to collect tips from the public regarding her whereabouts.

Source: Google News VI — Crime