Hostess missing in the Caribbean: what happened to Sarm Heslop?

On March 7, 2021, former British flight attendant Sarm Heslop disappeared from her boyfriend Ryan Bane’s catamaran with whom she lived and worked as a stewardess, Two years later, local police searches have yielded no results.

All of us sailors love the oceans for their endless horizons, the opportunity to travel and reach distant lands, and that deep sense of freedom they inspire. However, the sea, precisely because of its vastness, can also be a giant black hole that swallows up everything. Where you can disappear any day without leaving a trace.

For example, where did former British stewardess Sarm Heslop, who disappeared aboard a catamaran in the Caribbean Sea in 2021, end up? Two years later, her mother Brenda Street is still looking for her and will not rest. The last sighting of her daughter was on March 7, 2021, when Sarm left a bar in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, with her boyfriend Ryan Bane, a U.S. citizen. After leaving the airline he worked for, Sarm Heslop at age 41 had decided to move in with Bane aboard his catamaran named “Siren Song” stationed in the Caribbean.

Mother: “Sarm would never leave without saying anything”

It was Ryan Bane himself in the early hours of March 8 who reported to local authorities the sudden disappearance of the girl whose possessions, including a phone, iPad and wallet, were found aboard the yacht. Two years later, police have never been able to track down Sarm Heslop. And the mother recently told the BBC, “I feel that I should grieve. But I don’t know how to do it. My heart is broken. It is not possible that Sarm is missing, and knowing her, she would never have put her family and friends through this heartbreaking pain all this time. I don’t think she is still alive, but I wish I could find her and bring her home.”

The Caribbean authority’s reaction to the Sarm Heslop case has been quite controversial. The original call to the police to announce the girl’s disappearance was made by Ryan Bane himself at 2:30 am. But the Coast Guard was not informed until noon the next day. The investigation launched by the Virgin Islands Police Department did not include in-depth interrogations of the boy or even searches by forensic police aboard the catamaran. To this day, investigators have still not been able to confirm whether Heslop re-boarded that evening before vanishing into thin air, as reported by her boyfriend.

Unsuccessful investigation and Sarm’s friends seek information

Ms. Street is very frustrated with the poor quality of local investigations, “If she had fallen into the sea, the Coast Guard would have arrived immediately, not 9 hours later. The FBI and Hampshire police have offered help to Caribbean authorities, but they have always refused any outside intervention.” Recently in a statement, the Virgin Islands Police Department says, “The Virgin Islands Police Department continues to send thoughts and prayers to the family, friends and colleagues of Sarm Helsop. The Criminal Investigation Bureau continues to work on this case.”

Sarm Heslop’s friends and loved ones meanwhile have set up a Facebook page to share information about his passing. They continue to offer a reward of up to $10,000 in exchange for information. But her mother has little hope of finding her: “I imagine her as a mermaid. If Sarm is in the ocean, it’s because she loved the ocean.”