Friend of Missing and Presumed Dead American Sailing Couple Says It Feels Like a 'Bad Hollywood Movie'

Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry were last heard from on Feb. 18 in Grenada. Three escaped inmates have been arrested in connection with their disappearance

After news that Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry are presumed dead more than a week after their disappearance in Grenada, their sons and close friends are speaking out.

Brandel's son, Nick Buro, and Hendry's son, Bryan Hendry, joined the Today show on Tuesday morning and shared the many emotions that they’re experiencing amid the continued search for their parents, who were last seen on Feb. 18, while their yacht was found 80 miles away.

“Shock, despair, fear, sadness, hope, love — all of those emotions are going through our head at the same time,” Buro said of how he and his stepbrother are feeling.

“An altercation of violence took place on the boat,” Buro continued, based on “clear evidence seen from blood on the boat as well as their possessions being thrown around and strewn around all over.”

A close friend of the couple and their emergency contact, Rob Maher, also spoke out, telling Today, “This seems like a bad Hollywood movie.”

“It’s hard to think of their last moments with the idea that they might’ve been thrown overboard alive, bloodied, it’s difficult to conceive for a friend."

Related: Family of American Sailing Couple Missing in Caribbean Describe How Boat Looked ‘Ransacked’

The comments came just one day after authorities in the area confirmed in a press conference that “it is presumed Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brendel are deceased.”

Authorities suspect that the couple's disappearance is related to the escape of three prisoners from their nearby holding cell around the same time, per a press release from the Royal Grenada Police Force. During the press conference, Junior Simmons of the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said that the inmates — who allegedly made their getaway on the couple’s yacht — have been re-arrested and are cooperating.

Brandel, a retired real estate agent who would have turned 71 Wednesday, and Hendry, a 66-year-old financial advisor who worked from their yacht, were last heard from on Feb. 18, according to their sons.

Authorities have recovered evidence "consistent with signs of violence" from the hijacked boat, Simmons said during the press conference.

In a statement shared by the stepbrothers on a GoFundMe page created on their behalf, they expressed their “gratitude” for all the help of locals in gathering information about the couple’s whereabouts and “search and rescue support.”

“It means so much to us that so many people cared for Ralph and Kathy as friends and fellow cruisers that they are willing to stop and help in whatever way possible,” the statement continued. “Thanks to all this input from this community we are able to develop a timeline of events.”

The stepbrothers also thanked authorities for their “quick actions” in securing the couple’s boat, Simplicity, “and their brave, swift response that led to the apprehension of three dangerous fugitives.”

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In the press release, police identified the Grenadian prisoners as Trevon Robertson, 19, Abita Stanislaus, 25, and sailor Ron Mitchell, 30, who were re-apprehended on Feb. 21.

A source close to the investigation told PEOPLE that two of the men confessed to killing the couple, while the third was hospitalized for a gunshot wound to the leg.

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