Parents of missing British woman urge police to question boyfriend after he reappears in the US
Family and friends of a British woman who went missing in the Virgin Islands have said police must question her boyfriend, after the first photographs came to light of him now living in the US.
Speaking ahead of the third anniversary of the disappearance of Sarm Heslop, on March 8 2021, they said it is “unimaginable” that detectives have never interviewed Ryan Bane, even though he was the last person to see her before she disappeared off his boat.
Brenda Street and Peter Heslop spoke out after Mr Bane was spotted using a gym in his native Michigan, where he has reappeared after maintaining a low profile since their daughter vanished.
Mr Bane – who served 21 days in jail on a 60-day sentence for assault and battery on his wife at the time, Cori Stephenson, in 2011 – was photographed at the Planet Fitness gym in Lake Orion, by someone with knowledge of the case.
Now, Sarm’s family has demanded that the US Virgin Islands Police Department (USVIPD) move to interview him about what light he can shed on her final hours.
A family spokesman said: “It’s unimaginable that the police have never properly questioned Bane. Bane is the only person that knows what really happened that night. Sarm is not coming back, and the police need to start looking at reclassifying the case from missing person to murder.
“It’s inconceivable that the last person to see Sarm alive is just getting on with his life whilst we continue to live with the torment of her disappearance.”
Parents must have answers
A former Scotland Yard commander who has been attempting for months to liaise with USVIPD on behalf of Sarm’s family and friends has spoken of his frustration at its handling of the case.
David Johnston, a former commander of homicide and serious crime at the Metropolitan Police, who is working with the campaign group FindSarm, set up by a group of Sarm’s closest friends, said: “The USVIPD claim that the case is open and ongoing and yet they are refusing to treat Sarm’s family with the dignity of even a response to our emails and letters. Meanwhile, we understand that Ryan Bane has resurfaced in the US without ever being formally questioned by the police.”
Ms Street and Mr Heslop say they have accepted that their daughter is no longer alive, but say they must have answers to her disappearance.
The 41-year-old former flight attendant from Southampton went missing from Siren Song, Mr Bane’s yacht, in the early hours, while it was anchored off St John.
Ms Heslop disappeared after the couple had dinner on the island and returned to the boat to sleep. When Mr Bane woke up at 2am, Ms Heslop was nowhere to be found.
Drunk and unco-operative
Police said Mr Bane reported her missing to police at 2.30am local time, but did not inform the coastguard about her disappearance until around noon the same day.
Coastguard officials said that when they visited his boat during a search and rescue operation that afternoon, they found him drunk and unco-operative.
Mr Bane refused to answer questions and physically prevented them from searching his boat, leading to his receiving a citation for impeding officers.
But police took no steps to search the yacht for clues in the days and weeks after her disappearance.
Mr Bane, now 46, put the boat up for sale for $229,000 (£181,000) in October 2021, after leaving the islands and sailing to Grenada before travelling on to Barbados.
Potentially vital images
US Virgin Islands police initially said there was no CCTV of the couple leaving the venue on the small island of St John on March 7 2021.
However, Ms Heslop’s parents revealed that during a meeting in the Virgin Islands arranged by the British consulate in Miami a year after she disappeared, officers showed them CCTV footage taken of their daughter and Mr Bane leaving the bar.
Sarm’s mother said that the footage was stopped by the officers before it had reached the end of the recording, obscuring a section containing images potentially vital to the investigation.
Speaking through his lawyer, Mr Bane has always denied knowing what happened to Sarm.
USVIPD and the USVI Department of Justice have been approached for comment.
