Man blocks search for yacht where girlfriend was last seen

Briton who was last seen aboard her boyfriend’s yacht in the U.S. Virgin Islands is still missing almost two weeks later – and now cops say her friend won’t let them search the boat .

Ryan Bane, who owns the 47-foot luxury catamaran, reported his girlfriend Sarm Heslop, 41, missing on March 8, but was then immediately fired, Virgin Islands police told the UK Telegram on Friday evening.

The boat has remained moored – and off-limits to cops – off Saint-Jean as a massive search in the waters continues.

“Shortly after reporting Ms Heslop’s disappearance, Mr Bane enlisted the services of a lawyer,” police told the Telegram in a statement.

“On the advice of his lawyer, Mr. Bane exercised his constitutional right to remain silent and refused the officers’ requests to search the vessel.

The authorities would need a warrant to search the boat. But they can’t get one because Heslop’s disappearance has not been ruled criminal.

“We thought we could just ask Mr Bane to search the boat and he would say yes,” police spokesman Toby Derima told the UK newspaper.

“But he did not do it.

The couple went to dinner ashore and then returned to the yacht at 10 p.m. on Sunday March 7, authorities said.

Ryan called local police at 2:30 a.m. the next morning, saying he had just woken up and realized that Heslop was no longer on board, although his passport, purse and phone were stayed behind.

The cops told Ryan to immediately call the US Coast Guard. But Ryan reportedly waited until almost noon the next day to report Heslop’s disappearance to the US Coast Guard station in San Juan.

The family of the missing woman on Friday urged UK authorities to step in and help.

“We would like to be assured that the authorities in the Virgin Islands are doing everything possible to locate her and that the investigation into the disappearance of our beautiful and darling daughter includes a full search at the fingertips of the boat,” said members. of the family in a press release.

“We will never give up on Sarm’s search and we always hope to find her safe.”