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The 2021 missing case of Southampton woman, Sarm Heslop, became a topic of interest all over the world. Sarm had been working in the United States Virgin Islands as a private charter chef with her American boyfriend, Ryan Bane.
Heslop has been missing for 2 years, 10 months, and 6 days and there has been no update on her whereabouts from the authorities since March 8, 2021. A reward of $10,000 (£8,328) has been announced for any information regarding her.
The Virgin Islands Police Department or the FBI have not been allowed to search Bane's catamaran apart and neither have the authorities found any evidence of Heslop despite searching the coastline with drones, divers, and sniffer dogs.
The Dateline Unforgettable episode titled Siren Song aired on January 25, 2024, at 8 p.m. EST on Oxygen and showcased the mysterious disappearance of Sarm Heslop. The synopsis reads,
"A mystery in paradise unfolds when Sarm Heslop vanishes from her boyfriend's yacht; in a case that made international headlines, Andrea Canning recounts her memorable journey searching for a particular person of interest."
What happened to Sarm Heslop? Details explored
Sarm Heslop, the former flight attendant with FlyBe, had been sailing with her American citizen boyfriend, Ryan Bane. Heslop and Bane had met each other on Tinder in 2020 and started seeing each other. Heslop subsequently decided to move to the United States Virgin Islands to work in the luxury yacht business - working as a cook and hosting private guests.
Heslop and Ryan Bane had been to the island of St. Jon for dinner on March 7, 2021. The couple were at the 420 to Center bar and restaurant complex and were recorded on the security cameras to have walked towards a dinghy dock. A dinghy would have taken them to their 47-foot-long catamaran named Siren Song - docked 120 ft away from the shore in Cruz Bay.
Heslop was said to have left the restaurant by 22:00 local time and retired to bed early following the COVID curfew on the island. However, Ryan Bane later informed the authorities that he was awoken by his yacht's anchor alarm ringing around 2 am local time when he found Sarm Heslop missing.
Bane took out a dinghy to the mainland and informed the Virgin Islands Police Department about Heslop's sudden absence who then directed him to the U.S. Coast Guard. Ryan Bane, however, took nine hours to inform the Coast Guards.
Has Sarm Heslop been found?
Sarm has been missing for 2 years, 10 months, and 6 days since March 8, 2021 - the day she was reported missing to the Virgin Islands Police Department.
Her mother, Brenda Street, has expressed her concerns about her daughter being dead as she shared with BBC News,
"Now after two years it's not possible she is missing. I don't believe she is still alive - I wish to be able to find her and bring her home. Sarm would never put her family and friends through this torment, this gut wrenching heartache for this long. I imagine her as a mermaid…. If she is in the ocean because she loved the ocean."
A reward of $10,000 (£8,328) was announced for any information regarding her apart from a Facebook page by the name of 'Missing Person: Sarm Heslop.'
