911 call to US coast guards “never recorded due to a fault in the system” as missing woman’s family and friends continue to fight for answers, two years since she disappeared.
The family and friends of missing woman Sarm Heslop, who vanished from her boyfriend’s catamaran in St John, USVI on Monday 8 March 2021, have been left reeling from the news that the 911 call made by Ryan Bane to the US coast guards on the morning she went missing was never recorded, “due to a fault in the system”.
Brenda Street, Sarm’s Mother said “The inconsistencies in this investigation have troubled me from the start. We have been told that the CCTV wasn’t working in the local area due to a power outage on the island. We were shown some CCTV footage allegedly showing Sarm and Ryan walking back to their dinghy but it was turned off before I could see them step onto the boat. And now we discover that the 911 call Ryan made to the coast guard was never recorded! Something doesn’t add up…”
This week marks two years since Sarm Heslop went missing. Sarm was living and working on her boyfriend, Ryan Bane’s catamaran, ‘Siren Song’ when she disappeared. The couple had been for dinner on the island at Bar 420 to Center that evening. At approx. 2.35am Ryan Bane called the police via 911 to say his girlfriend may have fallen overboard. He claimed that they had returned to the boat, watched some Netflix and fallen asleep. He was allegedly woken by the anchor alarm and went to investigate and found Sarm was gone. Her wallet, passport and phone were left on board.
According to an interview with the VIPD commissioner, Trevor Velinor, on a Dateline episode that aired in the US a few months ago, police then went to the dock and spoke to Mr Bane, who had had driven his dinghy across to the dock in Frank Bay. The police commissioner then goes on to say the officers conducted a search of the area that night, however, they failed to search the boat itself. Ryan reported to friends later that day that the police had initially told him there was nothing they could do because she could have left of her own accord.
Admitting during the Dateline interview that not searching the boat from which Sarm had reportedly gone missing “wasn’t the best decision”, VIPD commissioner Trevor Velinor highlighted a huge error in the early stages of this investigation. “What I want to know,” says Brenda “is if they went to the dock and spoke to Ryan and conducted a search that night, why didn’t they look on the boat first? Why weren’t any of the neighbouring boats moored nearby woken and searched? Why did the police not immediately involve the coast guard?”
It wasn’t until 11.46am, later that day that Ryan Bane called the coast guard via 911. The coast guard conducted a brief visual sweep of the Siren Song to ascertain Sarm was not on board and then started a large search of the area on land and sea. No trace of Sarm was found and now no recording of the 911 call can be found.
“Another piece of vital evidence that could have helped unlock this investigation is missing.” continues Brenda,
When I visited the USVI in March 2022 I questioned Ray Martinez why the VIPD hadn’t contacted the coast guard themselves. He replied that it was an oversight by themselves. This ‘oversight’ may have resulted in never finding my daughter again. Someone must start being held accountable.
The recent suspicious death of former championship swimmer, Jamie Cail, on the same island has brought the VIPD under scrutiny in the media again, with claims of corruption and ineptitude within the police. Commenting on the current situation, the group of friends behind #FindSarm said,
It is absolutely devastating to read about Jamie Cail and our thoughts go out to her friends and family, now suffering similar frustrations trying to find answers and justice for their loved one through the VIPD’s insensitive and insufficient resources.
They called for action, saying,
It’s time for Hampshire Constabulary’s Missing and Exploited Team to step in and take over Sarm’s investigation. There are just too many inconsistencies and too many mistakes. When we see the intensity with which the UK authorities approached the search for Nicola Bulley recently, it highlights how different this investigation would have been had Sarm gone missing in the UK. Sarm is a British citizen and all the authorities are failing her.
Sarm is described as 5 feet 8 Caucasian female of slim build. She has a bright coloured tattoo on her left shoulder featuring a seahorse, bird, butterfly and a pink flower.
A reward for anyone with information that leads to a significant breakthrough in the case is offered and anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Sarm is urged to call Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS
Interview requests should be directed to [email protected]
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Sarm’s family: https://gofund.me/f25712dd
Further materials approved for use by the press: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GPu_weOA2TtOdDCLt_KCaJLU7Mniblbh?usp=sharing