Caribbean Authorities Investigate Missing Owners Of Hijacked Yatch Off Grenada

Police from two nations in the eastern Caribbean are now examining the probable murder of two individuals who are believed to be US citizens who were the owners of a catamaran that reportedly was hijacked by three fugitives in waters off Grenada island. The yacht’s owners, Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel, were last spotted on Sunday night when the three individuals escaped custody by the relevant Grenadian authorities. Police in the Grenadines and St. Vincent captured these men on Wednesday.

The Royal Grenada Police Force stated on Friday that initial information reveals that the escaped men travelled to St. Vincent from Grenada and the Grenadines on a yacht. Now, the investigators are working on the leads that suggest that the two yacht occupants could have been killed in the process. The authorities are yet to confirm Hendry and Brandel as the yacht owners. Still, the Salty Dawg Sailing Association, which the couple had been members of, shared a statement that cited the couple as the owners.

That statement mentioned that a cruising skipper reported that their yacht, Simplicity, was abandoned off the Grenadines coasts and St. Vincent. The person discovered the evidence of serious violence on the vessel. The organization further observed that the pair were seasoned sailors who spent the winter sailing down the US eastern coast into the waters of the Caribbean. This is indeed an upsetting event, and the details are unconfirmed by authorities, but this appears to be a tragic incident, mentioned Bob Osborn, the association’s president.

On inspection, it was discovered that the yacht was ransacked, and it was evident that a violent act had taken place, per the Caribbean Safety and Security Net (abbreviated as the CSSN), which gathers and disseminates essential information that relates to crimes involving the yachts in that region. A pool of blood was found in the master stateroom, and two owners had been missing.

Per data from the AIS tracking system that uses transceivers on vessels, the yacht departed Grenada close to 10 p.m. local time on Sunday. The vessel’s speed was fast for the couple, the fair-weather sailors who go slowly, per the Grenada Cruisers Information page on Facebook.

Ron Mitchell, aged 30, Trevon Robertson, old 19, and Abita Stanislaus, aged 25, were held at the South Saint George Police Station of Grenada on the grounds of robbery with violence. This was before they escaped to St. Vincent, per police. Mitchell also encountered additional counts of rapes, attempted rapes, and indecent assaults, per the police.

Reference: Reuters

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Source: Maritime Shipping News