An upcoming episode of Dateline NBC examines Sarm Heslop’s disappearance from the US Virgin Islands in March 2021. She reportedly lived and worked with her boyfriend, Ryan Bane, on his yacht named Siren Song. Bane is a wealthy man from Michigan. The UK woman was last seen with him on March 7, 2021. In the early hours of the following morning, he reported that the 41-year-old went missing from the boat.
During this investigation, authorities have faced multiple obstacles, including Bane’s refusal to let them conduct forensic tests on his vessel. Police have neither named him a suspect nor a person of interest. The strange circumstances surrounding Heslop’s missing case have baffled police as well as the ones close to her for over two years now.
Dateline’s episode, titled “Siren Song,” will air on the network on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET.
Sarm Heslop’s missing case and the ongoing investigation, explained
At the time of her disappearance, Sarm Heslop was living in a yacht with her boyfriend, Ryan Bane, whom she met on Tinder. She used to work as a chef on Siren Song. On March 7, 2021, the boat was moored off St. John, and the couple had gone out for a night of drinking. They were last seen leaving 420 the Center, a popular dive bar in Cruz Bay in the US Virgin Islands, as per the New York Post.
The outlet stated that the bar’s owner, Ryan Sharkey, told UK’s The Mirror, “She [Heslop] and Ryan were at the edge of the bar — no arguing, no trouble, not that we know about. They were talking, that was it. It was about 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. when they came in. I think he [Bane] had three beers and Sarm no more than two. They were here for about an hour-and-a-half.”
Another report by the Post claimed that according to Bane’s story, they returned to his boat on an inflatable dinghy and went to bed shortly after 10 p.m. The Michigan man told authorities that he woke up after the vessel’s anchor alarm went off at 2 a.m. and found that Heslop missing. He called the local police at 2:30 a.m. to report the 41-year-old missing. Police asked him to call the US Coast Guard, but he only made the call around noon.
Heslop’s personal belongings, including her bank cards, mobile phone, and passport, among other things, remained on the boat. Moreover, Bane’s lawyer denied the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD)’s request to search the boat. Under US law, he can choose to remain silent. Additionally, police must show “probable cause” to secure a search warrant for the vessel, as per The Mirror.
The missing woman’s mother, Brenda Street, told BBC, “Now after two years it’s not possible she is missing.” She believes that it is unlikely that her daughter is still alive but wishes “to be able to find her and bring her home. I feel I should grieve. I don’t know how to. My heart’s broken.”
Moreover, the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) has failed to confirm if Heslop was on board as Bane told them. Street further said, “They [VIPD] just seem to try and push it under the carpet. I had an email from the VIPD a couple of weeks ago. That’s the first time in 18 months. It said, ‘Hope you’re doing well, have you any further information?’ My relationship with the authorities is non-existent, they just ignore us. We sent a long list of questions – lawful and legal ones – but they just didn’t reply to us.”
The BBC report from March 2023 claimed that VIPD is currently treating Sarm Heslop’s disappearance as a missing persons investigation.
