In an emotionally charged and exclusive interview, British yachtswoman Sarm Heslop has broken her three-year silence following the devastating decision by the FBI to drop its investigation into the disappearance of her American fiancé, Ryan Bane.
The mystery began on the night of March 8th, 2021, while the couple were sailing aboard their 47-foot catamaran, Siren Song, near St John in the US Virgin Islands. Heslop awoke to find the vessel eerily empty, with Bane vanished without a trace.
'I woke up and the boat was in the middle of the ocean. Ryan was gone,' Heslop recounted, the pain still raw in her voice. 'His wallet, phone, and shoes were all still on the boat. It was the most terrifying moment of my life.'
Despite her immediate distress call to the US Coast Guard, what followed was a series of what she describes as catastrophic investigative failures. Local authorities reportedly treated her not as a grieving partner, but as a prime suspect, subjecting her to a gruelling 12-hour interrogation without legal representation.
A Flawed Investigation and a Fight for Justice
Heslop's anguish was compounded by the official response. She claims the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) delayed deploying divers for a full 30 hours and shockingly never forensically examined the couple's catamaran.
'They didn't search the boat for three weeks. It's incompetence at its worst,' she stated, her frustration palpable. The case, initially mishandled locally, was eventually picked up by the FBI, offering a glimmer of hope. However, that hope was extinguished earlier this year when the federal agency unexpectedly closed its investigation without providing her with any answers or a conclusive explanation.
Unanswered Questions and a Life in Limbo
Now back in the UK and living in Southampton, Heslop's life remains on hold. She is tormented by unanswered questions and the opaque nature of the investigative process. Her relentless quest for truth has led her to hire a retired FBI agent to review the case, convinced that crucial evidence was overlooked.
'I need to know what happened to the man I love. I owe him that. I cannot and will not give up,' she asserts, demonstrating unwavering resolve. Her story is a harrowing tale of love, loss, and a desperate battle against a baffling mystery and a seemingly indifferent system.
The case of Ryan Bane remains an open wound, a chilling maritime disappearance with no resolution in sight, and a woman’s relentless fight for the truth.
