CCTV footage has been released showing the last recorded sighting of missing British woman Sarm Heslop before she disappeared in the US Virgin Islands more than four years ago. The video, recorded six hours before she was reported missing, shows the 41-year-old from Southampton walking with her American boyfriend, Ryan Bane, down a wooden dock before boarding a dinghy to return to their luxury yacht, the Siren Song, anchored off St John.
Ms Heslop vanished in the early hours of March 8, 2021. The footage is featured in a new BBC documentary, Missing In Paradise: Searching For Sarm, which airs on BBC Two on Wednesday at 10pm. Her mother, Brenda Street, of Ongar, Essex, told the BBC she now accepts her daughter is dead, saying: 'We still haven’t been able to grieve properly. We all deserve to know what happened to her and to bring her home. It’s just so, so unfair.'
US Virgin Islands police chief Steven Phillip said: 'We’re at a dead end. If anybody could look at this video and see something and say something it can help. That’s why now.' Police commissioner Mario Brooks noted inconsistencies in the timeline provided by Mr Bane, calling it 'suspicious' and stating: 'That’s one of the reasons why we need to talk to Ryan.'
Mr Bane has consistently denied involvement in Ms Heslop’s disappearance. His lawyer, David Cattie, described the characterisation of the timeline as 'irresponsible' and suggested Ms Heslop may have hit her head and fallen overboard or drowned while swimming. 'People are suggesting he had a hand in her disappearance. There’s no evidence of that at all,' Mr Cattie added.
Two of Ms Heslop’s friends expressed their determination to find her in an interview on BBC Breakfast. 'We haven't given up yet,' one said. 'I think no one wants to stop because I think that feeling of stopping is giving in and letting the unknown truth win.'
