"Now after two years it's not possible she is missing": Brenda Street on Sarm Heslop's disappearance

Sarm Heslop, a 41-year-old Southampton resident, had been sailing on her American boyfriend's catamaran when she went missing on March 8, 2021. She had been working as a chef and hostess in the luxury yacht business and living out of Ryan Bane's catamaran, which was moored in Frank Bay, close to the coast of Saint John.

Heslop and Bane had been to a restaurant on the mainland before they retired for the night. However, the former allegedly disappeared around 2 am in the night. As per The Independent, she was believed to have fallen overboard. Ever since, Bane has consistently refused authorities to let them search his boat. There have also been no signs of Heslop to date, prompting her mother, Brenda Street, to tell BBC News:

"Now after two years it's not possible she is missing. I don't believe she is still alive - I wish to be able to find her and bring her home. Sarm would never put her family and friends through this torment, this gut wrenching heartache for this long."

The Dateline Unforgettable episode, titled Siren Song, aired on January 25, 2024, at 8 pm EST on Oxygen and showcased the mysterious disappearance of Sarm Heslop. The synopsis read:

"A mystery in paradise unfolds when Sarm Heslop vanishes from her boyfriend's yacht; in a case that made international headlines, Andrea Canning recounts her memorable journey searching for a particular person of interest."

---

"I imagine her as a mermaid… If she is in the ocean because she loved the ocean": Sarm Heslop's mother Brenda Street shared

Sarm Heslop was last seen when she left the 420 to Center bar in Cruz Bay in St John. Heslop had been sailing around the United States Virgin Islands with her boyfriend, Ryan Bane, working as a cook and hostess available for private charters.

It has been 2 years, 10 months, and 18 days since Sarm Heslop disappeared from the 47-foot-long catamaran named Siren Song. Heslop's chef boyfriend, Ryan Bane, had informed the Virgin Islands Police Department about the same around 2:30 am on the same night but took nine more hours to alert the U.S. Coastal Guard.

In an exclusive with BBC News, Sarm Heslop's mother Brenda Street expressed her belief that her missing daughter is possibly dead. She said,

"I imagine her as a mermaid…. If she is in the ocean because she loved the ocean."

As far as investigations were concerned, the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) has reportedly been unable to confirm much about Heslop's whereabouts on the night of Heslop's disappearance or after. Street further emphasized:

"They 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."

When Ryan Bane has relocated to a remote part of the islands refusing to let authorities on his boat, the VIPD allegedly did not make much of an effort in that direction, per Brenda Street's comments. She added:

"They didn't go to the boat to check she was there. They didn't tell the coastguard. If she had fallen overboard, the coastguard would have been there immediately, not nine hours later. The FBI and Hampshire police have offered help but they have been turned down."

The VIPD responded in a statement, saying:

"The Virgin Islands Police Department continues to send thoughts and prayers to the family, friends, and colleagues of Sarm Helsop. The VIPD Criminal Investigations Bureau continues to work this ongoing."

Sarm Heslop's friends and family have set up a Facebook page with the name Missing Person: Sarm Heslop and continue to offer a $10,000 reward for any information in the case.