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Sarm Heslop's boyfriend 'wouldn't look me in the eye when he said she was missing', her mother reveals three years after her daughter disappeared from catamaran in US Virgin Islands - as friend says she is sure the 41-year-old was murdered
The mother of missing air hostess Sarm Heslop, who vanished from her American boyfriend's luxury yacht in the US Virgin Islands three years ago, said Ryan Bane 'wouldn't look her in the eye' when he told her that her daughter had disappeared.
Brenda Street told The Times she received a call from an unknown number on March 9, 2021, which she ignored. She then saw a text from Bane, who had met Heslop, 41, on Tinder eight months prior, asking her to call him back.
The 67-year-old from Ongar, Essex learned that her daughter had disappeared on Bane's boat after a night out on the US Virgin Island of St John the day before.
Street - who has vowed to uncover the truth about her daughter's disappearance - told the outlet she should have pressed Bane more when the call came through.
'There he was, sitting on his boat, kept looking left to right, left to right — wouldn't look me in the eye,' she said.
'Sarm was missing. He said he'd been searching and that other people were out searching. And then I said something that now seems really stupid. I said: 'But she loved you.' It was almost like I was thinking without realising it: 'What have you done?'
'I go over it in my mind now. I should have just said it: 'What have you done with my daughter?''
Bane, 46, has denied any involvement and told his lawyer he was 'in pieces' over the disappearance. No suspects were wanted in connection with the case, which went cold after Bane refused a coastguard team access to search his boat.
Street said that the fateful call was the first and last time they had the opportunity to speak as, she claims, Bane blocked her number afterwards.
Three years on from Miss Heslop's disappearance, her mother still looking for answers from the police
Sarm Heslop vanished from her American boyfriend's luxury yacht in the US Virgin Islands on March 8 2021
Ryan Bane, the US boat captain boyfriend of missing British woman Sarm Heslop, is seen here in a police mugshot in 2011 after attacking his ex-wife
The former air hostess went missing from the the boat of her wealthy partner Ryan Bane after matching on dating app Tinder eight months earlier. Pictured: The Siren Song in the US Virgin Islands
Bane had told Street that he loved her daughter and said that he would let her know if there was any news, Street said.
Her husband called Bane later that evening and was told he had been searching for Heslop. But Street claimed he had been seen on the Siren Song yacht, where he lived with Heslop, drinking tequila.
A yachtsman on a neighbouring vessel docked in Frank Bay, near St John, said shortly after the disappearance that Bane had failed to raise the alarm with them, despite being just 100ft away.
'If I woke up at 2am and my girlfriend's missing, I'd start yelling and wake up every boat in the area and gotten into the dinghy, bang on the boats, you know, 'Help me, help me'. But nothing,' David Woody said in March of 2021.
Speaking to The Times, Street raised more questions about Bane's behaviour at the time.
'She's gone missing and he was the last one she was with,' she said. 'Why didn't he stay around and help? If that had been me, my boat, I would have flown over here to see the parents at some point too. But he blocked my number.'
In the early hours of March 8, Bane called police from his £500,000 yacht to report Heslop missing. The call was not recorded.
He then met with police who took a statement and told him to call the coastguard.
Bane claimed he was on his catamaran 150ft off the island of St John when he went to bed and awoke to find Heslop missing.
It would be another nine hours before Bane contacted the coast guard - a decision the police commissioner for the territory later said meant crucial hours were lost in their search.
Coast Guard officers asked Bane if they could search the 47ft vessel when they arrived on March 8. Bane, who was heavily drunk according to agents, blocked the doorway and became uncooperative, invoking his right to silence after refusing entry.
'We would love for Mr Bane to come on out and allow us to engage in a conversation with him,' police commissioner Trevor Velinor told The Times in March 2021 after Bane engaged a lawyer.
Bane was handed a citation, which does not result in a criminal record.
'We are in a ready position to speak with him and find out what specifically took place... Where is Sarm Heslop? We would love to know. We are very concerned.'
But the investigation returned no results, hampered in part by a number of obstructions.
Under US law Mr Bane is classified as 'a person of interest' as he was the last person to see Miss Heslop. But he is not classified as a suspect and officers need to show a 'probable cause' to be issued a search warrant for the vessel.
The investigation has been further complicated by a power outage apparently knocking out CCTV in the bar where the couple was last seen late on March 7.
Street said police cut video footage off while she and her husband were watching it during a visit in 2022, without explanation.
'First they told us there was no CCTV, but then a couple of weeks later there was. I watched it three times and they switched it off at the same place,' she said.
At the time, Velinor only concluded: 'They left that restaurant some time before 10pm and were seen in the area of Cruz Bay dock area.'
Friends of Sarm Heslop have since said they believe she was murdered and the police are covering it up, without providing evidence.
Vicki Mogridge-Percy told ITV: 'I think that we've lost her through murder, and we want the classification to change for a missing person because she's not a missing person.'
David Johnston QPM, who represents the family and is the former Commander of Homicide and Serious Crime at Metropolitan Police, said: 'Bane was allowed to sail off, quite literally into the sunset, without ever being challenged to tell the full story of what happened that night.'
But investigators said they could not corroborate Bane's claims they had returned to the yacht after the dinner.
The Virgin Islands' Criminal Investigations Bureau searching for Heslop received support from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
The US Coast Guard also searched the area around the boat and bay on the first day, but found nothing to direct the investigation.
They have since confirmed there is 'no further development' in the investigation.
Heslop, a noted strong swimmer from Southampton, met Bane, a yacht captain from Michigan, in Grenada in 2020 before moving away to Malta for work.
The pair met again in the US Virgin Islands on Valentine's Day 2021, where Heslop, a former Flybe air hostess and globetrotter, joined Bane on his vessel to take guests on a cruise.
Street told The Times her daughter called her to say she had arrived safely, but that was the last time she heard from her.
She said her daughter had told her she '[loved] him a little bit' before leaving Malta and that she had sent photos of them together, happy.
The former Flybe air hostess disappeared after a night out on the US Virgin Island of St John
A missing poster trying to help find Miss Heslop after she went missing on March 8 2021
Bane's ex-wife of six years, Cori Stevenson, warned the US Virgin Islands police that he had a violent temper, that he had allegedly threatened to kill her, and that he had spent time in prison for domestic abuse.
'I said, 'Hey, I'm his ex and he went to jail'. They were like, 'Well, hmmm, you can call the anonymous tip number' and I said, 'Um, no, take down my details, you need to know he's aggressive'. It really didn't feel like they cared,' she said.
Bane's lawyer, David Cattie, said in a statement to the Sunday Mirror: 'Mr Bane is heartbroken over Sarm's disappearance. We certainly understand and empathise with her mother's pain and frustration.
'Mr Bane called 911 immediately upon waking and finding Sarm was not on board. He took his dinghy to shore to meet with VIPD (Virgin Islands Police Department) that night and called the USCG (US Coast Guard) the next day when no-one appeared at his boat. He also had the USCG on his vessel twice following Sarm's disappearance.
'Later Mr Bane and I personally took all of Sarm's belongings to the police, including all of her electronic devices.'
Sarm is described as 5ft 8 Caucasian female of slim build. She has a bright coloured tattoo on her left shoulder featuring a seahorse, bird, butterfly and a pink flower.
A reward for anyone with information that leads to a significant breakthrough in the case is offered and anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Sarm is urged to call Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS.