A Virginia couple is feared dead after three escaped convicts stole a moored yacht from a marina in the Caribbean and fled to another island.
Ralph Hendry and his wife Kathy Blundell, who live on their yacht Simplicity, were last seen Sunday afternoon by a boating neighbor in the St. George area heading to a restaurant in the island nation of Grenada.
The couple, who lived on a boat during the winter, arrived on the island two weeks ago and had intended to stay for another week before going missing.
“On Sunday, they entered town around 3 p.m. because another boater saw them enter town,” said Suellen Desmarais, Hendry’s sister. he told Fox 5DC. “The other person on the boat noticed they were there when they went to bed, because they’re always aware of who’s around them. And in the morning, the person on the boat noticed they were there. When I woke up, they were gone.”
Hendry and Blundell have been sailing the same route for several years now, sailing from Virginia to Massachusetts, then down to Florida to visit Desmarais, and eventually down to the Caribbean for some island hopping. Ta. According to ABC News.
They said three fugitives, Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 19, and Abita Stanislaus, 25, had “escaped lawful custody” early Sunday. went missing on the same day.
The three men fled from the South St. George Police Station and headed to a marina, from where they fled to another Caribbean island.
“Preliminary information obtained from St. Vincent law enforcement suggests that the three individuals traveled to St. Vincent on a yacht that was anchored in the St. George area,” the statement said.
He was later arrested by authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Wednesday around 4:35 p.m.
“The RGPF is currently investigating clues suggesting that two of the yacht’s occupants may have died in the process,” the Royal Grenada Police Force said. said in a press release.
“It is believed that the yacht’s occupants were American citizens.”
The Royal Grenada Police Force announced that three suspects are being held at South St George Police Station and are suspected of one count of robbery with assault.
Mitchell, a seaman, was also charged with one count of rape, three counts of attempted rape, two counts of indecent assault and assault with bodily harm.
The ship Simplicity found the Good Samaritan anchored off the coast of St. Vincent Island, and when they boarded the ship, they discovered it had been ransacked and “obvious signs of violence were found.” , recovered by authorities.
But Desmarais remains hopeful that the couple is still alive.
“Why would I assume someone is dead without a body or DNA? I want to stay positive. I want to believe they are alive.”
Hendry and Blundell’s two children and Hendry’s nephew traveled to St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday to join the search for the couple, the paper said.
“This investigation is in its early stages and RGPF has dispatched a team of senior investigators and forensic experts to St. Vincent to further this investigation,” the RGPF statement concluded.
