A Virginia couple is feared dead after their docked yacht was hijacked by escaped prisoners in the Caribbean.
The couple, Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel, live on their yacht during the winter.
Hendry and Brandel were last seen in Grenada’s capital of St. George on Sunday afternoon. They had arrived at the island two weeks ago and planned to stay one more week before leaving to return to Falls Church, according to a report from the New York Post.
The ransacked yacht was located in Saint Vincent, but the American couple was nowhere to be found.
US couple missing in Caribbean after fugitives allegedly steal their yacht: Ralph Hendry and his wife Kathy Brandel disappeared from their yacht, Simplicity, which was docked in the waters of southern Caribbean nation of Grenada, Hendry’s sister, Suellen Desmarais, told ABC. pic.twitter.com/v9zFOSQROX
— Sumner (@renmusb1) February 23, 2024
Fox 5 DC reports that it was “apparent that a violent act took place.”
Three escaped prisoners are now in custody for the hijacking and the couple’s disappearance. They were already facing robbery and rape charges according to the station.
“The men escaped their holding cell on Sunday, Feb. 18. Sometime in between then and Wednesday, investigators believe they made contact with Ralph and Kathy on their boat,” the Fox report explains.
The Royal Grenada Police Force said in a statement they are “working on leads that suggest that the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed in the process. It is believed that the occupants of the yacht were American citizens.”
Ralph Hendry’s sister, Suellen Desmarais, told the station that she is holding out hope that they are alive.
“On Sunday, they went into the town around 3 o’clock because another boater saw them go into town. And then the other boater, when he went to bed, he noticed that they were there cause you always look to see who is around you and in the morning, when the boater woke up they were gone,” Desmarais said. “Why would I presume anyone is dead with no body and DNA? I want to remain positive. I want to believe that they are alive.”
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