Police in Grenada on Monday offered their “condolences” to loved ones of two American boaters “disposed of” at sea by escaped prisoners — while still holding on to a “low probability” of hope the U.S. citizens might be alive.
While Royal Grenada Police Force Commissioner Don McKenzie said Kathy Brandel are Ralph Hendry are now classified as “missing persons,” he struck a decisively pessimistic note in discussing their fate.
Three accused criminals escaped from jail on Feb. 18 before they “commandeered” the couple’s boat, called Simplicity, and headed north, according to McKenzie. Police have said the escapees boarded the boat while it was docked in the St. George area of Grenada.
“They headed to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Information suggests that while traveling between Grenada and St. Vincent, they disposed of the occupants,” McKenzie told reporters.
When asked if investigators have an idea where the “missing” Americans might be, McKenzie flat out said, “no.”
“We have nothing conclusive to say that the individuals are dead,” McKenzie said. “We still hold out hope that, in spite of what might be a low probability, they will turn up alive somewhere, that they’re alive.”
The couple’s sons called the pair’s disappearance “the rarest of the rare occurrences” and are holding onto hope that they’re still alive.
Brandel’s son, Nick Buro, and Hendry’s son, Bryan Hendry, told NBC Washington that they first learned the couple was missing after U.S. consular officials in Barbados contacted them.
A good Samaritan who found the pair’s abandoned boat contacted the Salty Dawg Sailing Association, whose flag was flying on the mast, and word made it to the two sons, too.
They said they were told the couple vanished after three men escaped police custody Feb. 18 and boarded the couple’s boat in Grenada the next day, Buro said.
Buro said they were told an “altercation of violence took place” on the boat, adding that there was evidence of the violence and the couple’s possessions were “strewn around all over.” Items had also been stolen.
“What I can say to the family is my condolences and we are still hoping for what I consider a positive outcome, which is we still have the hope that our worst-case scenario will not be a reality,” McKenzie said.
The Royal Grenada Police Force said Thursday that leads suggest the two people on board may have been killed.
Buro said there is still no sign of the couple’s bodies but said there is an ongoing search for them “with the hope that they are alive. … Hopefully we can find them and bring them home and that’s still where we are.”
The escapees were caught by police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Wednesday, and are in custody there, according to Buro and officials.
Police told Buro that they have questioned the suspects multiple times, and he said the family is expecting charges soon.
Both Buro and Hendry are in the Caribbean and have been speaking with authorities, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines police and Coast Guard, and expressed their appreciation for them.
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said it is aware of the reports involving two citizens missing in the vicinity of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but did not identify the couple. The official added that U.S. authorities are coordinating with local law enforcement officials as they carry out their search efforts.
“We are monitoring the situation and seeking additional information,” the spokesperson said. “The Department of State has no higher priority than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad. We stand ready to provide appropriate assistance to U.S. citizens in need and to their families.”
The Royal Grenada Police Force, the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment confirming the identities of the people on board.
Life on the water
The couple met in Virginia and have been married for 27 years. They raised the boys together in the state, where they lived until 2013, selling their Alexandria home to trade it in for Simplicity and life on the water.
“They wanted to see the world. They wanted to experience life. They wanted to see what the world had to offer outside of their small window of living in one place and being mobile and being able to have a different adventure every day, that’s like the definition of living,” Buro said.
Buro said the family has always been close and they talk often. He considers Ralph Hendry his father and Bryan Hendry his brother, and knows Hendry feels the same way about him and Brandel.
The couple “lived with a sense of wonder and love,” Hendry…
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