At a news conference yesterday, local police stated that the investigation was still ongoing, but they believed the couple from the United States who vanished a week ago when their catamaran was taken over by three fugitive inmates in the Eastern Caribbean are most likely dead.
Commissioner of Grenadian police Don McKenzie stated that the inmates had broken free on February 18 and had taken over a catamaran named Simplicity the next day, which included Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel, two citizens of the United States, on board.
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“Information suggests that while traveling between Grenada and St. Vincent, they disposed of the occupants,” McKenzie noted. Following their boat’s late-night departure from the island at an unusually high pace, the couple was last spotted on the evening of February 18.
He added that three fugitives were apprehended by police on Wednesday in nearby St. Vincent and the Grenadines and that a Grenada team had been sent to assist with, “having a complete and thorough investigation of the matters at hand.”
About 105 kilometers divide the two nations (85 nautical miles). Authorities stated last week that Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 19, and Abita Stanislaus, 25, had been detained at the South Saint George Police Station, close to the southwest tip of the island, on suspicion of violent robbery, when they made their getaway.
They added that Mitchell was also charged with indecent assault, rape, and attempted rape.
In a statement, St. Vincent police stated that they had found the ship abandoned, with objects scattered around the deck and maybe even blood on it.
The suspects entered a guilty plea to four immigration crimes when they appeared in court yesterday, according to the statement. They were remanded into jail with a March 4 sentence date.
Although the couple is believed to be deceased, St. Vincent police superintendent Junior Simmons stated, “The investigation and search for the missing persons continues.”
