The family of two Americans who may have been killed after prison escapees allegedly hijacked their yacht in Grenada are clinging to hope the couple might be found alive.
The pair have been identified by their sailing club as Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry, a couple from Virginia who were spending the winter cruising the Eastern Caribbean after sailing their yacht, Simplicity, from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua.
Authorities have yet to confirm the identities of the couple, but police in Grenada have said they have three men back in custody who escaped from prison on February 18 and may have killed two people believed to be US citizens.
Brandel’s son – Nick Buro – told CNN Sunday they were holding out hope the couple might be found safe but evidence on Simplicity suggested violent scenes.
“The boat itself was ransacked and everything was strewn about in the entire cabin so clearly there was an altercation of some type that took place on the boat which does indicate that we are concerned for their safety overall because it does appear that they were likely injured,” he said.
“They were super careful to be safe all the time,” Buro said. “Everywhere they went everything they did, safety was their top, top concern so this unfortunate accident, I think, it came out of nowhere for them.”
Buro said the search effort is ongoing. “As far as we know three suspects are allegedly connected with this horrific event are in custody with the St. Vincent police and are being questioned,” he said.
“We are doing our best to try and get answers to find out what is next in terms of hopefully finding them safely recovered somewhere on the islands,” Nick Buro told CNN Sunday. “But of course from the evidence that’s been found on the boat, we are concerned that there might be a possibility that they aren’t with us.”
Buro said his mother and Hendry were seasoned sailors and had sold their home years ago to buy a boat.
“It was their home. Everything they had, they owned, was on that boat. It was their life,” he said. “Kathy worked her whole life and then retired. Ralph worked in financial services and continued to work from the boat. But really what they did was sell their home, sell their possessions, and bought a boat and choose a lifestyle that most of us would never imagine could be done. And they loved every minute of it and they saw many parts of the world and just lived a life of joy and love.”
This winter was the first time his mother and stepfather had sailed to the Caribbean, Buro said, a trip they had been planning for years.
He said the couple had a strong connection to Virginia’s Christian community and a prayer service been held on Saturday in their honor.
“The outpouring from the boating community, family and friends, their entire church, everything has been overwhelmingly an outpour of emotion, of support and love and care,” Buro told CNN.
In an earlier news release, the Salty Dawg Sailing Association paid tribute to the missing sailors.
“Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry are veteran cruisers and long-time members of the Salty Dawg Sailing Association from its earliest days. Warm hearted and capable, they both contributed to building the SDSA and Kathy sat on the association’s board for two years,” the release said.
The club shared a statement from Brandel’s and Hendry’s family.
“We want to reach out to the entire cruiser community to express our gratitude for everyone that worked to gather information from eyewitnesses and provide search and rescue support. It means so much to us that so many people cared for Ralph and Kathy as friends and fellow cruisers that they are willing to stop and help in whatever way possible,” Nick Buro and Hendry’s son, Bryan Hendry, said in the statement.
The family also called on other sailors and anyone not affiliated with the official investigation to stand down in their searches and thanked the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force and Coast…
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