Boyfriend of missing Brit Sarm Heslop speaks out in open letter, denying guilt

The boyfriend of missing British yachtswoman Sarm Heslop has broken his silence with a five‑page open letter, denying suggestions that he harmed her and describing the couple as a loving, caring pair the night she disappeared. Ryan Bane, 49, said he has been unfairly vilified and subjected to a "false sense of suspicion" since Heslop vanished from his yacht Siren Song in the U.S. Virgin Islands in March 2021. In the letter addressed to investigative journalists, Bane said he followed his attorney’s advice to hire a lawyer, refused questioning and blocked a forensic search of the boat, arguing his actions were prudent to protect his rights.

The remarks come as a BBC documentary, Missing in Paradise: Searching for Sarm, aired recently and featured newly released CCTV footage that shows Heslop and Bane together six hours before she vanished. The footage, shot on March 7, 2021, shows the couple strolling hand‑in‑hand along a dockside in St John before boarding a dinghy and heading back to Siren Song. The documentary also highlighted the last sighting of Heslop alive on the vessel that night, according to those familiar with the case.

In the letter, Bane said the CCTV footage corroborates his memory of a calm, affectionate night with Heslop. He is quoted as saying, "The CCTV shows Sarm and me as a loving, caring couple on the night she disappeared. We are seen hand‑in‑hand, affectionate and relaxed." He also described his alarm at waking to the vessel’s anchor alarm around 2 a.m. before discovering she was missing, and said he reported her missing to police at about 2:30 a.m., then waited nine hours before contacting the U.S. Coast Guard.

Bane’s letter argued that the case has suffered from serious gaps in the official handling of the investigation, including the 911 call and the absence of an initial police report, which he said created open holes in the official record that have fueled speculation ever since. He said he would not release material uncovered by a private investigator he hired, citing concerns that disclosure could hinder the investigation, though he acknowledged the information might be sensitive.

The public discussion of Bane’s past returned to the foreground, with court records showing he was convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense against his ex‑wife, Cori Stevenson, in 2011 and sentenced to 60 days in jail. Stevenson, who divorced him in 2014, has previously sought protective orders that were denied. Bane acknowledged the conviction but insisted, for Heslop’s sake, that he did not harm or murder her. His ex‑wife, in turn, told The Times that his focus is on clearing his name rather than helping find Sarm and described the abuse she says she endured as a defining, painful period of her life.

Among the ongoing questions is how authorities have described Bane in the inquiry. He has criticized reporting that labeled him a "person of interest," arguing that the term carries no legal weight and has no standing in court. He contends that omitting the nuance of such terminology worsens public misunderstanding while noting that the label has not led to formal charges.

Heslop’s mother, Brenda Street, has publicly pressed for greater accountability. Street has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene and press for a properly conducted investigation, including a forensic search of the yacht. Speaking to The Mirror, Street said she believes Trump could help push the investigation forward and urged Bane to cooperate fully, adding that if his conscience were clear, he would provide a minute‑by‑minute account.

Authorities have not charged Bane or publicly named him as a suspect in Heslop’s disappearance, and the case remains unresolved nearly four years after she vanished. The BBC documentary defended its reporting as rigorous and in line with editorial standards, while Heslop’s family continues to seek answers through conventional investigative channels and public appeals. The public record remains incomplete, and investigators say the case requires further examination of all physical and digital evidence to determine what happened on the night of March 7–8, 2021, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.