Tragic End Feared for American Couple After Yacht Hijacking in Caribbean

The family of a missing American couple whose yacht was stolen by three escaped prisoners in Grenada remains hopeful that they will be recovered alive, despite official reports that they are most likely dead.

What Happened?

The married pair, Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathy Brandel, 71, of Virginia, were spending the winter traveling the Caribbean on the catamaran Simplicity, according to friends and family. The yacht was discovered anchored and abandoned near a beach on the island of Saint Vincent.

The Salty Dawg Sailing Association, the couple’s sailing organization, said in a statement that a good samaritan who noticed the boat boarded it, “found evidence of apparent violence” and notified authorities.

Timeline of Events

At a news conference on Monday, Royal Grenada Police Commissioner Don McKenzie stated that the three prisoners — Ron Mitchell, 30, Anita Stanislaus, 25, and Trevon Robertson, 19 — escaped from Grenada’s South Saint George Police Station on February 18, hijacked the catamaran on February 19, and fled to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where they were apprehended on February 21.

“Information suggests that while traveling between Grenada and Saint Vincent, they disposed of the occupants,” McKenzie said in a press release. “We have no conclusive evidence that the individuals have died. We still hope that, despite the tiny possibility, they will come up alive somewhere.”

What Were They Doing in the Caribbean?

Hendry and Brandel were experienced sailors who had sailed the yacht from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua and planned to spend the winter cruising in the eastern Caribbean, according to their sailing club.

“This does appear to be a tragic event — our hopes and prayers are with Ralph and Kathy and the family who loves them,” said Bob Osborn, the association’s president, in a statement this weekend. “In all my years of cruising the Caribbean, I have never heard of anything like this.”

According to an annual study from the Caribbean Security Safety Net, documented crimes against boats in the Caribbean are infrequent but increasing. In 2022, the study noted that overall reported crimes increased significantly from the previous year, with “a significant increase in violent crimes,” such as assault and robbery.

What Does Their Family Say?

Relatives of the couple had been hoping they would come up alive.

“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,” Brandel’s son, 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 stated that his mother and Hendry had sold their home in 2013 to purchase the boat.

“This was their home. Everything they had and owned was aboard that boat. “It was their life,” he explained. “[They] chose a lifestyle that most of us would never have thought possible. And they loved every minute of it, traveling all over the world and living a life full of joy and love.”

What Happens Next?

A GoFundMe page set up to generate money for the couple’s family mentioned that Brandel had recently become a first-time grandmother.

has “found immense joy in the presence of her grandson — joy that has now been abruptly taken away,” according to the document.

The campaign has already donated more than $50,000, which will “go towards recovering the vessel and belongings, covering funeral costs, and providing support to the grieving families as they try to comprehend the depth of this tragedy.”