A married couple who sold their home in Virginia to retire to a life at sea is missing after authorities believe escaped convicts stole their yacht in the Caribbean. News4’s Mauricio Casillas reports.
Three men from Grenada suspected in the disappearance of a U.S. couple whose catamaran was hijacked were ordered deported from St. Vincent on Monday.
The men, Trevon Robertson, a 19-year-old unemployed man; Abita Stanislaus, a 25-year-old farmer and Ron Mitchell, a 30-year-old sailor, had pleaded guilty to immigration charges in a court in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent.
Senior Magistrate Colin John ordered that they be repatriated “as soon as practicable.”
The men had escaped from a police holding cell in Grenada on Feb. 18 and are suspected of hijacking the catamaran while Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel were aboard.
Police have said they believe the couple were thrown overboard as the suspects sailed to St. Vincent, where they were arrested on Feb. 21. They have not been charged in the case.
The investigation is ongoing, with authorities noting there were signs of violence aboard the couple’s boat found abandoned in St. Vincent.
The nonprofit Salty Dawg Sailing Association described Hendry and Brandel as “veteran cruisers” who participated in last year’s Caribbean Rally from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua, and had planned to spend the winter cruising in the eastern Caribbean.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Couple's sons call attack 'unimaginable'
Nick Buro and Bryan Hendry say what happened to their parents, a retired couple who sold their home in Alexandria, Virginia, years ago to be able to spend the rest of their days on Simplicity, is unimaginable.
"This is something that is completely unexpected," Buro said. "And wrapping our brains around it and trying to understand a senseless act of violence against two people while they were just living their lives in their home, essentially, because Simplicity was their home. They didn't have another home ... Having that safety and security taken away from them abruptly and [having] them attacked in where they live, it's just, it's unimaginable."
Brandel and Hendry have been married for 27 years and have spent more than a decade sailing around the world.
“They loved immersing themselves in different cultures and meeting people and spreading their love wherever they could,” Bryan Hendry said.
“You’ll never meet more beautiful people than Kathy and Ralph. They made everybody feel happy and so welcome. They consistently made you feel like you were part of their family,” Buro said.
