A skipper discovered a catamaran on Wednesday off the blue Caribbean coast of St. Vincent — anchored and abandoned — bearing the vestiges of violence.
Hendry and Brandel were last seen on Feb. 18 near white-sanded Grand Anse Beach in Grenada, according to a GoFundMe to raise money for their family.
After the skipper alerted the Coast Guard in St. Vincent of the empty yacht, the agency took possession of the vessel and started an investigation with St. Vincent Police, along with the Royal Grenada Police Force and the U.S. Embassy, authorities said.
Details of what exactly happened remain unclear — but authorities in Grenada say the incident is likely connected to the escape of three men from a prison there. They broke free on the same day the couple was docked nearby. The GoFundMe said when the yacht was found, investigators discovered “chilling evidence of a violent struggle.”
On Thursday, the Royal Grenada Police Force posted on Facebook that the men had fled 80 miles from Grenada to St. Vincent via a stolen catamaran. This is the same path the couple’s yacht took, according to a live tracking map monitored by their sailing club.
“The RGPF is currently working on leads that suggest that the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed in the process,” police said Thursday. “It is believed that the occupants of the yacht were American citizens.”
The men — whose various charges include robbery with violence, rape, indecent assault and causing harm — were recaptured on Wednesday, police in Grenada said. That is the same day Hendry and Brandel’s catamaran was discovered.
On Saturday, the couple’s children, Bryan Hendry and Nick Buro, released a joint statement thanking the community for their help — and asking them to stand down in the search.
“We also want to applaud the St. Vincent authorities for their quick actions … and their brave, swift response that led to the apprehension of three dangerous fugitives,” they said.
In a statement posted on the couple’s sailing club website on Saturday, Salty Dawg Sailing Association president Bob Osborn said that “this does appear to be a tragic event.”
“In all my years of cruising the Caribbean, I have never heard of anything like this,” Osborn said in the statement.
Lifelong adventurers, the couple spent winters at sea and summers in New England. Recently, Brandel had become a grandmother, where — according to the GoFundMe intended to help pay for the couple’s funerals and other costs — she “found immense joy in the presence of her grandson.”
Fellow sailors described them as being “warm-hearted and capable.” Reminiscent of the life they were enjoying in retirement, the couple had the perfect name for their yacht.
Simplicity.
