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An American couple who had departed from Virginia and were spending the winter cruising in the Caribbean went missing this month while sailing off Grenada, and their boat turned up empty in neighboring St. Vincent and the Grenadines.<\/p>\n
Their disappearance came around the same time three men escaped from a prison in Grenada and made their getaway by boat to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the authorities in those islands said.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Royal Grenada Police Force did not identify the two Americans but said that it was looking into possible harm to them in connection to the prisoners\u2019 escape.<\/p>\n
According to the Salty Dawg Sailing Association<\/a>, a nonprofit that brings together sailing and cruising enthusiasts, a skipper notified it on Feb. 21 that a member\u2019s yacht called Simplicity was found anchored and abandoned off a beach on the southern coast of St. Vincent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The skipper boarded the catamaran and noted that its owners were not onboard, the association\u2019s statement said. The skipper contacted the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard, which then notified the local police.<\/p>\n The missing boat owners were identified as Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathy Brandel, 71, by the association and Ms. Brandel\u2019s son, Nick Buro, who said the couple, originally from Virginia, were married for 27 years.<\/p>\n Mr. Hendry and Ms. Brandel were experienced sailors who lived on their boat. They recently completed their sailing club\u2019s \u201cCaribbean Rally\u201d \u2014 cruising from Hampton, Va., to the island of Antigua to end 2023 with a celebration \u2014 and they were spending the remainder of the winter cruising the Caribbean, according to a statement from the club.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The association said that it had a tracking map to follow members\u2019 boats and that it showed the couple\u2019s boat, Simplicity, was anchored in Grenada before docking off St. Vincent. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard secured the boat and the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force were investigating with the U.S. Embassy and the Royal Grenada Police Force, according to the statement from the association.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Separately, the Royal Grenada Police Force said in a Feb. 22 statement<\/a> that three men who escaped from a prison in Grenada on Feb. 18 made their way to St. Vincent using a yacht that had been docked in the St. George area of Grenada. The force said that the two boat occupants, whom it did not name, were American citizens.<\/p>\n The prisoners were recaptured on Feb. 21, the same day that the couple\u2019s vessel was found.<\/p>\n The Grenada authorities identified the prisoners as Trevon Robertson, 19; Abita Stanislaus, 25; and Ron Mitchell, 30.<\/p>\n They had been previously charged, jointly, in a violent robbery case in December. Mr. Mitchell also faced various separate charges that included causing harm, indecent assault and rape, the Grenada police said.<\/p>\n