The family of two cruising sailors who have gone missing and are feared dead have asked the cruising community to “stand down” to let local authorities investigate the disappearance of Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel. Also, police issued a statement naming three young men who had escaped from prison in Grenada and apparently sailed to St. Vincent, where Hendry and Brandel’s 48-foot St. Francis catamaran, Simplicity, was found anchored and abandoned off a beach. The three have been recaptured.

“Preliminary information emanating from investigators in St. Vincent suggests that the three men made their way to St. Vincent via a yacht which was docked in the St. George area,” the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGFP) statement said. “The RGPF is currently working on leads that suggest that the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed in the process. It is believed that the occupants of the yacht were American citizens. This investigation is in its infancy stage and the RGPF have dispatched a team of senior investigators and a forensic specialist to St. Vincent in furtherance of this investigation.”

According to the Salty Dawg Sailing Association (SDSA), of which Hendry and Brandel were longtime members, tracking information from the couple’s boat last showed it anchored in Grenada, “and then the boat moved directly to its last anchorage off St. Vincent.”

In a statement the couple’s family issued over the weekend, Bryan Hendry thanked the cruising community and “everyone that worked to gather information from eyewitnesses and provide search and rescue support. It means so much to us that so many people cared for Ralph and Kathy as friends and fellow cruisers that they are willing to stop and help in whatever way possible.

“Thanks to all this input from this community we are able to develop a timeline of events. For the safety of the cruising community, we are asking all cruisers, and anyone that is not affiliated with the officials with presiding jurisdiction, to stand down. The only way we feel this situation could be worse would be if anyone was hurt or endangered trying to conduct searches.”

Bryan Hendry also praised St. Vincent authorities “for their quick actions in securing Simplicity and their brave, swift response that led to the apprehension of three dangerous fugitives. We greatly appreciate the coordination of the St. Vincent and Royal Grenadian Police forces and Coast Guards in investigating these events.”

The Grenada police identified the three prison escapees as Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 19, and Abita Stanislaus, 25. All three are listed from Paradise, a town in the St. Andrews Parish of Grenada. They had been in prison since December, charged with one count of robbery with violence. “Additionally, Ron Mitchell was charged separately with one count of Rape, three counts of Attempted Rape, two counts of Indecent Assault, and Causing Harm. All three men were kept in the holding cell at the South St. George Police Station and escaped lawful custody, on Sunday the 18th of February, 2024,” the police statement said. They were recaptured on Feb. 21 by the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadians Police Force.

On Wednesday, February 21, a cruising sailor notified SDSA Executive Director Tatja Hopman that Simplicity was anchored and abandoned off a beach on the south coast of of St. Vincent. “The good Samaritan had boarded the boat and noted that the owners, Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel, were not onboard and found evidence of apparent violence,” the group said in a statement.

“Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry are veteran cruisers and longtime members of the Salty Dawg Sailing Association from its earliest days. Warm-hearted and capable, they both contributed to building the SDSA, and Kathy sat on the association’s board for two years.” The pair had sailed Simplicity in the 2023 Caribbean Rally from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua and were spending the winter cruising the Eastern Caribbean.

To help family members with the considerable expense of dealing with what has happened and the investigation, friends have established a gofundme fundraiser. Those who wish to help can access it here: gofundme.com/f/kathy-brandel-and-ralph-hendry

The apparent tragedy has shaken the sailing and cruising community. “In all my years of cruising the Caribbean, I have never heard of anything like this,” said SDSA President Bob Osborn. “This is a horrible tragedy.” However, he emphasized that extreme violence like this against cruising sailors is extremely unusual. “This is not common. This was a random act of violence that could happen anywhere.”