FIND SARM: CCTV SPOTS MISSING STEWARDESS BEFORE VANISHING OFF YACHT

Summary

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: "FIND SARM: CCTV SPOTS MISSING STEWARDESS BEFORE VANISHING OFF YACHT"

Date: November 28, 2025
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
Host: Nancy Grace

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Episode Overview

Nancy Grace investigates the mysterious disappearance of Sarm Heslop, a British former flight attendant turned yacht crew member, who vanished from her boyfriend's catamaran in the US Virgin Islands. Centering on the newly released CCTV footage, she scrutinizes the last known hours of Sarm’s life, the inconsistencies in the boyfriend’s story, and the troubling gaps in the search and investigation. The episode features interviews with Sarm’s friends, her former roommate, and a disaster response coordinator, as they dissect the available facts, raise critical questions, and spotlight missing pieces in the timeline.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Background: Who is Sarm Heslop?

• Sarm: Adventurous, loved travel, worked various jobs (flight attendant, waitress) to fund her adventures (10:46).
• Described by friends as loyal, street-smart, and meticulous (12:42, 14:07).
• Moved to the Virgin Islands for yacht work and relationship with Ryan Bain (15:39).

2. Timeline of Disappearance

• March 7: Sarm and boyfriend Ryan Bain went to dinner on St. John (17:10).
• CCTV shows them walking together, Sarm in clothes different than later reported (03:55, 33:23).
• They board the dinghy to return to Bain’s yacht, Siren Song, moored about 200 feet offshore (17:32).
• Bain claims Sarm was asleep by 10pm; he awoke at 2:30am to find her missing (17:32).
• Bain reported her missing to local police, but delays notifying Coast Guard until nearly 12 hours later (18:00).

3. The Investigation & Search

• Immediate search efforts: shoreline, scuba, drones—NO physical evidence found (03:55, 31:20).
• Sarm’s wallet, passport, and phone left on the boat (31:20).
• Bain reportedly did not permit police or Coast Guard to conduct a full search on board (18:28, 37:59).
• Boat captains nearby “heard nothing,” weren’t alerted, no shouts for help or flare usage (23:39, 26:39).

4. Critical Questions & Inconsistencies

• Wardrobe discrepancy: CCTV shows Sarm in different clothes than what Bain described; missing black dress never returned to family (33:23, 34:03).
  • Nancy: “Why were we told by Bain…that she’s wearing a black dress when clearly that’s not what she’s wearing?” (34:03)
• Delayed Reporting: Bain delayed contacting Coast Guard by nearly 10 hours (18:00).
  • Kate Vernals: “He didn’t even get on the radio…He didn’t set off any flares. He didn’t even call her name.” (19:46)
• Lack of Emergency Action: No evidence Bain attempted to wake neighboring yachts or conduct a search (26:39, 27:54).
  • Andrew Baldwin: “If it was my loved one…I would be screaming, I would be shouting, I would be calling for help.” (26:39)
• Personal effects left behind: Impossible Sarm would have left intentionally without her ID, wallet, or phone (32:27).
  • Andrew Baldwin: “She wouldn't have left those items in the first place...She would never get off the boat...not willingly.” (32:27)
• Bain's behavior: Refusal to allow boat search, invocation of legal rights, subsequent silence, and sale of the yacht (37:59, 38:16).
• Prior Domestic Incident: Bain’s ex-wife stated he was violent; he was previously arrested for domestic assault (38:53).

5. Friends' and Family’s Perspectives

• Both Andrew Baldwin and Kate Vernals reject theories that Sarm left the yacht or fell overboard (09:36, 09:55).
• They are frustrated by Bain’s silence and lack of cooperation; question his motives and credibility (19:27, 41:54).
  • Kate: “If you haven’t done anything wrong, then just speak to the police and tell them what you know.” (43:41)

6. Troubling Aftermath

• Bain leaves the Virgin Islands weeks after Sarm’s disappearance, replaces major yacht fixtures, removes yacht's name, and sells the catamaran (38:16).
• Bain issues a public open letter focusing on his vilification, but gives no new actionable insight (42:37, 45:03).
  • Nancy: “If he has facts that are unknown to everyone else, let’s hear them.” (45:03)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Sarm’s Adventurous Spirit and Travel

“She just loved new experiences, you know, Nancy, she loved to meet people. She loved new cultures, new destinations. She liked to do things that perhaps some of us just wouldn't do.”
— Andrew Baldwin (10:51)

“This girl was scrubbed in sunshine. She loved life. And I don't like those insinuations about her.”
— Nancy Grace (11:30)

The Immediate Aftermath and Missing Person Report

“We initially the first six days spent a lot of time in small craft searching shoreline, scuba diving, snorkeling…We found nothing…not clothing, not, not shoes, not, an unusual broken twig.”
— Jeff Jones (03:55)

Problems with the Boyfriend’s Behavior

“I've got a problem with him not allowing them on board. If he wants to find Sarm, why wouldn't he allow them on board the yacht?”
— Nancy Grace (18:28)

“He didn't even get in his dinghy to go looking for her. He gets in his dinghy to go to shore to speak to the police. But then he just comes straight back. There's no evidence of him reaching out to anybody else to ask for help to search for Sarm.”
— Kate Vernals (19:46)

“He…refused them the [Coast Guard and Police] mention to the main area of the boat because he was intoxicated and they didn't want to put themselves in any risk.”
— Andrew Baldwin (18:38)

“It's not acceptable that the answer would be well she might have gone to shore to have drinks with friends. If she did that then she would have had to swum to shore. It was Covid there was a curfew ...There is no logical explanation to delay calling the Coast Guard by nine hours unless you are waiting for something to something else to happen..."
— Kate Vernals (27:57)

The Black Dress and Timeline Issue

“Why were we told by Bain, the boyfriend, that she's wearing a black dress when clearly that's not what she's wearing?...So where's the black dress and why the wardrobe change? Or is it all a big lie?”
— Nancy Grace (34:03)

Critical Reflection on Silence

“…Hell would freeze over before I would stay silent while my husband is missing. But that is what happened.”
— Nancy Grace (36:41)

“If you haven't done anything wrong, then just speak to the police and tell them what you know.”
— Kate Vernals (43:41)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:55]: First search, lack of evidence, initial footage revealed.
• [06:10] – [12:42]: Friends and roommate speak about Sarm’s character and adventurous spirit.
• [15:21] – [17:32]: Recap of Sarm’s relationship with Bain, timeline of night she vanished.
• [18:00] – [19:46]: Bain’s delayed call to Coast Guard; refusal of on-boat search.
• [23:39] – [26:39]: Nearby boat captains not alerted, no search noises, critical gap.
• [31:20] – [32:53]: Sarm’s belongings left on the yacht, theory she went to town debunked.
• [33:23] – [36:41]: The missing black dress and inconsistency in boyfriend’s statements.
• [37:59] – [38:16]: Bain invokes legal rights, leaves islands, sells the yacht.
• [38:53]: Bain’s domestic violence history revealed.
• [41:54] – [45:03]: Bain resumes communication only to defend himself in a public letter.

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Tone and Language

Nancy Grace’s style is urgent, confrontational, and undeterred, pressing guests for specifics, dissecting inconsistencies, and calling out behavior she finds suspicious. The friends and family speak with both heartbreak and frustration, emphasizing Sarm's reliability, the implausibility of the accidental-overboard theory, and their confusion at Bain's actions. The episode is direct yet compassionate toward the victim.

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Conclusion

Nancy Grace’s investigation highlights troubling contradictions in the disappearance of Sarm Heslop, focusing especially on her boyfriend’s behavior and the stalling of investigative efforts. With thoughtful testimony from people close to Sarm and damning gaps in the timeline raised by disaster response experts, the episode calls for renewed scrutiny—and information from the public—to break the silence surrounding her fate. Listeners are explicitly urged to contact authorities with any tips (800-222-8477).

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For further listening:

• Missing in Paradise: Searching for Sarm (BBC Select, referenced at 17:04)

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This summary provides a comprehensive breakdown, focusing on the detailed timeline, critical questions, key statements, and ongoing call for justice for Sarm Heslop as featured on Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Transcript

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[Kate Vernals]

Grace.

[Nancy Grace]

Help us find Sarm chilling closed circuit TV spots the missing flight attendant just before she vanishes off her boyfriend's yacht. Good evening, I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

A young woman with a love for adventure spent her days sailing the beautiful waters of the Virgin Islands, working in the glamorous world of luxury yachts. She had once been a flight attendant driven by her desire to explore the globe until her journey came to an unexpected halt.

[Nancy Grace]

Where is Sarm? Let's start at the beginning.

[Jeff Jones]

We began the search initially that the day we became aware that she went missing that Monday afternoon. We initially the first six days spent a lot of time in small craft searching shoreline, scuba diving, snorkeling, and transitioned to a ground search using volunteers on foot, searching the terrain in heavy, heavy bush as well as along rough reef rocks. Using drones taking those maps that we've created from the drone imagery and entered into the software, it stitches all those together and makes a very high resolution map. We found nothing. We found no evidence of anything, not clothing, not, not shoes, not a, not an unusual broken twig.

[Nancy Grace]

So where is Sarum Heslop in the last days, previously buried closed circuit TV reveals her last moments where she was known alive. Newly released footage just before her disappearance. Joining me, an all star panel. But first, there, there's the footage. Guys, look at that. And there's a very, very disturbing clue about that because apparently she's wearing this is just before she goes missing. There she is walking along with the boyfriend. She's wearing something altogether different in this closed circuit video than what she was described as wearing when she goes missing. Shortly after this very chilling closed circuit TV video. That's Saram Haslop video right there. They're getting in a dinghy and they're heading out to the boyfriend's yacht. That's got to be excruciating for her family to feel so close to her in this video. And then it all ends just before she seemingly vanishes into thin air again. An all star panel joining us tonight. But I want to go to two very special guests.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

First.

[Nancy Grace]

First it's Kate Vernals, former roommate with Sarm Heslop and Andrew Baldwin, a very dear friend for years and years. Andrew, thank you for being with us tonight. When did you learn that Sarm was missing?

[Andrew Baldwin]

I got a, I got a call from Kate Owen. It was the day after that she went missing. So kind of, kind of nearly 36 hours after I got a frantic call from Kate and all she said was, you know, and I remember the words, they still chill me. Now Sam's missing and we don't know where she is. It just come out of the blue.

[Nancy Grace]

Andrew Baldwin, I don't understand. The night that you learn your dear friend of many, many years has just vanished. What were you told, if anything as to what happened to her?

[Andrew Baldwin]

Initially I was just told that she was, she's, she was missing. Kate Owen at the time had just had a call from Ryan Bain to say that she'd gone missing the previous, the previous night. So it was kind of 24 hours after she'd gone missing and literally said she'd gone missing in the middle of the night. They didn't know where she was. Talked about an anchor alarm, talked about people searching, but they were very, very few details. And subsequent to that I had a conversation with Ryan Bain.

[Nancy Grace]

You spoke to the boyfriend, the so called boyfriend, Ryan Bain, is that correct, Andrew?

[Andrew Baldwin]

Yes, that's correct. Just after the call from Kate.

[Nancy Grace]

So I find it really difficult to believe that this is, this is how it goes down. We've seen the newly released closed circuit TV video and he, Ryan bang. The so called boyfriend is walking with Sarm. They had been in the town, they were leaving, I believe they'd been to a restaurant slash bar. They were going back to his yacht and then some. I mean the yachts, it's not that big. There are not that many rooms to look in. So they're on a yacht and she vanishes off the yacht in the middle of the night. Andrew. What? The dinghy was still there. So where did she go?

[Andrew Baldwin]

That's exactly what we're asking ourselves. You know, the information we got that she just disappeared, there was an original. Maybe she went off somewhere, maybe she met some friends. But it was late, it was during COVID We, you know, I think that's highly unlikely. All her belongings were on the boat and the Put him up, please.

[Nancy Grace]

I need to ask him a question. Andrew. I'm sorry. That doesn't make sense to me. What do you mean she went off with friends? She gets on the dinghy with the boyfriend. They go to his yacht. They disembark the dinghy, they get on the yacht. The dinghy's tied to the yacht. When the boyfriend wakes up, the dinghy's still there.

[Andrew Baldwin]

Right.

[Nancy Grace]

So what, does somebody beam her up? Scotty, I mean, what do you mean she went somewhere with friends? That's impossible. She did not leave the yacht.

[Andrew Baldwin]

No, I think we never. You know, that was something that kind of. Oh, maybe she. Maybe she went off. Maybe someone picked her up. Maybe she went to. Went and met someone. But there was. She didn't know that many people on the island, and all the people that she knew wouldn't have done that. So find that really hard to believe. And kind of the thing that come that was suggested was that she'd fallen off the boat and drifted away.

[Nancy Grace]

Fallen off the boat and drifted away. I'd like. Can I go now to Kate Vernal's former roommate of Sarm's. Kate fell off the boat and drifted away.

[Kate Vernals]

I think from the outset, it was just a ridiculous theory. Sarm had sailed across the Atlantic and not fallen overboard. So to suggest that she had fallen overboard in the middle of the night on a yacht that was moored so close to shore just seems absolutely impossible and ridiculous.

[Nancy Grace]

First of all, I want to figure out, how in the hay did this beautiful, young, brilliant woman end up on a yacht out in the middle of the ocean with her family a world away?

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

Listen, Sarm Heslop has a restless sense of adventure and works various jobs to fund her passion for travel and sailing. While working as a flight attendant for flybe in the uk a waitress in Gibraltar and Malta, even working in a call center to fund her exotic adventures.

[Nancy Grace]

She's adventuresome. She works all over the world. Tell me about that Andrea Baldwin.

[Andrew Baldwin]

She just loved new experiences, you know, Nancy, she loved to meet people. She loved new cultures, new destinations. She liked to do things that perhaps some of us just wouldn't do. I remember her calling me and saying that she was sailing across the Atlantic on a yacht. I just, you know, no one would do that or no one would think about doing that, but she would do things that enriched her life and enriched, you know, what she was doing and got great experience. She wasn't someone who wanted to settle down 9 to 5. She just wanted to see everything that the world had to Offer her. And she did.

[Nancy Grace]

You know, I really don't like Andrew when people suggest that she asked for bad fortune because she traveled the world and did adventurous things. If a man did that, nobody would think twice. I remember asking my now husband, learn to dive with me. Let's go all over the world and dive. He didn't want to. He wanted to stay in his office. And he did. I didn't. And I ended up going all over the world diving. Now I don't want my children to do it because it's incredibly dangerous. And once I had them, Andrew, I swore it off. I've never done it again because it's too important to me that I am with them to bring them up or hiking. I said, david, please go hiking with me. No, didn't want to take off work. And I don't fault him. I even married him. But my point is, just because she is adventurous, I don't like the insinuations made about her. This girl was scrubbed in sunshine. She loved life. And I don't like those insinuations about her. Andrew.

[Andrew Baldwin]

The thing about SAHM was she was so loyal. She was a friend that if you wanted something or you needed to speak to someone or she'd be there for you, she'd be there at the end of the phone, she'd be there. She was such a loyal, trustworthy person. She. She traveled safe. She was very street savvy. She was very conscious of the world around her, conscious of how to travel safe, how to meet people safely, how to kind of traveling around the world. You know, she was very, very smart. So she would not do anything that she felt that would be dangerous to her and she would take advice. So, you know, I completely refute any insinuation that she shouldn't have been traveling. And I agree, if, if I wanted to go traveling or do anything, no one would say anything. This, this wonderful woman that we call our. Our friend just did things that she wanted to do and live her life the way she wanted to do it, and no one should blame her for that.

[Nancy Grace]

You're preaching to the choir, Andrew Baldwin. To Kate Vernals, her roommate. Kate, I assume you agree with me. I do not like the insinuation that somehow because she traveled the world and wanted to see it all and do it all and experience it all, that that somehow makes her a big hoe. I don't get that. Nothing could be further from the truth.

[Kate Vernals]

No, I agree with you completely. I think watching her go on all these adventurous and being headstrong but spontaneous. She was really meticulous. She would organize down to the last, to the last point. And I always was excited for her. And I think she should be praised for not conforming to a 9 to 5, to actually doing what we all dream to do by going on holiday once a year. That was what she just wanted to do with her life. I don't think anyone should be put down for wanting to have a fun life. Is it jealousy? Maybe? You know, this is a young woman who's living the life that she wants to live and not conforming to a 9 to 5. I was always in support of her traveling. We would always stay in communication and she would always come back, you know, and then save up to go away again. Where's. Why is that wrong? You know, I think it's something we all want to do, but we just do for two weeks of a year to go on holiday rather than making it how we want to look back on our lives.

[Nancy Grace]

And she was working. She worked the entire time. Enter the boyfriend, Ryan Bain. Listen.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

Saar meets Ryan Bain online and becomes close enough. She moves to the Virgin Islands and joins Bain on board his 47 foot luxury catamaran Siren Song as a chef. The Siren Song is a working charter yacht available for private charge and is moored in a bay off the western coast of St. John, U.S. virgin Islands.

[Nancy Grace]

Andrew, what was her plan? She meets Bain online. Does she fall in love with him? Is that what happened?

[Andrew Baldwin]

Yeah, I think Simon, Brian met when Sam was in the Caribbean and they formed a relationship and you know, she was really open about that and she was excited about it. Then she, her travel was over and she moved back to Malta to some friends and she worked in Malta to fund more of her trips, like we've already said, to fund more and to do more adventures. And I think the calling that, you know, she, she kind of realized being a part that actually I want to give, give this relationship a go. I want to, I want to go back and I want to, but I want to go back on my terms. I want to go back and, and fund myself. I want to be working. I don't want to, I don't want to go back and just be a girlfriend. I want to go back and work and I want to pursue a career and work, work in this, in this business.

[Kate Vernals]

People would describe SAHM as a free spirit, adventurous, sarcastic, bonkers. So that is our boat. Hi, guys.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

Love you.

[Kate Vernals]

I had a missed call on my phone. Psalms missing.

[Podcast Host]

Massive search and rescue operation is underway for a British former Flight attendant While sailing around the Caribbean, Sam Heslop vanished.

[Nancy Grace]

That from Missing in Paradise. Searching for Sarm. Now available to US Audiences on BBC Select.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

Living on board the Siren Song called the Virgin Islands premier luxury sailing charter, Sarm is living her best life. On the evening of March 7th, Sarm and Bane go to the island of St. John for dinner. Leaving the restaurant, they board a small dinghy for the 200 foot hop to where Siren Song is moored offshore. Bain says Sarm is asleep by 10pm.

[Nancy Grace]

200Ft, that's not far at all. But from what we've been told, the depth goes from about 4 to 5ft. And then after you're out, just a very short distance, it drops to 40 or 50ft. So here we go. 2:30am he wakes up and discovers he can't find Sarm. What else happened?

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

At 2:30am Bain awakens but can't find Sarm. He takes a dinghy to the shore to report her missing to island police, suggesting she may have fallen overboard. Police tell him to call the Coast Guard. Bain does not notify the Coast Guard immediately for reasons unknown. He waits until 11:45 to notify the Coast Guard that Sarm is missing. When Coast Guard officials arrive at an intoxicated. Bain refuses to allow them to board the catamaran to conduct a search.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, right there, Andrew. I've got a problem with him not allowing them on board. If he wants to find Sarm, why wouldn't he allow them on board the yacht?

[Andrew Baldwin]

I mean, we've got a problem. This is where our problems begin with the timeline. The timeline is where the problems begin. You know, the call to the police, the meeting of the police, and then nine hours pass before the call, the call to the Coast Guards and nine hours of time where she was still missing. Wherever. Wherever she was and the, you know, the reports from the Coast Guard that were obtained on a quite clean state that the coast guard and the U.S. virgin Island Police wanted to come on board the boat and potentially search the boat. And he refused them the mention to the main area of the boat because he was intoxicated and they didn't want to put themselves in any risk, any danger at that point. She was missing that point. We didn't know what was happening. So they didn't want to put themselves in any danger, so they left.

[Nancy Grace]

Kate Vernold, the roommate of Sarum Heslop, the long delay. Have you ever spoken to Bain, the boyfriend, and asked why did you wait nearly 10 hours to get the Coast Guard?

[Kate Vernals]

No. Andrew is Sam's only friend who's spoken to Ryan with the exception of Kate Owen. It would be my first and maybe only question to ask Ryan if I had the opportunity because Sam, he woke up, saw Sam wasn't there. He went to shore. He spoke to the police. He was told to come back to the boat to call the Coast Guard. But he didn't call the Coast Guard. He didn't even get on the radio. There's a continuously monitored channel on the radio frequency that is monitored by the Coast Guard. That didn't happen. He didn't set off any flares. He didn't even call her name. If you speak to the other two captains of the neighboring vessels, they didn't hear anything that night. So he doesn't even get in his dinghy to go looking for her. He gets in his dinghy to go to shore to speak to the police. But then he just comes straight back. There's no evidence of him reaching out to anybody else to ask for help to search for sahm.

[Nancy Grace]

Andrew Baldwin, did you ask Bain anything about the delay at that point?

[Andrew Baldwin]

I spoke to him probably in the immediacy that I was called on kind of the second day and then I think I spoke to him twice. And at that point we didn't know any of this. We only knew that the wording I got from Brian Bain was I'm out searching, I'm looking for her, I'm out on the boat. We're doing everything we can. We're getting loads of people searching for her. We had no idea at this point of this timeline and what happened. So you know, that only come out kind of in the weeks after she went missing that we found out about this gap and by which point he was not talking, he was not communicating, he wasn't answering messages. He had his lawyer and therefore there was been no opportunity I think after that point to ask him any questions.

[Nancy Grace]

Joining us now from ASAR Disaster Area Response Team, Jeff Jones. Jeff, when did you first get to the scene?

[Jeff Jones]

I was initially on scene the next morning beginning to do scuba diving as well as shoreline based search with small craft throughout Frank Bay. That next morning. There were two vessels in that bay. But I spoke to one captain myself who was there the night that she allegedly was missing it around 2am when Mr. Bain noticed her gone. And that vessel was about 100 to 120ft to the northwest in that same mooring area in Frank Bay.

[Nancy Grace]

The same mooring area there in Frank Bay. And you know, Jeff, you're stating that you spoke to the captain who was there that night.

[Jeff Jones]

I spoke to a captain who was there the night she went missing. He actually came into that bay Sunday morning and it dropped anchor about 100 to 120ft away from the siren song and he was there overnight on that vessel. He's also a term charter captain with another catamaran for hire and he saw nothing, heard nothing, and was unaware of any unusual foul play till the next day when the Coast Guard showed up.

[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. That's a lot of time. Andrew Baldwin for the captains on vessels around Bain, they had no idea anything was wrong. None of them were alerted by him. There wasn't a siren, nothing. I mean, we've all seen those boat horns that are incredibly loud. Why didn't he call out on those two to the boats, the vessels around him asking for help, asking them to look for sarm. They knew nothing until the Coast Guard pulls up the next day. Essentially.

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[Andrew Baldwin]

Yeah, I mean that's what's come out. You know, we knew there were two boats close so we kind of all assumed that, you know, like any search, so you would be speaking to the boats, asking for their assistance, putting lights in the water. If she had fallen off, like there was an assumption, then you would be shouting her name. You'd be, he had a dinghy, could have bang on the side of the boat, he could have called her name and shouted. We've seen interviews with both captains, both captains independently, and both captains stated they woke up that morning and there was nothing different than any other morning. They woke up, siren song was quiet, there was nothing going on, there was no one shouting, there was no one looking, there wasn't someone screaming. There was nothing happening on that boat. In the first thing in the morning, she went missing. So what was going on? What was he doing? Like waiting to pick up the phone, you know, what would you. If it was my loved one, my family, any of my friends, I would be making, I would be screaming, I would be shouting, I would be calling for help. The boats were 100ft away, maybe 200ft away. They would have. If you did, they'd have shouted. If Ryan Bain had shouted they would have heard him and they said that and they're both both experienced captains. They would have heard him say something and he said nothing to those boats.

[Nancy Grace]

What about it to you Cape Vernals? What do you make of it?

[Kate Vernals]

I just think there's a lot of contradiction happening. The story from the captain of the siren song differs completely from the story given by the captains of the two mooring boats. As Andrew said, they both woke up the next morning. It was a calm morning, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary and both captains of the other vessels confirmed that if they, if he had set off a flare, if he had have shouted her name even it would have woken them up, it would have alerted them and they would have helped search. So there is a reason that only he knows why he didn't call the Coast Guard on the phone, he didn't call them on the radio, he didn't shout for help and it's not acceptable that the answer would be well she might have gone to shore to have drinks with friends. If she did that then she would have had to swum to shore. It was Covid there was a curfew. From what she told us that all the bars and restaurants closed at 10pm so there is no logical explanation to delay calling the Coast Guard by nine hours unless you are waiting for something to something else to happen for a suitable time to pass. Maybe he went back to the boat and he fell asleep. None of it is excusable, but none of it is acceptable as a reason not to call the Coast Guard.

[Nancy Grace]

And of course there is the little town there. Back to Jeff Jones joining us from a SAR disaster area response team. What can you tell me about how far the yacht was moored from the town and what about the town itself?

[Jeff Jones]

I would say between 140 to 160ft and it's just around the corner from Cruise Bay. Cruise Bay is our local town from Cruise Bay which is the city center so to speak for our island here on St. John. It's where all the bars, restaurants, shopping, the water sports, the dive shops, everything's located at. It's maybe a three minute walk from there, just around the corner in another bay called Frank Bay.

[Nancy Grace]

So very, very close. But the issue is what are we supposed to believe that she jumped into the water and swam ashore? I mean tell me about the underwater terrain Jeff.

[Jeff Jones]

Where it's at exactly is probably between 15 to 20ft deep but within 50ft it gets into 5 foot of water. It's A very, very clear bay that's primarily sandy bottom with some rocks and reef and bald. But for the most part, it's a pretty shallow bay. Most of all of our waters down in the Caribbean are shallow. When we initially began doing our grid search patterns, we were doing them in small craft trying to cover the most amount of area quickly. And we were. Most of that was done, you know, visually above the water because the water is so clear. At the next day, we were doing dives in 40 to 50 foot of water. We could see, you know, visibility 40, 50 foot deep easily.

[Nancy Grace]

You know, I'm also curious and I'm going to throw this to Andrew and Kate. I want you to hear what she left behind on her boyfriend's yacht.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

Sarm's phone, wallet and passport were left behind on the boat and are turned over to police. An intensive search of the coastline begins with dogs on shore, divers in the water, and drones overhead as word spreads of the missing woman. A local dog walker on St. John says they heard a scream out at sea in the direction of where the catamaran was anchored around the time of Sarm's disappearance.

[Nancy Grace]

So one person hears a scream, they think they don't know where it came from. I'm also intrigued. Andrew Baldwin. Okay, suspicious. Her wallet, her phone, her passport, all still on the yacht. So that completely destroys the theory that she went back in town somehow. What? Swam and went back into town even though everything was closed during COVID Dripping wet and, uh, oh, she forgot her wallet, her credit cards, her id, her passport. So she couldn't get anything to eat, she couldn't get anything to drink. She's dripping wet. Help me out.

[Andrew Baldwin]

She wouldn't have left those items in the first place. And you know, she definitely wouldn't have gone swimming. She's savvy. She wouldn't be swimming at night. You know, Kate Owen, who traveled with her, they were really, really clear. You don't swim at night in the Caribbean on your own. You don't swim on your own. You need to tell us where you are. There's no reason why she would leave those things. She wouldn't leave those things. She would never get off the boat. Leaving her phone, her id, her wallet, not willingly.

[Nancy Grace]

What about it? Kate Vernals?

[Kate Vernals]

Yeah, I think it's ridiculous to suggest that she went to shore and left everything. Yeah, you can have the watertight bags, but she wouldn't swim to shore and leave everything there. It's her passport, her iPad, her phone, her wallet. The suggestion that she went to shore after Seeing that those things were left on the boat is just another statement that doesn't ring true to anyone. I don't think that that would be a viable thing that anyone would do.

[Nancy Grace]

In the last weeks, newly released CCTV closed circuit TV footage has revealed what I consider to be a very critical clue.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

Listen, the family complains about the CCTV footage they are shown by police, not just because they don't get to see all of it, but the clothing she is wearing in the footage is not what she is described as wearing. According to the last witness to see her, it stated that Sarm was wearing a black dress with flowers on it. But in the CCTV footage, she is wearing a top with either shorts or a skirt. The black dress was also not among items returned to the family after she vanished.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, that is a very big issue. Why were we told by Bane, the boyfriend that she's wearing a black dress when clearly that's not what she's wearing? She's not wearing that, and that very same black dress was not amongst the items, her clothing and all of her possessions that were returned to the family after she disappeared. So where's the black dress and why the wardrobe change? Or is it all a big lie? Andrew Baldwin. Do you see the significance of this?

[Andrew Baldwin]

We've never really been able to get to the root, the crux of that issue because I think he said that very early on about the clothing. And obviously no one's been able to question him or ask him questions about that point because he's now not talking. And that's just something that he could clear up. Maybe there's an explanation, I don't know. But the fact that you're not talking means you can't clear up anything.

[Nancy Grace]

Kate Vernal's joining us from a roommate of Sarms. What do you make of the missing black dress and the alleged wardrobe change in the middle of the night?

[Kate Vernals]

I think it's possible that after the CCTV footage, she goes back to the boat and she gets changed. That could very well be the reason that Ryan says that that's what she's wearing.

[Nancy Grace]

I'm sorry. No, wait, Kate, you're gonna have to help me with your timeline because we see them on the footage going back to the dinghy, getting on the dinghy, which is going to take them back to his yacht. He says they went to sleep at 10pm so change clothes into a black cocktail dress. For what? And when, I mean, we see them, they've gone out to dinner and it's dark, they're Heading back to the yacht. And when was she supposed to change clothes and for what? And where's the black dress?

[Kate Vernals]

Yeah, no one knows where this black dress is or where the suggestion of a black dress even came from. That is literally Ryan's word against anyone's. And as you can see from the CCTV footage, she's not wearing a black dress. So is it a mistake that he made when he described what she was wearing when she went missing? Or perhaps it is just a Freudian slip. I have no idea where the black dress is. We wasn't in her belongings when they were returned by the police. So it's just another one of those little trip ups. That does fit in.

[Nancy Grace]

Kate, I appreciate your phraseology, but some would say. Boyfriend. Bain, why are you lying? She's clearly not wearing a black dress. According to you, Bain, you leave dinner, you get on the dinghy, you go to the yacht and then you're asleep very shortly after that at 10:00pm that's his words, not mine. So why the wardrobe change? You don't remember what she was wearing that night a couple of hours before? Yeah, see, I've got a problem with that. But that said, I've got another problem. When your beloved goes missing and instead of talking to police, you claim the Fifth Amendment, okay, the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Now, judges instruct juries, you are not to consider or note that a suspect chooses to remain silent. And take the Fifth Amendment. That's neither here nor there. But look around everybody. We're not in court, we can comment. And hell would freeze over before I would stay silent while my husband is missing. But that is what happened. Listen.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

Bain's actions during the investigation have come under scrutiny from Sarm's family. Bain claims his lawyer advises him to use his Fourth Amendment right to prevent a full forensic search of his yacht. And. And when police tried to question him, he invokes his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

[Nancy Grace]

And he takes off.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

Bane leaves the Virgin Islands five weeks after SARM's disappearance, while the search is ongoing, and sets sail for Grenada, where he replaces the refrigerator in the siren song. Bain then removes the name from the luxury catamaran and sells it for around a quarter of a million dollars.

[Nancy Grace]

And more dark clouds on the horizon when Bain's ex wife, Corey Stevenson, weighs in. Crime stories with Nancy Grace.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser / Narrator]

With the disappearance of Sarm, Bane's ex wife, Corey Stevenson publicly states he was violent during their marriage and he was even arrested on domestic assault charges against her that landed him in jail.

[Nancy Grace]

None of this bodes well, Andrew Baldwin has the boyfriend Time for a sofa.

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[Nancy Grace]

Shop [e-mail] Bane just completely dropped off the map. It's like Sarm never existed.

[Andrew Baldwin]

He did, you know, he, he. The only person that was talking on his behalf of it was his lawyer. So we weren't able to. The police weren't able to answer any questions. And, you know, and I don't know the US Legal system, but why couldn't he answer questions with the lawyer there? Why couldn't he? You know, I don't think the police were saying, look, you're under arrest. We just want to know what you know. And he didn't even answer those questions. It's only been more recently that he has come out on social media with some, some information that he wanted to share, some information that there's more about poking holes in the investigation from his side.

[Nancy Grace]

And what would that be? Andrew Baldwin, that he has shared recently.

[Andrew Baldwin]

So he said an open letter that kind of talks about things that he thinks that that could have happened, that talks about Psalm and Which talks about Cato in which. Which suggests, you know, kind of puts up a defense and says, you know, everyone that's talking about him is only looking at one side. They're not looking at his side and then asking him, him. No one could ask you because you didn't answer any questions and you wouldn't talk. So therefore, you know, if you come forward and have a conversation with the police with your lawyer present, maybe, maybe, you know, maybe there's information that you have that could have, could have, could have found out earlier what happened that.

[Nancy Grace]

Night to sahm, you know, Kate Vernal's this statement issued by the then boyfriend basically says, I didn't murder her. Why not speak at the time the search was going on? Why just issue a comment when you can't be questioned?

[Kate Vernals]

Yeah, there's absolutely no reason not to speak to the police. If you haven't done anything wrong, then just speak to the police and tell them what you know. His attorney said that there's nothing wrong with him getting an attorney before he calls the Coast Guard. That's perfectly normal. I don't think that's personally perfectly normal at all. I don't think anyone would even think to do that unless they've done something wrong. If your loved one, your friend, a crew member has gone missing and you've done nothing wrong and there's no foul play, why do you need to call your attorney? I don't think that's normal behavior. I think it's completely not normal to seek for help and to tell your story, to tell the police what's happened. It's not normal to go into social media and post your story before you've even spoken to the police. And just to add to that, his attorney said that if the police did want to speak to him, all they had to do was reach out to Ryan and ask him to come back and make a statement. Why do the police need to ask you to come back and do that? You were her boyfriend. You supposedly loved her and you're heartbroken. Why aren't you just voluntarily going back to the US Virgin Islands and speaking to the police to make your statement? Why do you have to be asked?

[Nancy Grace]

In this bizarre five page, quote, open letter, the so called boyfriend, Ryan Bain speaks mostly about himself. How he has been vilified and placed under a, quote, false sense of suspicion. And he says, the truth is, I just wanted to protect myself. Okay, I have a concern with that. Of course, if this ever did go to a jury trial and he is presumed innocent, of course no one could comment on his right to remain silent. But we're not in court. We can analyze the facts as we see them. The letter is addressed to investigative journalists and for the most part rails against what he calls unfair coverage, accusing the media of omitting crucial facts. Really? What facts? What facts? If he has facts that are unknown to everyone else, let's hear them. He claims no one observes signs of a fight. Was anybody else on the yacht that could have seen the fight if it existed? No evidence of an argument? Really, no one else was on the yacht? Nobody knows what happened happened on the yacht. No scratches or marks to suggest a struggle. Isn't it true that he would not allow searches of his yacht? So we don't know what shape the yacht was in? I welcome Mr. Bain to join us here on Crime Stories and give us his side of the story and recount all the facts to which he is referring to that point to his innocence. In the meantime, if you know or think you know anything about the case, please dial 800-222-8477. Repeat, 800-222-8477. We wait as justice unfolds. Now we remember an American hero. Sheriff Robert Rogers, Wilcox County Sheriff, Georgia. Killed in the line of duty after 22 years in law enforcement. Leaving behind a grieving widow Haley and son Robert. American hero. Sheriff Robert Rogers. Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

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[Podcast Host]

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