Americans held captive by authorities in the British Virgin Islands released

Four Americans who have been "held confined" in the British Virgin Islands for two weeks were eventually acquitted Thursday. John Hines, Lynee Ann Hines, Nicholas Cancro and Jeanne McKinnon, were brought into confinement by British Virgin Islands authorities last month and they said they inadvertently sailed into their territorial waters. They have been in touch with U.S. State Department officials."We are conscious the U.S. citizens earlier detained in the British Virgin Islands have been released," a State Department spokesperson said.After being "held captive" then released, John Hines said they went for a four-hour boat ride to St. Thomas and planned to fly home to the United States on Friday. "We are wiped out," he said when contacted by text message Thursday. The Americans were arrested on Nov. 19 as they travelled through their territorial waters, as per the to the BVI's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The four Americans were then placed into compulsory quarantine at a regional hotel as part of COVID-19 preventative measures, BVI authorities said. Lynn and John Hines are also among 4 U.S. citizens were held detained in the British Virgin Islands. After twelve days of being caught, they were released as the four detainees pleaded guilty to unlawful entry and each paid a $1,000 fine. Hines said that their captain, Cancro, even to pay a $20,000 fine with credit cards after they were first caught, but BVI authorities only would accept cash. Kevin Gregory, another American sailor who had some association with British Virgin Island authorities last month, told that he had to pay the $20,000 as fine in order to be promptly released. “He said, ‘I’ve got a crew that’s got to drop,’” Gregory told the newspaper. “I can’t hang out and keep fighting this thing, and I need to be able to drop and litigate later.”