American couple killed after Grenadian prisoners hijacked their yacht

An American couple was killed after three escaped prisoners from Grenada hijacked their yacht to flee to St Vincent. The escapees were later recaptured by authorities with no sign of yacht owners Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel. According to Hendry’s sister, Suellen Desmarais, the couple disappeared from their yacht named Simplicity which was docked in Grenada on February 19.

The Salty Dawg Association of which the couple were members had a live tracking map to follow the boat. They said that the track shows that Kathy and Ralph were anchored in Grenada and then the boat moved directly to St Vincent, making sure that the Grenadian escapees used their yacht. The Grenada police said that the couple allegedly became the target of three escapees Ron Mitchell, Trevon Robertson and Abita Stanislaus who made their way to St Vincent and the Grenadines via the couple's boat "Simplicity". The fugitives were caught by St Vincent authorities on Wednesday but they didn’t find the yacht. [caption id="attachment_68479" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 3 Grenada prisoners hijack yacht bound for St Vincent (PC - Facebook)[/caption]

Later, the yacht was discovered abandoned off a St Vincent beach by a sailor who saw blood stains and obvious signs of violence on the yacht and reported the police officials.

Furthermore, the Grenada Police said they are "presently working on leads that suggest that the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed during the hijacking."

The couple who lived on the boat has been sailing on the same route for years and this time they sailed their yacht in the 2023 Caribbean Rally from Hampton to Antigua and were spending their winter while cruising across the Eastern Caribbean.

Although, the police officials are not yet clear whether the couple is dead or not, their family has accepted the fact that both of them were killed and are now arranging the funeral.

A close friend of the family has also launched GoFundMe to assist in recovering the vessel and belongings, covering funeral costs as well as providing support to the grieving families as they try to comprehend the depth of this tragedy.

He said that the family is disturbed to know the senseless act of violence which claimed lives of Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel. The person added that the couple were seasoned sailors who lost their lives on February 19 off the shores of Grand Anse Beach, Grenada.