WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV continues to closely monitor a heartbreaking story out of the Caribbean, where a couple with ties to Fort Pierce is presumed dead, after their yacht was allegedly hijacked by a trio of escaped prisoners on the island of Grenada.
A new update from police in the area is giving new details into what could have happened to the couple.
Superintendent of police and public relations officer for Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force Junior Simmons said in a video posted to Facebook late Monday that "based on the investigation thus far, it's presumed that Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel are deceased."
The couple was known as experienced sailors who loved life and sharing adventures on the open sea.
Back in November, family members said they left their home base of Virginia for the trip of a lifetime, sailing to Grenada on their catamaran yacht named Simplicity. It was a trip in the works for more than 10 years.
However, the dream trip turned into a nightmare, when police in the islands said their yacht was hijacked while docked in Grenada last Sunday, when three men accused of violent crimes escaped police custody.
The trio was captured days later on the nearby island of St. Vincent, where Simplicity was discovered. Simmons said items were scattered around the deck and there was blood on board.
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Police: Couple who had boat hijacked likely thrown overboard, died
"The investigation further reveals while sailing from Grenada, the suspects committed several criminal acts, including bodily harm to the couple," Simmons said.
The couple has family in Fort Pierce and spent time every year docked there. Ralph's sister, Suellen Desmarais, lives in Fort Pierce. She spoke to WPTV's Stephanie Susskind on Friday, keeping hope alive that the couple would be found.
"It's a magical boat and they were magical people," Desmarais said. "Ralph and Kathy are the kindest people in the entire world and I can't understand how something like this could happen to someone as kind and nice as them."
Ralph and Kathy's sons released a new statement in light of the new information from police. The statement said in part: "If we have learned anything from this tragic event, it’s that we know they left this world in a better place than it was before they were born. Ralph and Kathy lived a life that most of us can only dream of, sailing the eastern coast of the United States, living on their home Simplicity, making friends with everyone they encountered, singing, dancing and laughing with friends and family – that’s who Ralph and Kathy were and that’s how they will be remembered in our hearts."
Police in St. Vincent said their Coast Guard and other authorities are doing air and sea patrols but have not discovered the couple's bodies. As for the three suspects, they are facing immigration-related charges but have not yet been charged with the couple's disappearance or death as the investigation is ongoing.
A GoFundMe has been set up for the couple's sons Nick Buro and Bryan Hendry.