An American couple who had departed from Virginia and were spending the winter cruising in the Caribbean went missing this month while sailing off Grenada, and their boat turned up empty in neighboring St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Their disappearance came around the same time three men escaped from a prison in Grenada and made their getaway by boat to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the authorities in those islands said.
In a statement, the Royal Grenada Police Force did not identify the two Americans but said that it was looking into possible harm to them in connection to the prisoners’ escape.
According to the Salty Dawg Sailing Association, a nonprofit that brings together sailing and cruising enthusiasts, a skipper notified it on Feb. 21 that a member’s yacht called Simplicity was found anchored and abandoned off a beach on the southern coast of St. Vincent.
The skipper boarded the catamaran and noted that its owners were not onboard, the association’s statement said. The skipper contacted the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard, which then notified the local police.
The missing boat owners were identified as Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathy Brandel, 71, by the association and Ms. Brandel’s son, Nick Buro, who said the couple, originally from Virginia, were married for 27 years.
