yacht off the us virgin islands have flown over there for the first time since her disappearance. sarm heslop, a flight attendant, was reported missing by ryan bane from his catamaran a year ago. her mother and father are desperately trying to piece together the last known movements of their daughter as graham satchell reports. the us virgin islands, often called america s paradise. but behind the stunning beauty, there is a disturbing mystery. a year ago, british flight attendant sarm heslop went missing. she was last seen leaving a restaurant with her american boyfriend, ryan bane. despite extensive searches, sarm has never been found. one year on, her parents, brenda and peter, have travelled to the islands for the first time to see for themselves where their daughter went missing. i need clarity. i needed to see the places that we ve only heard of and seen in pictures. and i have had my moments, but it was easier than i thought.
police have now confirmed mr bane has lead person of interest in this case but it remains a missing persons inquiry and mr bane is not a suspect. in a previous statement, mr bane s lawyer told us his client met with the us coast guard, answered all questions to him and gave them unfettered access to the vessel, as well as to sarm s personal belongings including her phone and ipad. he went on, mr bane had nothing to do with sarm s disappearance and remains heartbroken that she is missing . i will never forgive him for not looking after my little girl. i will never forgive him for not taking care of her. he was the captain of his ship. he should have been responsible for her. i m going to try not to hate because being bitter and twisted is a terrible thing. but i will never, never ever forgive him. brenda has made a heart shaped wreath to remember her daughter.
because i can see what kind of place it is and why she wanted to be here. and it s really, really good to be here, where it happened, by the waters. and i can t waitjust to spend some time on the beach where she was last seen. sarm was 41 when she disappeared. she had worked as a flight attendant and travelled the world. she met ryan bane and they became partners. sarm was working on his boat. this drone footage taking in the days after sarm s disappearance shows mr bane s yacht moored just offshore. he rang the police in the early hours of march the 8th last year, to report sarm missing. but ryan bane has refused to be interviewed by the police and has refused permission for a forensic search of his boat. brenda and peter at the restaurant where sarm was last seen. they are being chaperoned by embassy staff from the british consulate in miami.
as part of their trip, sarm s parents have met local police who explained under american law, mr bane doesn t have to agree to be interviewed. they said they couldn t do anything because that is the law. and that s what we got to accept. there s nothing else to accept. they do say they are going to keep the case open, they are going to keep on pursuing answers the best they can. it s very difficult to understand. the only thing i will say is that he is notjust a person of interest, he is the person of interest. and they re aware of where he is. because he s out of these waters, out of the territory waters, he is now being tracked by fbi. and they keep them informed here of where he is. ryan bane has a previous conviction for assaulting his ex wife in 2011.
and so the hardest part of the trip. franks bay, where sarm was last seen a year ago. i ve got to accept that she s gone into the sea and she s gone. it s always going to hurt, it s always going to be there. i can t explain the pain. sorry. my plea to bane, if he gets to see this, my plea to him is. please let us bring our daughter home. brenda and peter will organise a ceremony to celebrate sarm s life when they return home. the trip has given them some solace, but they are still no closer to understanding this mystery disappearance in paradise. graham satchell, bbc news.