More horrifying details have emerged after an American couple's boat was hijacked in the Caribbean, leaving the pair missing and presumed dead.
Ralph Hendry, 66, and his wife Kathy Brandel, 71, who are from Virginia, were last seen on February 18 before their boat, named Simplicity, was found anchored and deserted days later.
Three escaped prisoners - Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 19, and Abita Stanislaus, 25 - have since been arrested in St. Vincent after the boat was searched on Wednesday.
The trio had escaped from police custody on February 18 and pleaded guilty to four counts of immigration-related charges on Sunday, for which they will be sentenced next Monday. Each of the men was previously facing robbery charges, while Mitchell also had rape and attempted rape charges before their escape.
Brandel and Hendry had been spending the winter cruising the Eastern Caribbean after sailing their yacht, Simplicity, from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua.
Their family said the pair were seasoned sailors after having sold their home years ago to live on their boat and travel the world instead.
While Hendry and Brandel's families are holding out hope the couple will be found alive, authorities have revealed further details of the scene which lead them to believe the couple was likely killed.
Royal St. Vincent and Grenadines Police Force official Junior Simmons said during a press conference Monday that the scene officers found on the boat was "consistent with signs of violence."
Simmons added: "Several items were strewn on the deck and in the cabin and a red substance that resembled blood was seen on board. There was no discovery of bodies on board the yacht."
Royal Grenada Police Force Commissioner Don McKenzie previously said that evidence suggested that the couple was killed on board before their bodies were "disposed of" while the boat was sailing between Grenada and St Vincent after the alleged criminals "commandeered" the yacht.
The trio allegedly boarded the boat while it was docked in the St. George area of Grenada, according to reports from the New York Post, but have not yet been charged with the couple's disappearance.
No bodies have yet been found in the search for Brandel and Hendry, however, their son Nick Buro told CNN that he and his brother Bryan Hendry are remaining hopeful that the couple will be found alive, adding that they are "doing our best to try and get answers to find out what is next in terms of hopefully finding them safely recovered somewhere on the islands.
"But of course from the evidence that's been found on the boat, we are concerned that there might be a possibility that they aren't with us."
He added: "The boat itself was ransacked and everything was strewn about in the entire cabin so clearly there was an altercation of some type that took place on the boat which does indicate that we are concerned for their safety overall because it does appear that they were likely injured.
"They were super careful to be safe all the time. Everywhere they went everything they did, safety was their top, top concern so this unfortunate accident, I think, it came out of nowhere for them."
Buro explained that the couple had sold their home to buy the boat years earlier, adding: "It was their home. Everything they had, they owned, was on that boat. It was their life.
"Kathy worked her whole life and then retired. Ralph worked in financial services and continued to work from the boat. But really what they did was sell their home, sell their possessions, and bought a boat and choose a lifestyle that most of us would never imagine could be done. And they loved every minute of it and they saw many parts of the world and just lived a life of joy and love."
The pair had been planning to visit the Caribbean for many years, finally setting sail there this winter.
Brandel and Hendry also had a strong connection to the Christian community in Virginia and their son said that a prayer service had been held in their honor on Saturday.
He also thanked the community for its support at such a difficult time, adding: "The outpouring from the boating community, family and friends, their entire church, everything has been overwhelmingly an outpour of emotion, of support and love and care."
.jpg_azx6mQ?tr=h-40)
.jpg_azx6mQ?tr=h-184)
