Caribbean officials search for 2 people who were on yacht allegedly hijacked by 3 escaped prisoners

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Authorities in the eastern Caribbean say they are trying to locate two people believed to be U.S. citizens who were aboard a yacht hijacked by three escaped prisoners from Grenada.

The Royal Grenada Police Force said in a statement posted Friday that they are working on leads “that suggest” the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed.

Investigators from Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines stand aboard the yacht “Simplicity”, that they say was hijacked by 3 escaped prisoners with two people aboard, now anchored at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Coastguard Service Calliaqua Base, in Calliaqua, St. Vincent, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Authorities in the eastern Caribbean said they were trying to locate two people believed to be U.S. citizens who were aboard the yacht that was hijacked by the three escaped prisoners from Grenada. (AP Photo/Kenton X. Chance)

The nonprofit Salty Dawg Sailing Association identified the owners as Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel and said they had sailed from Virginia to Antigua and planned to spend the winter cruising in the eastern Caribbean.

Police say the escaped prisoners were arrested Wednesday. A relative of Hendry didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

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