An American couple who disappeared after their yacht was attacked by two escaped convicts in Caribbean waters is believed to have died.

A retired couple who were sailing in the Caribbean and have been missing for more than a week were presumed dead by authorities this Monday, even though their bodies have not been recovered.officials said at a news conference.

“Based on the results of the investigation so far, Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brendel are presumed dead,” Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines police spokesman Junior Simmons said at a news conference about the crime. Recent events have shaken Americans. community.

The conclusion of the Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines police forces is a blow to those who independently helped find Hendry and Brandel, who they hoped were still alive.

Police Commissioner Don McKenzie of the Royal Grenada Police Force said during a press conference that the three inmates who escaped from the South St. George Police Station on February 18 hijacked the catamaran “Simplicity” the couple was traveling in a day later. in, which was docked near the escape site.

The alleged killers headed to St. Vincent, where they were arrested last Wednesday, McKenzie said.

” Evidence suggests that, while traveling between Grenada and St. Vincent, they disposed of the inhabitants” Mackenzie said.

McKenzie said he had no conclusive evidence that the couple were dead, but cited a “low probability” they were alive.

Hours later, the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Chief Spokesman released a video saying that, although no bodies were found, the results of the investigation led them to speculate that the couple had died.

The suspects were being investigated for several criminal acts, including “bodily harm to the couple,” said spokesman Simmons, who added that they had found “chilling evidence of a violent struggle” on the ship.

“Many items were scattered on the deck and in the cabin, and a red substance that looked like blood was found on board,” he said.

The Salty Dog Sailing Association said Hendry and Brandel were “veteran sailors” and longtime members of the association, calling them “kind and capable” people.

The couple participated in last year’s Caribbean Rally between Hampton, Virginia and Antigua and were wintering in the eastern Caribbean, the association said.

Hendry’s son and Brandel’s son did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press for comment.

A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the couple’s family suggests Brandel had recently become a grandmother for the first time and the boating community was “devastated” by what happened.

“Kathy and Ralph, seasoned adventurers, spent their retirement sailing in simplicity, spending summers in New England and embracing the warmth of Caribbean winters,” the page said.

Grenada Police Commissioner McKenzie said a five-man team was sent to St Vincent to assist with the investigation.

After their brief announcement on Monday, McKenzie and other police officers fielded questions from local media, including a reporter who asked: “Who is really responsible for this massive failure to control these inmates?” Royal Grenada Police Force? Now what was the result of this tragedy?

McKenzie said police have launched an escape investigation and Investigating whether it was a case of “system failure” or “negligence”.

“All aspects of that investigation are on the table,” he said, adding that the police detention center where the three men were being held “has sufficient security to prevent such an incident.”

When the reporter asked why the three arrested men were being held in holding cells instead of jail, Deputy Police Commissioner Wayne Curwen said the men would first have to see a magistrate who would decide whether to grant them bail or order their preventive detention. .

The escaped inmates, Trayvon Robertson, an unemployed 19-year-old; Abita Stanislaus, a 25-year-old farmer; and Ron Mitchell, a 30-year-old sailor; He was charged with one count of robbery with violence a few months ago. Granada police said Mitchell was also charged with one count of rape, three counts of attempted rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery.

Simmons said the three men appeared in court in St. Vincent on Monday and pleaded guilty to four immigration-related charges each, including entering the island as a “prohibited immigrant” without a passport. They are scheduled to be sentenced on the charges in March.

With information from the Associated Press.