Sarm Heslop: Friends thank Caribbean search helpers

Sarm Heslop vanished from a yacht which was moored off the coast of the island of St John

The friends of a woman missing from a yacht in the Caribbean have thanked those scouring an island for her.

Sarm Heslop, from Southampton, vanished from the boat moored off St John in the US Virgin Islands on 8 March.

Friends said the 41-year-old had been staying onboard the catamaran Siren Song with her American boyfriend, Ryan Bane, for "a couple of weeks".

Her friend Vicky Mogridge-Percy said: "Every little bit that everyone is doing just means the world."

The Virgin Islands Police Department said Miss Heslop was reported missing from the boat on 8 March

Ms Mogridge-Percy, who worked as a member of Flybe's cabin crew with Ms Heslop, said islanders had put up posters, organised dives and land searches, and flown drones in a bid to find Ms Heslop.

"Their kindness is beyond belief", she said.

She is known to have gone for dinner with Mr Bane on Sunday 7 March in St John, before returning to the yacht and going to bed. She was missing by 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT) the next day, friends said.

'A lot of tears'

Her friends in the UK, who have set up a Missing Sarm Heslop Facebook page to share information about her disappearance, said she met Mr Bane in the Caribbean but had recently been living and working in Malta.

"But she missed the Caribbean life and her boyfriend so she made the long trip over to the American Virgin Islands - she'd only been there for a couple of weeks."

"He's the last person that saw her so he has more information than anyone," Ms Mogridge-Percy said.

Searches of the coastline and Cruz Bay have been taking place since she vanished

Mr Bane's lawyer previously released a statement to American media, it said: "Mr Bane's only hope is that Sarm is found alive and well. His thoughts and prayers are with Sarm and her family during this difficult time.

"Mr Bane has spent countless hours searching for Sarm and will continue to do so. Ryan is devastated that Sarm is missing."

Her friends had previously called for an "urgent" search of the catamaran, but as far as they were aware, it "had still not been searched" by police.

Ms Mogridge-Percy: "Under UK law the boat would have immediately been searched and seized - had she gone missing in my house I would have expected it to be fully searched. We want that boat searched."

Virgin Islands Police Department said officers were still "actively" searching for Ms Heslop, "passing out flyers and making regular checks of Cruz Bay and Red Hook to see if we see her".