Michigan men confront cousin’s abusive ex-husband at gym, demand answers about his missing girlfriend

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Search for Sarm Heslop continues as friends question disappearance timeline

Jeff Jones, who is assisting in the search for the British woman last seen in the U.S. Virgin Islands with her boyfriend, shares the latest on "America’s Newsroom."

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Two Michigan men say their cousin’s abusive ex-husband approached them in a Lake Orion gym before they sent him packing with questions about what happened to his missing girlfriend, who was last seen almost exactly three years ago.

A series of photos provided by the men show Ryan Bane, a former yachtsman whose girlfriend, Sarm Heslop, vanished off his catamaran in 2021, in a Planet Fitness gym in February.

They are the cousins of Corie Stevenson, Bane’s ex-wife who previously shared her story of physical abuse at his hands.

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Two Michigan men say they encountered their cousin’s abusive ex-husband, Ryan Bane, at a gym and confronted him about both a 2011 domestic violence incident against their cousin and the unsolved 2021 disappearance of another woman. (Gary Stevenson)

The men said Bane approached one of them before they began taking pictures of him and asked if he’d “killed anyone lately” – a reference to Heslop’s unsolved disappearance, who was last seen leaving a bar with him three years ago this week.

They said Bane then left without further comment.

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Two Michigan men say their cousin’s ex-husband, Ryan Bane, approached them in a Lake Orion gym, where they confronted him about the whereabouts of his girlfriend, who went missing in 2021. (Gary and Ricky Stevenson)

Attempts to reach Bane were unsuccessful. He has not been charged with a crime in connection to Heslop’s disappearance, and his attorney previously denied any involvement on his client’s behalf.

A series of pictures show him in blue shorts and a sleeveless black shirt, carrying a mug and wearing earbuds.

He also appeared to have gotten in shape since Heslop vanished.

Ryan Bane, lover of missing British woman Sarm Heslop, is seen aboard a yacht on the island of Grenada on May 11, 2021. (Backgrid)

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After Heslop disappeared in 2021, Stevenson told Fox News Digital that Bane had a short temper and was so volatile she couldn’t leave him home alone with her daughter. However, she said, he was only violent with her once.

She divorced him following a domestic violence arrest in 2011, when she said he kicked her while she was driving home from a wedding, dragged her out of the car in their driveway, knocked out one of her teeth and squeezed her throat before he got up and went to bed. Bane pleaded guilty to domestic violence and served 21 days in jail, according to The Sun, which cited court documents.

Ryan Bane and Corie Stevenson are shown in an undated photo. (Corie Stevenson)

Bane reported Heslop missing on March 8, 2021. At the time, the British national was working as a cook on his charter yacht based in the U.S. Virgin Islands and had previously been a flight attendant. 

The couple went to dinner in St. John on March 7 and left around 10 p.m. Police have not publicly confirmed whether they believe she made it back to his yacht that evening. 

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The booking photo from Bane’s 2011 domestic violence arrest. (Oakland County Sheriff’s Office )

Bane called 911 around 2:30 a.m. on March 8 to report that she wasn’t on board.

Virgin Islands police told him to contact the Coast Guard – but he reportedly did not do so for roughly 10 hours. Then he allegedly refused to allow responding sailors to search the cabin of his vessel.

Sarm Heslop was last seen in March 2021 after going out to dinner with her American boyfriend, Ryan Bane, a Michigan native whose yacht she was living on at the time. (FindSarm.com)

Bane has not been charged with a crime in connection with Heslop’s disappearance.

However, her family continues to demand answers in the case and has received support from a former London homicide squad commander, David Johnston, former commander of Homicide and Serious Crime for the Metropolitan Police.

Her family this week is publicly acknowledging the likelihood that she is no longer alive, their supporters said in a statement Monday morning.

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Sarm Heslop steers a sailboat in a July 2020 photo posted to her Instagram account. (Sarm Heslop/Instagram)

“What we don’t know is how, if her death did occur on that boat, we don’t know how it befell her,” Johnston told Fox News Digital. “Whether through an accident or an argument or a completely violent act.”

Bane’s attorney, David Cattie, previously told Fox News Digital that his client would return to the Virgin Islands if his presence was “legally required.”

“Mr. Bane had nothing to do with Sarm’s disappearance and remains heartbroken that she is missing,” he said.

Sarm Heslop, third from right, worked as a U.K.-based flight attendant before meeting Ryan Bane, a Michigan yachtsman, and joining him on his 47-foot charter vessel as a cook. (FindSarm.com)

Police called Bane a “person of interest” in the case but did not obtain a search warrant for his yacht, which is believed to have since changed ownership.

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Anyone with information on Heslop’s whereabouts is asked to contact the U.S. Virgin Islands Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Police did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to michael.ruiz@fox.com and on Twitter: @mikerreports