Southeast
Blood found on kidnapped Americans' yacht during Caribbean prison escape: 'Presumed dead'
A retired American couple is “presumed dead” after three prison escapees from a Caribbean island seized their yacht to make a getaway, local authorities said late Monday afternoon.
Ralph Hendry, 66, and his wife, Kathy Brandel, 71, were kidnapped on Feb. 18 when the escapees hijacked their yacht docked near the shores of tourist hotspot Grand Anse Beach in Grenada, according to Junior Simmons, superintendent of police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Blood was found among the tattered ruins of the Virginia couple’s prized possession, nicknamed “Simplicity,” Simmons said, which was abandoned about 70 miles off of St. Vincent, a southern Caribbean nation.
“While sailing from Grenada, the suspects committed several criminal acts, including bodily harm to the couple,” he said.
FRIENDS WHO SAILED WITH MISSING AMERICANS BEFORE YACHT HIJACKED ‘PRAY FOR MIRACLE’
Ralph Hendry, 66, and his wife, Kathy Brandel, 71, are “presumed dead” after prison escapees kidnapped them while fleeing authorities on the Caribbean island of Grenada. (Nick Buro)
Before the press conference, loved ones and authorities were hoping that Hendry and Brandel would be found alive, but the outlook was bleak at best.
Don McKenzie, commissioner of the Royal Grenada Police, said during an earlier press conference that the three prison escapees “disposed of the occupants” somewhere between St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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While he said there was “no conclusive evidence” that they were dead, he also said it was a long shot they were still alive.
“We still hold out hope that, despite what might be a low probability, they would turn up alive somewhere,” McKenzie said early Monday morning.
Simmons said the search for Hendry and Brandel continued Monday evening.
The suspects were arrested in relation to the disappearance of the couple. (RSVG Police Force via Facebook)
The suspects – identified as Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 19, and Abita Stanislaus, 25 – escaped from the South St. George Police Station on Feb. 18, according to officials.
The next day, they commandeered the couple’s boat by force and took off, police said.
EXCLUSIVE: MOM OF AMERICAN IN ALLEGED BAHAMAS SEX ATTACK SAYS DAUGHTER TEXTED, ‘WE’VE BEEN RAPED’
On Feb. 21, the three suspects were captured by St. Vincent law enforcement and are being held on several immigration charges as the joint investigations into the hijacking and how they escaped continue.
McKenzie said during the Monday press conference that he personally checked the prison cells and said there was nothing wrong with the doors or locks.
“I am satisfied that the proper procedures were followed, and we should not have had an escape,” he said.
This map marks the location of Grenada in the Caribbean where the couple is feared dead. (Google Maps)
McKenzie said he directed a senior investigator to “conduct a thorough review” and find out what happened.
When asked if there was potential bribery or collusion, he said, “All aspects are on the table.”
As of Monday morning, the supervisor overseeing the jail where the inmates escaped was placed on leave and reassigned, and he could be fired pending the outcome of the internal investigation.
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More jail personnel will likely be disciplined as the probe continues, according to McKenzie.
“It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the senseless act of violence that tragically claimed the lives of husband and wife, Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel,” a family friend wrote on a GoFundMe, which had raised nearly $53,000 as of Monday evening.
“Kathy and Ralph were seasoned sailors who lived on their beloved catamaran, ‘Simplicity’ … Kathy and Ralph, experienced adventurers, spent their retirement sailing aboard ‘Simplicity,’ spending summers in New England and embracing the warmth of Caribbean winters. Their final voyage with the Salty Dawg Sailing Association crew took an unthinkable turn as Simplicity was found abandoned in St. Vincent, bearing chilling evidence of a violent struggle.”
A Virginia couple enjoying their retirement by cruising the Caribbean on their yacht are feared dead after three escaped prisoners hijacked their vessel. (Salty Dawg Sailing Association)
Sons’ latest statements
Over the weekend, the couple’s two sons – Bryan Hendry and Nick Buro – released a statement.
“We want to reach out to the entire cruiser community to express our gratitude for everyone that worked to gather information from eyewitnesses and provide search and rescue support,” they wrote. “It means so much to us that so many people cared for Ralph and Kathy as friends and fellow cruisers that they are willing to stop and help in whatever way possible.”
“Thanks to all this input from this community we are able to develop a timeline of events. For the safety of the cruising community we are asking all cruisers, and anyone that is not affiliated with the officials with presiding jurisdiction, to stand down. The only way we feel this situation could be worse would be if anyone was hurt or endangered trying to conduct searches,” they continued.
“We also want to applaud the St. Vincent authorities for their quick actions in securing Simplicity and their brave, swift response that led to the apprehension of three dangerous fugitives. We greatly appreciate the coordination of the St. Vincent and Royal Grenadian Police forces and Coast Guards in investigating these events,” the sons wrote.
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Southeast
Ex-mayor caught in lewd act at booze-filled pool party, prosecutors say
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A former Louisiana mayor is on trial after prosecutors allege her teenage son caught her having sex with one of his 16-year-old friends at a booze-filled pool party.
Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. She has pleaded not guilty.
Roberts’ second trial is underway after the first case resulted in a mistrial due to judicial issues in nearby Beauregard Parish, the outlet reported.
The charges stem from a 2024 late-night gathering at Roberts’ home.
Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. (Louisiana Highway Patrol)
Last week, Roberts’ children and her ex-husband took the stand in her trial, along with a DoorDash driver, family friend and multiple teenagers who were present at the party, according to KPLC.
Jurors were shown a video interview of Roberts’ son, taken last year, in which the teenager reportedly told authorities he witnessed his mother having sex with his friend through a crack in a window during the party.
However, upon taking the stand last week, the teenager reportedly told jurors he was not certain of what he actually saw that evening.
Roberts’ defense attorneys have disputed the recording, telling jurors that part of the interview could have been improperly transcribed.
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Prosecutors allege Misty Roberts had sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a booze-filled house party in 2024. (Misty Roberts/Facebook)
Text messages between the mother and son were also shown to the jury, with the pair discussing what type of alcohol the teenagers wanted for the party.
In another exchange, Roberts’ son warned her of the victim’s age, texting her, “He is seventeen,” according to the outlet. The victim was 16 years old at the time of the alleged incident.
Additional text messages from the night of the party show Roberts’ son calling the situation “crazy” and telling her that his younger sister was emotional.
Upon taking the stand, Roberts’ daughter told the court that she witnessed her mother and the victim “on top of each other” the night of the party,” KPLC reported.
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Following the alleged encounter, prosecutors reportedly said the victim’s mother texted Roberts to confirm she was not pregnant.
Roberts replied that she was on birth control, and later screenshotted the messages and sent them in a separate group chat while suggesting she would take an emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B.”
Jurors also heard from a DoorDash driver who testified that he fulfilled an order from “Misty C” to purchase the emergency contraceptive and leave it at the front door of the home, the outlet reported.
The driver added that he later heard rumors about the alleged incident and believed his delivery was connected.
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Roberts’ nephew also testified that he attempted to see what was happening in the room during the party by using his phone’s camera, but was unsure if he recorded any footage and did not send anything to anyone following the alleged encounter, according to the outlet.
The nephew also admitted to deleting his Snapchat memories before investigators took custody of his phone because he did not want to get in trouble over photos of underage drinking, adding he did not intend to delete evidence.
Another member of the victim’s friend group also told jurors that he witnessed Roberts flirting with the victim on the night of the party, while revealing the boy appeared to be drunk and vomited later that night, KPLC reported.
On Saturday, Roberts’ ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, reportedly testified that Roberts confessed to having sex with the teenage boy and that the couple’s children had caught them in the act.
CHILD PREDATOR DUBBED ‘MONSTER PARENTS FEAR MOST’ CLEARED FOR RELEASE THROUGH CALIFORNIA PAROLE PROGRAM
Misty Roberts is currently on trial in Beauregard Parish for allegedly having sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a house party in 2024. (Google Maps)
Jurors were also shown text messages between the married couple, in which Clanton told Roberts, “I would deny what happened if you’re approached by anyone at the meeting,” on the day of a city council meeting.
In another exchange, Clanton reportedly testified Roberts texted him, “I need you to deny it, please.”
Clanton added that while he refused to deny the allegations, he avoided talking about the incident.
“I can’t keep hurting others, friends and family. Lord knows I’ve done enough,” Roberts reportedly texted Clanton, according to KPLC.
On cross-examination, when Roberts’ defense attorney asked Clanton if he felt as though Roberts was a good mom, the father reportedly answered, “No.”
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Roberts resigned from her position as mayor just days before her arrest in 2024. She was initially prohibited from making contact with her children without permission from Clanton and the court revoked child support.
Roberts’ defense attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Florida man who wrestled cop’s gun away and killed him, executed after final appeals rejected
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A Florida man who prosecutors say wrestled a police officer’s service weapon away during a 1991 traffic stop and fatally shot him was executed Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is set to receive a three-drug lethal injection beginning at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Kearse was sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that jurors were not properly instructed on aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing hearing. He was resentenced to death in 1997.
Kearse’s execution would mark the state’s third in 2026, following a record 19 executions in 2025.
Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP)
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed more death warrants last year than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Before that, the highest number in a single year was eight in 1984 and 2014 under governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
Court records show Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish stopped Kearse in January 1991 for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. After Kearse failed to produce a valid driver’s license and resisted being handcuffed, a struggle broke out.
During the confrontation, Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm and fired 14 shots, striking the officer nine times and hitting his body armor four times, prosecutors said. A nearby taxi driver heard the gunfire and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
FLORIDA EXECUTES MAN CONVICTED OF KILLING AIRMAN AND GIRLFRIEND IN 1987 HOME INVASION
This photo shows a gurney used in giving lethal injections to convicted death row inmates. (Sue Ogrocki, File)
Parrish was taken to a hospital, where he died from his wounds.
Investigators used license plate information Parrish had radioed in before the struggle to identify Kearse’s vehicle and home address. He was arrested shortly afterward.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied Kearse’s appeals, in which his attorneys argued he was deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability made him ineligible for execution. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal Tuesday without comment.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. last year. Florida carried out the most, outpacing Texas, South Carolina and Alabama, which each conducted five executions.
Two more executions are scheduled in Florida this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is set to be executed March 17. James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled for March 31.
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Duckett, a former police officer, was convicted in 1987 of raping and murdering 11-year-old Teresa McAbee. At the time, he was working for the Mascotte Police Department when McAbee was last seen getting into his patrol car outside a convenience store. Her body was later found less than a mile away in a lake. Authorities said she had been sexually battered, strangled and drowned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Violent repeat offender accused in Charlotte knife attack was free despite decade-long rap sheet
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A North Carolina man accused of stabbing another individual in broad daylight has faced more than 18 criminal charges over the past decade, including assault-related cases and a domestic-violence conviction, before the latest violent incident, court records show.
Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury after a Feb. 28 altercation in east Charlotte.
According to police, officers responded to a 911 call reporting an assault involving a knife. When they arrived, they found a man with a stab wound to a knee. Investigators say the suspect discarded a bag and the knife into a nearby creek and then boarded a city bus as it left the area.
Authorities later located the bus and identified Ragin as the suspect after reviewing transit security footage. Officers recovered a kitchen knife from the creek in the area shown on video. During an interview, police said Ragin admitted to being involved in a physical altercation but did not acknowledge the stabbing.
Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in Charlotte, N.C. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)
A review of North Carolina court records shows Ragin’s interactions with law enforcement date back to at least 2015 and span multiple counties.
In 2016, he pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order, receiving a 24-day jail sentence and a court-ordered no-contact condition.
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In prior years, he was charged in separate cases with assault on a female, assault on a campus police officer, communicating threats and resisting a public officer. Several of those cases were ultimately dismissed, including multiple charges in 2019 that court records state were “unable to prosecute due to COVID-19 court closures.”
Records also show misdemeanor drug and trespass convictions.
Altogether, court records indicate Ragin has faced more than 18 charges in several counties over multiple years before the current felony accusation.
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The alleged stabbing comes months after the fatal killing of a young woman aboard a Charlotte light rail train, a case that drew national attention and intensified debate over repeat offenders and pandemic-era criminal justice policies.
Iryna Zarutska cowers as her attacker towers over her. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
That earlier case involved a defendant who was under state supervision at the time of the attack and prompted scrutiny of a 2021 COVID-era prison settlement negotiated during former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration. The agreement authorized the early release or transition of approximately 3,500 incarcerated individuals. Republican officials claimed the agreement released dangerous offenders, while state officials have said the settlement primarily targeted medically vulnerable and nonviolent inmates.
State corrections officials have also said the light rail defendant was not released early as a result of that settlement and had completed his mandatory minimum sentence, though his name appeared on a settlement-related list due to retroactive eligibility criteria.
Republican officials have argued the cases reflect broader concerns about repeat offenders cycling through the system, while Democrats have defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures.
REPEAT OFFENDER ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTS HOSPITAL POLICE OFFICER JUST DAYS AFTER ARREST AT SAME FACILITY: REPORT
Republican Michael Whatley, left, and Democrat Roy Cooper (Getty Images)
“Micah Ragin was arrested and let back onto the streets 18 times too many — including under then-Governor Roy Cooper’s COVID mass inmate release,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Have Charlotte’s pro-crime Democrats learned nothing from Iryna’s tragic murder? How many victims will it take to finally keep criminals behind bars? The Queen City has been stained by crimes that are preventable — they are lucky this wasn’t the next Iryna Zarutska.”
Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, echoed similar criticism.
“Yet again, Roy Cooper’s soft-on-crime policies allowed a violent career criminal to roam free, resulting in a vicious attack. Cooper coddles criminals and North Carolinians pay the price,” Puglia said.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley criticized what he described as “soft-on-crime” policies.
“Criminals belong behind bars. As a senator, I will always back the blue and fight to keep our communities safe,” Whatley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Cooper, who previously served two terms as North Carolina’s governor and is now running for the U.S. Senate, has defended his record on public safety and pushed back on Republican criticism.
“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must keep North Carolinians safe,” a spokesperson for Cooper’s campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These Republican attacks are false – Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough-on-crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor.”
Cooper’s campaign has previously defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures and has denied that COVID-related policies led to the early release of dangerous offenders.
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Ragin’s felony case is pending, and officials have not announced a trial date.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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