A damaged vessel discovered off Pointe Vigie has prompted a police investigation, but authorities are making it clear that their focus remains solely on a missing person case, not reports of a deadly United States strike in regional waters.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Luke Defreitas stressed that law enforcement’s involvement is tied to the disappearance of Ricky Joseph, amid speculation linking the vessel to wider regional developments.
“Our interest in this vessel is due to the fact that, again, the family assertions are that Ricky Joseph may have been a passenger aboard this vessel, whether as crew member or a worker,” Defreitas explained.
“Again, these are assertions that have not been confirmed by law enforcement. At this point, I want to stress that our interest in this vessel is strictly related to the report of the missing person that has been made.”
He added that investigators are working to determine whether there is any connection between the vessel and Joseph’s disappearance.
“We are pursuing information that the disappearance to date of Mr. Ricky Joseph may have some alignment to the vessel,” he said.
The discovery has also fueled public speculation following reports circulating on social media and regional news platforms about a deadly United States military strike targeting suspected drug smuggling vessels. However, police say they have no direct involvement in those matters.
“The police department’s information on that is as many persons via social media. We have seen reports from various news agencies within the region. There has been discussion on an incident at various levels, governmental and otherwise,” Defreitas noted.
He was clear, however, that any such incident falls outside Saint Lucia’s jurisdiction.
“Again, I wish to reiterate that it appears whatever may have happened did not happen within the territorial waters of Saint Lucia and as such we have no jurisdiction or oversight in terms of an investigation,” he stated.
Authorities continue to examine the vessel as part of ongoing enquiries into the missing person report, urging the public to avoid speculation while investigations remain active.