Masked gunmen board British diving instructor's yacht in the Bahamas and shoot him dead after demanding cash

 
Shot: police said Gary Vanhoeck was dragged from his yacht and killed
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The family of a British diving instructor shot dead on his luxury yacht by armed thugs in the Bahamas today paid tribute to him saying he was ”living his dream.”

Father of one Gary Vanhoeck, 51, who worked as a diver on the Robert Redford Oscar nominated film ‘All is Lost’, was shot twice by two masked men who demanded money after boarding the yacht moored in a secluded cove.

Mr Vanhoeck’s wife Kathryn was tied up in one of the yacht’s cabins while he was ordered onto the dock where he was shot twice in the head.

Today his younger brother Wayne Vanhoeck, 43, of Grimsby, said their family were in shock adding: “Gary was a great guy with everyone who ever met him. He would do anything for anyone. The whole family will miss him. “

His elder brother worked for the Stuart Cove Dive Centre on the island of New Providence offering tourist adventures including swimming with sharks and snorkelling.

Originally from Grimsby, he left the UK more than five years ago to work in the Bahamas and wrote on his blog that he and his wife were ‘Living Like Pirates, Diving in the Caribbean’.

Mr Vanhoeck moved is said to have moved out to the Bahamas five years ago

Wayne told the Standard: : “Gary lived for the moment, he went out to the Bahamas to live his dream. He had an idea of what he wanted to do and he went for it.

“He was very determined, very positive. You wanted him to be your brother. I am absolutely gutted.”

Mr Vanhoeck, who spent 10 years working for the RAF after leaving home at the age of 16, had recently celebrated his third wedding anniversary with his wife Kathryn.

His younger brother, who runs a car valeting company in Grimsby, said he had been told Mrs Vanhoeck had been taken to another room when her husband was shot.

The Stuart Cove Dive Centre in Nassau, where Mr Vanhoeck yacht was moored when he was killed (Picture: Yardley/Flickr)

The Royal Bahamas Police have launched an island-wide manhunt and are hunting four suspects, but there have been no arrests.

Nassau assistant police commissioner Stephen Dean said: “The men went onto the boat and they took him off the boat.

“They wanted money and it’s not clear if he resisted or if there was a struggle. He was shot dead and they ran off.

“His wife was with him at the time.”

The incident happened last Friday on the yacht that Mr Vanhoeck owns and uses as his home. Two men tied up a security guard while two men went on the boat.

Mr Vanhoeck, who worked in Swindon as a computer technician for a radio company before leaving for the Bahamas, wrote on his blog that he quit his job to pursue his dream of becoming a dive instructor.

Before he left he wrote: “To pack up ones home, say good bye to work, family and friends, head half way around the world to start a new life teaching diving!

‘Will it be a dream or the biggest mistake you ever made? Who knows, but unless you try it you will always ask, “If only I had...”.”

Mr Vanhoeck appears to have loved his life in the Caribbean and in one Tweet he said: ‘Sitting in the sun filling tanks drinking beer’

He worked at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas, the largest-snorkel and dive operation in the Caribbean island.

He was credited as a diver on the crew of the 2013 Robert Redford film ‘All is Lost’, which was shot in the Bahamas. He is said to have helped film the underwater shark scenes.

On a tourism website Mr Vanhoeck spoke of how he enjoyed the different kinds of fish that he saw every day diving in the tropical waters.

He said that the water was ‘different every day’ and that he had been taking children as young as five on day trips.

The killing is the 48th murder in the Bahamas this year and the second in 13 months involving a British citizen.

Stuart Cove, the owner of the diving business, said: ‘Our dear friend and colleague Gary Vanhoeck was shot and killed in a botched robbery.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in