Dream voyage turns nightmare for former NBA player Dele

PAPEETE, Tahiti -- It was supposed to be a dream voyage: cruising in a luxury sailboat between the green-crested islands of the South Pacific, playing catch on the sand, sipping drinks garnished with freshly cut tropical blossoms.

Then the passengers vanished.

Former NBA player Bison Dele; his 30-year-old girlfriend, Serena Karlan; and their skipper, Bertrand Saldo, were last seen in French Polynesia more than 10 weeks ago. Now Dele's older brother, Miles Dabord -- likely the only firsthand witness -- is in a California hospital, comatose and on life support.

One brother might never be found. The other might never wake up.

People who met the brothers on the breeze-swept islands of Tahiti and Moorea have followed the story day by day, astonished at each development. Both brothers were easygoing, several people said. And murder is almost unheard of here.

"We're in paradise, and paradise is about appreciating life, ... not about things like that," said Marcel Teiki, who rents scooters to tourists. Like many, he was briefly questioned by investigators scouring the island for clues about what went wrong.

In the United States, Dabord has not been charged in connection with the disappearances, but French investigators believe he killed his three companions in a struggle aboard the boat July 6 or 7.

Dabord was discovered in Tijuana, Mexico, more than a week ago, barely clinging to life. His mother, Patricia Phillips, says her son is on life support after overdosing on insulin and failing to take his asthma medicine, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Her other son, Dele, 33, organized the sailing trip from New Zealand to Hawaii on a 55-foot white catamaran, the Hakuna Matata -- which means "No Worries" in Swahili. Karlan came along for part of the trip. Dabord met up with the pair in the South Pacific.

Dele and Karlan planned to stay for a few days on Moorea, where stalls selling bananas and coconuts line the roads and the local dress is rarely more formal than a sarong and flip-flops. They wound up staying several weeks in the island's Sofitel resort, employees said.

Dele changed his name from Brian Williams during an NBA career in which he played for several teams. The free-spirited center walked away from a $35 million contract with the Detroit Pistons in 1999. Since putting that career behind, he was constantly looking for new projects.