In July 2002, Dele and his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, sailed on the South Pacific Ocean along with skipper Bertrand Saldo on Dele's catamaran, the Hakuna Matata. Dele's brother, Miles Dabord (born Kevin Williams), was the only person involved in the voyage who was seen or heard from after July 8, when the party was in Tahiti. Dele and Karlan had previously kept regular contact with their banks and family members. On July 20, Dabord was by himself when he brought the boat into Tahiti.
On September 5, police used a sting operation organized by Dele's family and friends to detain Dabord in Phoenix, Arizona. Dabord had forged his brother's signature in order to buy US$152,000 worth of gold under his brother's name. He had used Dele's passport as identification. Mexican police later found that Dabord had been staying at a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico. Two days before, the Hakuna Matata, which had been registered in Tahiti under another name, was found off the coast of Tahiti with its name plate removed and some possible bullet holes patched. About the same time, Dabord phoned his and Dele's mother, Patricia Phillips, telling her that he would never hurt his brother and that he could not survive in prison.
The FBI, which did not usually handle missing-persons cases, became involved in the investigation regarding Dele along with the French authorities and concluded that Dele, Karlan and Saldo were probably killed, and then thrown overboard, by Dabord. Given that the bodies were likely dumped in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it would be highly unlikely that the three would ever be found.
Dabord, the only major source of information regarding the case, intentionally overdosed on insulin and slipped into a coma. On September 27, 2002, he died in a California hospital. After Dabord's suicide, officials did not expect to find much more regarding the case. A memorial service was then held for both Dabord and Dele.
Dabord and Dele were frequently at odds with each other. After Dabord's death, his lawyer and life-long best friend, Paul White, was questioned regarding his client but gave little information about what happened. Dabord had said that he knew for sure that Dele and Karlan were in French Polynesia, but not much more other than that he was trying to help Dele.
