The mother of a Chicago woman who went missing in the Bahamas last month is calling on the U.S. government to take charge of the investigation.
Taylor Casey, 41, was reported missing June 19. She was last seen at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat in Paradise Island, Nassau.
Her mother, Colette Seymore, traveled there last week to help search for Casey, but she returned earlier than expected after encountering what she says was a lack of interest in the case by the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
A former British colony, the Bahamas maintains diplomatic relations with the United States, but it has been an independent country in the British Commonwealth of Nations since 1973.
“I feel uneasy about the investigation,” Seymore said in a statement. “I’m not satisfied with it. I feel like the police did the bare minimum, and I need them to act like it’s their child missing.”
Police have used drones, a canine unit and divers to search areas around the yoga retreat. They found Casey’s cellphone in the ocean near a dock, her family said.
Casey’s family says they think she went missing under suspicious circumstances.
On the day she was last seen, Casey was sitting at a beach and was approached by a man who said he was from Chicago and was interested in a yoga class, then followed her onto the retreat’s property, according to a participant of the yoga retreat who spoke with Casey’s family.
“We are deeply concerned for Taylor’s safety and well-being,” Seymore previously said. “We love Taylor and want her home.”
Casey is described as a Black woman, about 5 foot 10 and 145 pounds with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the Royal Bahamas Police Force at 1+(242) 300-8476.
No other information about the case has been released.