Chicagoan Taylor Casey goes missing during a yoga retreat in the Bahamas

The family of a missing Chicago woman who vanished last week during a yoga retreat in the Bahamas is pleading for her safe return to the United States.

Taylor Casey, 41, was last seen on June 19 near Paradise Island, near the Bahamian capital of Nassau.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force is searching for the missing woman and has met with her family members who travelled there this week.

In January, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for the Bahamas, citing violent crime and sexual assault.

In an interview with the BBC’s US partner Colette Seymore, Ms Casey’s mother said she learned something was wrong when the retreat organisers called her last week and asked if she had heard from her.

Ms Seymore said she last exchanged messages with Ms Casey on June 18 – the day before she was last seen.

“Taylor had sent me pictures… of the Atlantic Ocean and said, ‘I miss you, Mom. I miss you. Look, I’m at the beach.'”

The group that organized the retreat, Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas, told CBS they contacted her family and the U.S. Embassy after she failed to show up for a morning class on June 20.

She had been seen at the resort the previous evening.

On Facebook, organizers of the retreat urged anyone with information to contact police and said they were working with local authorities in the investigation.

“What we’re hearing doesn’t sound like Taylor, and we need more information,” Casey’s friend Emily Williams told CBS.

Police in the Bahamas met with family members on Wednesday.

On January 26, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for the Bahamas, noting that “violent crimes, including burglaries, armed robberies, and sexual assaults, occur in both tourist and non-tourist areas.”

“Be vigilant when staying in holiday properties where there are no private security companies present at short notice,” the warning continues.