CNN
—
The mother of a Chicago woman who has been missing in the Bahamas for nearly two weeks is pleading with the U.S. government to intervene and help find her daughter.
Taylor Casey, 41, was last seen on June 19 near Paradise Island, a small resort town just off the coast of New Providence Island, where she was attending a yoga retreat, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Casey’s mother, Colette Seymore, returned to the United States after spending three days in the Bahamas, meeting with U.S. Embassy leadership, organizers of the Sivananda Ashram yoga retreat where Casey was reported missing, and members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
“I had to return home without her. This is every mother’s worst nightmare,” Seymore said in a press release shared by a family representative. “I felt an urgent need to return because without the support of the U.S. government, we may never find out what happened to my Taylor.”
The family is now demanding that the FBI take over the investigation into Casey’s disappearance.
“Let me make this clear to the U.S. media, the public and our government officials: We are not satisfied with how this investigation has been handled so far. And what we have learned and observed during our meetings with authorities and ashram leaders is disturbing and infuriating,” Emily Williams, a friend of Casey’s who accompanied Seymore on the trip, said in the press release.
Casey’s family and friends have been speaking to FBI officials on the phone since his return, but these calls have not led to the agency’s intervention in the case, the press release said.
A U.S. State Department spokesman told CNN that the department was aware of reports of a U.S. citizen missing in the Bahamas, but declined to comment specifically on Casey’s case, citing privacy concerns.
When a U.S. citizen goes missing, the department works with local authorities and communicates openly with families, the spokesman said.
CNN has contacted the FBI for comment.
A “disturbing” visit to the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat
The press release also describes Seymore’s “deeply disturbing” visit to the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat on June 27, which left her team concerned for their safety.
Organizers of the retreat asked Bahamian police to investigate Casey’s disappearance, according to a statement from the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat obtained by CNN last week.
The retreat learned of Casey’s disappearance when she failed to show up for morning classes on June 20, the statement said. She was last seen late in the evening of June 19, and the “organization has also notified the U.S. Embassy as well as Taylor Casey’s family,” the statement said.
When Seymore and her team arrived at the retreat, the crime scene appeared to be largely unprocessed by authorities, the press release said. Casey’s belongings included a Bible and other books, a sketchpad with paintings, affirmation cards, clothing and toiletries.
“When we met with the leaders of the Sivananda Ashram, it became clear that they were having difficulty presenting Taylor’s disappearance in a straightforward and coherent manner,” Williams said.
Ram Soskin, the executive manager of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat, told Casey’s family that on the Monday before her disappearance, an unknown man with a walkie-talkie was walking around on the same platform where Casey’s tent was, the press release said.
On the day Casey was last seen, one of the retreat participants was approached by a stranger while sitting alone on the beach, the participant told Seymore’s team, according to the press release. “The unidentified man was wearing a Celtics baseball cap and dressed all in black. He claimed he was from Chicago and wanted to take a yoga class. He then followed her onto the property,” the press release states.
Seymore said police advised her not to speak to guests at the retreat, and authorities determined that not all of them knew about Casey’s disappearance. Seymore described the retreat as “cult-like” and claimed students were “forced to obey the leaders of the retreat” “even if that meant withholding information about my child,” the press release said.
Staff met with Taylor’s mother and friends once at police headquarters and once at the retreat center, Jonathan Goldbloom, a representative of the ashram, said in a statement to CNN.
“To be clear, the police advised us that while we can encourage community members to talk, it must be their own decision. So we announced her presence to Taylor’s classmates and teachers and invited anyone who wanted to meet her to come forward,” Goldbloom said. “Many of our community members chose to talk, and the Ashram did not interfere with what individuals said. They were encouraged to speak freely. Any hesitation could be due to their own grieving processes.”
The retreat has been asking people for information through multiple channels and providing guests with regular updates, Goldbloom said.
“We are all saddened by Taylor’s disappearance and our condolences go out to her family and friends,” Goldbloom said.
“As Ms. Seymore’s team observed the conditions and narrative control at the ashram, they began to fear for their own safety and changed their flights to get home sooner,” the press release said.
Some participants at the retreat contacted Seymore and said they were never told about the investigation into Casey’s disappearance at the retreat, the release said, adding that those participants left the retreat due to safety concerns.
“Police asked participants of the Ashram Yoga Retreat to give statements about Taylor, but did not say whether anyone was interviewed,” the press release said. “Police also refused to tell the family team how many statements they had collected and the names of the participants.”
Casey’s cellphone was found in the water, authorities said, but it’s unclear how far it was from the yoga retreat.
“We have conducted a comprehensive investigation into this matter,” Chrislyn Skippings, Chief Superintendent of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, said at a press conference last week. “Our priority is to find Taylor and find him in good health.”
Police refused to release Casey’s phone to her mother, who said, “I believe there may be information on the phone that we need,” the family said in a press release.
When asked for comment, the Royal Bahamas Police Force sent CNN a press release saying that Casey’s cellphone and diary had been found, but police have still not found Casey’s passport.
Police have used drones, search and rescue dogs and divers in the investigation and are working with Casey’s family by reviewing surveillance cameras and interviewing participants at the retreat, Skippings said last week.
Casey’s family said police told them they only searched the area between the Ashram Yoga Retreat and the nearby Atlantis resort. CNN has reached out to the Atlantis resort for more information.
“We were told that a description of Taylor was provided to Atlantis security and that they were the ones who reviewed the video footage,” Williams said in the press release. “Our understanding is that investigators themselves did not review this footage.”
In addition, the retreat leaders and local police failed to post missing persons reports for Casey in the area, the press release states.
A missing person leaflet published by the police did not provide any further details about the circumstances of her disappearance or say whether a crime was suspected.
CNN’s Amanda Musa, Kylie Atwood, Jamiel Lynch, Amanda Jackson, Lucy Kafanov and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
