On the eve of her birthday, Taylor Casey’s loved ones press for answers – NBC Chicago

On the eve of Taylor Casey’s 42nd birthday, family and friends continue to try hard to bring their loved one home.

According to authorities, Casey was attending a yoga retreat at the Sivananda Ashram on Paradise Island in Nassau when she disappeared. Organizers of the program say Casey’s disappearance was discovered on June 20 “when she failed to attend morning classes.”

On June 25, five days after 41-year-old Casey was reported missing by police, organizers of the yoga program posted a message about the disappearance on Facebook.

“Taylor Casey, a participant in our yoga certification program, is missing,” the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat posted on Facebook last week. “She was last seen at the retreat late in the evening of June 19th.”

Her mother, Colette Seymore, said there was something “strange” about her daughter’s voice when the two spoke the day before she disappeared.

Seymore said there was something “weird” about her daughter’s voice when the two spoke just a day before she disappeared.

“I had an eerie feeling after talking to my child on the phone,” Seymore said. “And I sensed through the phone that something was wrong.”

Seymore said she fears the case of her daughter, a transgender woman of color, will not be adequately investigated or addressed because of her identity.

“I just feel like they’re hiding something, covering something up, and they’ve segregated and isolated my child,” Seymore said. “My child was the only African American in the teacher’s class.”

“My first thought is … here we go again. We need to hold people accountable. We need to remember that even though people are missing, they are not forgotten. And their cases are worth investigating,” said Channyn Parker of the Brave Space Alliance in Hyde Park.

The Brave Space Alliance is a nonprofit organization that provides support for the South Side’s LGBTQ+ community.

“My child is missing. Do something. Help find my child,” Seymore said.

As Casey’s case remains under investigation, the Chief Superintendent of the Royal Bahamas Police Force has been placed on “garden leave,” a policy akin to paid vacation. The move raises questions about the organization’s integrity as investigations into local missing persons cases are ongoing.

Officials also commented in the update on the investigation into the case of Taylor Casey of Chicago, who disappeared last month while attending a yoga retreat on Paradise Island in Nassau.

A spokesman said searches involving divers and underwater drones were carried out near the area where Casey’s phone was found, but no new evidence was discovered.

Casey’s family will gather at Federal Plaza in Chicago for a press conference Thursday morning to voice their support. Supporters are expected to call for more help from local and state authorities and greater involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.