Chicago Woman Taylor Casey Vanishes During Yoga Retreat in Bahamas

The family of a Chicago woman who went missing while attending a yoga retreat last week 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 Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.

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

In January, the US State Department issued a recommendations for travelers for the Bahamas, citing violent crime and sexual assault.

In an interview with CBS, the BBC's US partner, Ms Casey's mother, Colette Seymore, said she learned something was wrong when the retreat organizers called her last week to ask if she had any news from him.

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… in the Atlantic Ocean, saying, 'I miss you, Mom. I miss you. Listen, I'm at the beach.'”

The group that organized the retreat, Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas, told CBS it 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, retreat organizers urged anyone with information to contact police and said they were working with local authorities as part of the investigation.

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

Bahamian police met with family members on Wednesday.

On January 26, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning regarding the Bahamas, noting that “violent crimes, such as burglaries, armed robberies, and sexual assaults, occur in tourist areas and not tourism”.

“Be vigilant when staying at short-term vacation rental properties where private security companies are not present,” the warning adds.