Missing Chicago woman's cellphone found in Bahamas as mother seeks U.S. help

Lina Portman2 days ago

0 2 minutes read

Taylor Casey, of Chicago, Illinois, was last seen June 19 in the Paradise Island area, authorities said. Image courtesy of Royal Bahamas Police Force/Facebook
Taylor Casey's cell phone was found in the ocean near the docks of Paradise Island. Photo courtesy of Claudia Garcia-Roya/Release

July 2 (UPI) — Taylor Casey's cellphone has been located in the Bahamas, authorities said Tuesday, as the mother of the missing 41-year-old Chicago woman calls on the United States to take over the investigation.

Casey was on the Caribbean island to attend a yoga certification program and was reported missing the night of June 20 by the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat after failing to show up for class. She was last seen at the Paradise Island yoga school the night before.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force has launched a search for the missing woman and said Tuesday that her cellphone had been recovered in nearby waters.

His diary was also discovered along with other personal belongings, the police agency said, adding that his U.S. passport was still missing.

“This is a priority matter for the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and we will continue to work diligently, doing everything we can to locate Taylor and ensure his safe return to his family,” the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement.

“The police will be diligently seeking to determine what happened to Taylor, and in doing so.”

Casey's mother, Collette Seymore, recently returned to the United States after three days in the Bahamas, and she is asking the U.S. government for help.

She and her team released a statement Monday criticizing Bahamian authorities for their handling of the investigation as well as the yoga retreat, which Seymore described as “cult-like” and uncooperative.

She said Casey's phone was found in the ocean thanks to the help of her niece who alerted authorities to where it had last emitted its signal. They now claim police are refusing to return the phone to her.

“I believe this phone may contain information we need,” she said.

UPI has contacted the Royal Bahamas Police Force for comment.

She added that there were no missing person posters of Casey at the shelter or in the surrounding area. She was even missing from the bulletin board at the police station, she said, with her team providing images of the missing person adorned with a half-dozen other missing person posters to confirm Casey's disappearance.

His team also accused police of hiring a security company to review CCTV footage instead of hiring investigators and of asking ashram guests to submit written statements about Casey, instead of being interviewed.

“I'm uncomfortable with the investigation,” Seymore said. “I'm not satisfied. I feel like the police did the bare minimum and I need them to act like it's their child who's missing!”

They are now asking the US State Department to send the FBI to take charge of the investigation.

“I had to go home without her. It’s every mother’s worst nightmare,” she said in a statement. “I felt the urge to go home because without the support of the U.S. government, we may never know what happened to my Taylor.”