Police are still searching for missing American woman nearly 3 weeks after she vanished from yoga retreat in the Bahamas
Investigators looking for missing American Taylor Casey in the Bahamas have enlisted the help of search dogs, marine teams and flight crews, officials said, as the search for the Chicago woman nears the three-week mark.Casey, 41, was last seen June 19 on Paradise Island, a small resort enclave just off the coast of the island of New Providence, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said. She was there to attend a yoga retreat.
A missing person flyer released by police did not provide details of the circumstances of her disappearance or say whether foul play is suspected.
During a June 22 search, a dog picked up a scent from a tent and tracked it to the water, but the scent ended there, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said at a news conference Monday.
Two days later, search crews found Casey’s cell phone in the water, but they have been unable to access its contents, officials said.
Investigators in the Bahamas asked American authorities for help unlocking the phone, but they also had no luck, Fernander said Monday.
Authorities also reviewed surveillance footage from around the island, but there is “no information to connect at this time,” the police commissioner added.
Casey’s mother, Colette Seymore, traveled to the Bahamas to meet with police, US Embassy leadership and organizers of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat where Casey was reported missing.
“I had to return home without her. This is every mother’s worst nightmare,” Seymore said in a news release last week after returning to the US. “I felt an urgent need to return because without (US) government support, we may never find out what happened to my Taylor.”
Police in the Bahamas were alerted to Casey’s disappearance by the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat, which asked them to investigate after Casey failed to attend morning classes, the retreat said in a statement to CNN.
Taylor, who has been practicing yoga for 15 years, went to the yoga retreat “to fulfill a long-term goal of deepening her practice,” the family said.