A Chicago woman visiting the Bahamas for a month-long yoga retreat has disappeared on the island.
Authorities say 41-year-old Taylor Casey was last seen on June 19 in the Paradise Island area, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Local authorities shared a missing persons flyer on June 21 after Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas, the organization behind the retreat, noticed that Casey failed to attend morning classes on June 20. and a place that offers courses and workshops and yoga holidays.” It is located in Nassau.
Taylor attended the retreat to “deepen her ten-year yoga practice,” according to her family, but they added that she would never “disappear.”
“I believe Taylor is in danger because she was eager to share her yoga retreat experience with
others upon his return,” said Colette Seymore, Casey’s mother, in a press release published on Find Taylor Casey’s Facebook page.
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas did not respond to TIME’s request for comment, but asked anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to contact local police about his social media page.
“We are deeply concerned about Taylor’s safety and well-being,” Seymore said. “We love Taylor and want her home.”
Seymore is traveling to Parade Island and Nassau to coordinate with local authorities, the statement says.
Casey is a black woman described as 5 feet 10 inches tall and 145 pounds. A fundraising to defend for Casey, getting a legal team and supporting her family by going to the Bahamas to look for her was started online. He had raised nearly $6,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Bahamas were under a level 2 consultancy by the US State Department since the end of January. Authorities urged people to exercise caution due to the rise in violent crime and the high homicide rate associated with gang violence.
The State Department did not respond to requests for comment. Anyone with information is asked to call the Royal Bahamas Police Force Criminal Investigations Department at 502-9991/2 or the Highway Patrol at 328-TIPS (8477).
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