Taylor Casey’s family is holding on to hope one month after her disappearance in the Bahamas
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The distressed family and friends of American woman Taylor Casey who vanished one month ago in the Bahamas are holding out hope she’ll be found, though there are no new updates on her whereabouts since June 19.
Her family said they expected an update from the Royal Bahamas Police Force last Friday, but have not received it. They are still campaigning for the Chicago woman’s safe return while pleading for the FBI’s support in finding her.
Jacqueline Boyd has known Taylor for 17 years and describes her as an “amazing, amazing friend.”
“Anybody that has been in a room with her is really, really devastated right now, personally impacted and motivated to action,” he told CNN. “And it is fully a reflection of how Taylor shows up for us.”
Friends say Taylor, a transgender woman who grew up in south suburban Harvey, Illinois, and most recently moved to Rogers Park in Chicago, is an Air Force veteran, a community worker, a woman of faith, an artist, and a hairstylist.
“Taylor’s favorite things are flowers and gardens and just peace,” her mother, Colette Seymore told CNN. “Taylor is a very gentle spirit. Taylor just loves people, loves to help people, cares about people, cares about justice (and) fairness.”
Taylor had worked with Howard Brown Health in HIV testing and prevention, her friends said.
Since knowing her for just six years, Darlene Hughes, Taylor’s aunt said, “I immediately was adopted by her!”
“I love and I miss her proper voice and choice of words like ‘Hi Aunt Darlene.’ Just like that, I was accepted into Taylor’s heart. I am so fulfilled that I met her, but that is not enough for me. Please bring Taylor Casey home.”
Taylor was on a trip to the Bahamas to certify as a yoga instructor at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Center on Paradise Island when she mysteriously disappeared. Police found her phone in waters not far from where she stayed but were unsuccessful in recovering the contents of the phone, Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander said.
Authorities have not found her US passport, raising an alarm in Chicago’s transgender and LGBTQ+ community, who founded the @findtaylorcasey Facebook and Instagram pages to bring awareness to her disappearance.
