The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AN American man reportedly went missing 11 years ago at the same yoga retreat where Chicago native Taylor Casey was a guest when she recently went missing.

NBC News confirmed with Jonathan Goldbloom, a Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas spokesperson, that Wesley Bell attended the retreat when he was reported missing back in 2013.

“After an extensive search, the Bahamian police determined that he had drowned,” said Mr Goldbloom.

A police missing flyer reported that Mr Bell, who is from Houston, Texas, was reported missing on Friday, January 25, 2013 from a Yoga Retreat on Paradise Island where he was a guest.

In the NBC article, his father Don Bell said he believed his son “drowned in the water” and authorities “couldn’t find him.”

Marie Bell, Mr Bell’s mother, said she had not heard about Ms Casey’s disappearance at the yoga retreat.

Ms Casey’s disappearance was discovered on June 20 when she did not attend morning classes at the yoga retreat.

She was last seen at the retreat late on the evening of June 19.

Her friends and relatives have criticised the investigation into her disappearance. The company behind the retreat have dismissed their claims as “false and defamatory and not based on facts.”

Peter Goudie, CEO of PGHR Consulting, speaking on behalf of the retreat company yesterday, told The Tribune that he did not recall Mr Bell’s matter because he was not involved.

“What I can say is that has absolutely nothing to do with 2024 and I don’t know why everybody wants to dredge up a person missing back that many years ago to something  -this just makes no sense. So, I’m sorry, I can only confirm that Taylor Casey went missing in 2024 and he, 11 years ago, that makes no sense.”

Danniel Ward-Packard was at yoga retreat when Mr Bell went missing.

While she said they were acquaintances, she remembered Bell as “always happy” and having “great energy.”

Ms Ward-Packard recalled the American walked off by himself to go snorkeling one day and never returned. She recounted that the following day his shoes, shirt and hat were found on the beach.

“People were pretty traumatized,” Ms Ward-Packard said. “It’s a beautiful place, everybody is having an amazing yoga experience in this gorgeous location and then somebody’s gone.”

She warned against connecting the two disappearances.

Since his disappearance, Ms Ward-Packard has gone back at least twice to the retreat and expressed feeling safe.