The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM Director General Latia Duncombe said Ministry of Tourism officials are meeting to determine the “best approach” to handle the negative consequences of the disappearance of an American woman.

Chicago native Taylor Casey, 41, was last seen in the Paradise Island area on June 19. Her relatives said she was in the country for the Sirvanada Ashram Yoga Retreat.

A contingent of her relatives, including her mother, is travelling to Paradise Island to coordinate search efforts with local authorities.

Yoga Retreat Bahamas said the woman’s disappearance was noticed on June 20 when she failed to attend morning classes.

In a popular Facebook post, a person who identified herself as Ms Casey’s relative warned people not to come to The Bahamas.

“Y’all choose wisely where you go and who you trust,” she said.

Mrs Duncombe told reporters the ministry obtained information about Ms Casey’s relatives and the visitor relations department would contact them. 

“Whenever there’s a missing individual, there’s cause for concern, and so we’re going to be guided by the authorities,” she said. “However, on the other side, from a PR perspective, it’s all systems go. We have meetings even today because we do need to get ahead of it and to try and map it out. Tourism is our number one business. The destination is safe, and we need to make sure that visitors do feel safe when they visit The Bahamas.”

“Whenever there is an odd occurrence, it does increase concern. We want to make sure that we address it in a very measured way and continue to allow the authorities the opportunity to do what they need to do with the situation and then to keep the family in our prayers.”

Police reportedly recovered the woman’s phone from a Paradise Island beach.

Relatives and loved ones have created Facebook and Instagram pages, Find Taylor Casey, to aid search efforts. 

"We are deeply concerned for Taylor’s safety and well-being,” Colette Seymore, Ms Casey’s mother, said in a statement.

Ms Casey is described as a light-skinned black woman, approximately 5ft 10in tall and 145 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.