Bahamas - Taylor Casey, 41, Chicago, last seen in at yoga retreat, Paradise Island, Nassau, 19 Jun 2024

[Wallendo]

At this point, my hunch is she might have decided to go for a swim on her own, thinking it was safe and peaceful.

Is there much of a tide on that bay (I think it's a quiet bay, not the open ocean....correct me if I'm wrong)? I wonder if she left a few items on the beach while she went in the water, and later the tide carried her items away.

I hope for more info soon. I know her family must be so distressed.

jmo

The beaches on Paradise Island all face north towards the open water. There are not a lot of waves. The tides are only about 3 feet Tide Times and Tide Chart for Nassau, New Providence Island

the opposite (southern) side of the Ashram has a dock and faces the cruise ship docks.

 

[Tealgrove]

Oh wow…so actually was located. If they were able to find it though I’m assuming it was close to the shore in shallow water? Or did they actually go diving? Not sure what to think if it was close to the shore. That almost seems like accidentally dropping it because if you want to intentionally dispose of a phone in the ocean you’d chuck it at least a few feet out, depending on how well you can throw. Or maybe someone did and it just happened to wash back up? Hm

I’m beginning to think she left it on the beach, took a dip in the ocean and got into trouble. Riptide, strong wave knocked her down and pulled her out deeper, panic, drowning?

MOO

 

[opensoulsurgery]

At this point, my hunch is she might have decided to go for a swim on her own, thinking it was safe and peaceful.

Is there much of a tide on that bay (I think it's a quiet bay, not the open ocean....correct me if I'm wrong)? I wonder if she left a few items on the beach while she went in the water, and later the tide carried her items away.

I hope for more info soon. I know her family must be so distressed.

jmo

I have been to this ashram and this beach before. The ocean is fairly calm on that side of the island, but it can and does get dangerous. It's not a bay; it's all Atlantic ocean out there and the ocean is a fickle beast. I think she got swept away.

 

[Cedars]

I’m beginning to think she left it on the beach, took a dip in the ocean and got into trouble. Riptide, strong wave knocked her down and pulled her out deeper, panic, drowning?

MOO

Especially if she went after dark, or before sunrise.

The 20th was the solstice and full moon. What if she went swimming very late or early to see the full moon, and swam out to get away from the lights around the ashram. It's a bit of a crazy thing I'd do after days or weeks of yoga bliss.

JMO

 

[Lilibet]

I have been to this ashram and this beach before. The ocean is fairly calm on that side of the island, but it can and does get dangerous. It's not a bay; it's all Atlantic ocean out there and the ocean is a fickle beast. I think she got swept away.

Welcome to Websleuths @opensoulsurgery! Thanks for posting. I agree that she probably got swept away. Here on the Oregon coast we have “sneaker” or rogue waves that unexpectedly come in far and fast. They can and do kill people. “Never turn your back on the ocean” is the rule.

Sneaker Waves

I don’t know if such waves exist in the Bahamas, but it’s clear that she went to the beach late at night after she was last seen. I expect she got caught in a wave or a rip tide and was swept out to sea. So tragic.

 

[branmuffin]

This New York Post article has a picture that better shows her height and build. I'd say probably 5'10 or taller, slender build. Chicago woman Taylor Casey vanishes in Bahamas while attending yoga retreat

The fact that the phone was found in water concerns me.

Paradise Island has rip tides and undertows. Just walking in the water at the shoreline can bowl you off your feet and drag you in the ocean. The drop off is close to shore. Cabbage Beach which isn't too far from the retreat is a casual walking distance there. It's infamous for rip tides. I wonder if Taylor could swim.

 

[mlhenn]

Chicago woman's cellphone found 1 week after she went missing on Paradise Island in Bahamas

The phone of a Chicago woman missing in the Bahamas has been found in the water in the area, local officials said.

abc7chicago.com

The phone of a Chicago woman missing in the Bahamas has been found in the water in the area, local officials told CNN.

Authorities said Wednesday that they found Casey's cellphone in the water, but it's unclear the distance it was from the yoga retreat.

 

[mlhenn]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/06/27/taylor-casey-missing-bahamas-yoga-retreat/

 

[mlhenn]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1806317496078606777

Some guests there are outraged the resort did not inform them that someone was missing. Some have left and were told no refunds, only resort credit.

 

[mlhenn]

Search for Chicago woman who went missing in the Bahamas expands: Police

The search has expanded for Taylor Casey, a Chicago woman who went missing while on a yoga retreat in the Bahamas last week, police said.

abcnews.go.com

The search for Casey -- which has involved drones, canines and divers -- has extended beyond the immediate area of the retreat to other parts of the island, Royal Bahamas Police Force Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings told reporters Wednesday afternoon. Investigators are also checking surveillance cameras, she said.

Skippings said it is too early in the investigation to say if any foul play is suspected.

 

[mlhenn]

Latest developments as Chicago woman mysteriously disappears while attending Bahamas yoga retreat: What we know

Taylor Casey, 41, of Chicago, was reported missing when she didn't show up for morning yoga classes during a retreat she was attending in The Bahamas.

www.nbcchicago.com

 

[branmuffin]

But she would hardly swim with her phone, seems like it was thrown in the ocean

Or she was holding it while taking pics and lost her balance in the water.

 

[branmuffin]

Missing Chicago woman Taylor Casey disappeared during a yoga retreat in the Bahamas a week ago.

Her mother says there are too many unanswered questions — including how Casey’s phone was found at the bottom of the ocean.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1805958520845500888

*Interview with Taylor's mother

I doubt the phone was at the bottom of the ocean, more likely in the surf near the shore.

 

[branmuffin]

Is there any report, other than articles quoting her mother, that document her phone being in water? or being found?

Modern phones can survive a fall into water, but being submerged in water will block out the cell signal. Finding a phone on the bottom of the ocean would likely require an extensive diving search and a very specific location to search. If the localization of the phone is accurate, I would suspect she was on a boat.

Cell phone records could be very helpful as far as pinning down a time for loss of signal and general location.

I get the feeling that the resort and LE in Nassau are sharing very little information with her family. Somebody somewhere should have seen something, or at least seen her leaving the resort.

A friend went to a yoga retreat (not this one) and the day started pretty early. According to those at the retreat Taylor was seen at night on the 19th but didn't show up for class on the 20th. High tide on the 19th was at 6:59pm with the height of the tide at 3.28 feet. On the morning of the 20th it was at 7.20am with the height at 2.3 feet. So is it possible that Taylor went for a walk, either in the evening of the 19th and got caught in a riptide or undertow or early morning on the 20th before classes started? At this point in time, I'm not seeing her absence as related to foul play because there is no evidence to point us in that direction.

I can't tell you how many people go on vacation without ever doing any kind of investigation as to things that should matter to them. Like, are you aware that when you visit Serbia the alphabet is Cyrillic and restaurants may be only in that script? That lots of countries drive on the opposite side of the road? That there are sharks and beautiful beaches that are wildly popular (Cabo San Lucas) but powerful currents have claimed many lives of tourists? That paragliding or scuba diving in, lets say, Mexico means you are risking your life since most of those activities are an unregulated industry?

I know a lot of people get upset when they think local LE are ambivalent regarding investigating missing persons but they have a lot of experience dealing with tourists who are very inexperienced. Not to say that countries that rely on tourism as their lifeblood might be reluctant to make a big splash regarding missing persons but stats really do support their stance.

 

[branmuffin]

I don’t think it’s just tourism and money that slows down investigations in some cases, although it may be here. But in cases I’ve followed, if the missing woman is in her 40’s and not super pretty they don’t get the attention other’s get. Blonde “supermom” Sherri Papini got lots of attention (turned out to be a hoax) as has another pretty Mom Suzanne Morphew to name two off the top of my head.

However, the case of Stephanie Warner, local to me in Southern Oregon got very little attention…42 year old redhead with a temperment to match, had a DUI, tattoos…the local deputies didn’t really like her. Unfortunately, race can also put a case on the back burner. The media has a lot to do with it, but so do locals. I went around Stephanie’s small rural town passing out posters and many people hadn’t heard of her.

So I’m not surprised Taylor Casey’s disappearance is passing without much comment. Families can make a difference, so I’m glad her Mom is there to push the investigators and publicize her daughter’s disappearance;

JMO

I also think it's unrealistic for the general public who follows missing persons or family members to think everyone will stop what they are doing, either tourists or residents and refocus their day to churn out missing posters, etc. I mean, really, if someone went missing in Paris, New York or London, what do you expect everyone to do? When you are family members of a missing person you become a member of an exclusive club that no one wants to be a member of. I'm sure these same people have been aware of other missing people and are not invested in their disappearance.

 

[tarabull]

Snipped...
...“She was actually in The Bahamas in February,” Conard said. “She takes trips all the time. … This was nothing out of the ordinary.”

 

[Inthedetails]

For those who are familiar with the area, does part of the beach get covered during the tide, blocking a walking route back to the resort? Could she have stranded herself?

I keep focusing on the tide because she is from Chicago and while of course she knows about tides, but perhaps sort of forgets about them since she isn't from an area with ocean beaches. Could she have been caught off guard?

jmo

 

[opensoulsurgery]

For those who are familiar with the area, does part of the beach get covered during the tide, blocking a walking route back to the resort? Could she have stranded herself?

I keep focusing on the tide because she is from Chicago and while of course she knows about tides, but perhaps sort of forgets about them since she isn't from an area with ocean beaches. Could she have been caught off guard?

jmo

I'm not local, but FWIW I was in the area this year and had visited yearly for many years. When I was there this year, I noticed the tides were much higher than they used to be. I didn't walk over to the ashram's part of the beach but it's all the same ocean. I think the tides would be higher over there now too. It's possible she was blocked from getting back to the ashram.

Past the ashram, the beach does end in a bit of a rocky area and the tide comes right up to it. I wonder if she was on the rocks and slipped before getting swept away.

JMO.

 

[Inthedetails]

I'm not local, but FWIW I was in the area this year and had visited yearly for many years. When I was there this year, I noticed the tides were much higher than they used to be. I didn't walk over to the ashram's part of the beach but it's all the same ocean. I think the tides would be higher over there now too. It's possible she was blocked from getting back to the ashram.

Past the ashram, the beach does end in a bit of a rocky area and the tide comes right up to it. I wonder if she was on the rocks and slipped before getting swept away.

JMO.

Thanks for that info. I am thinking something like what you described happened.

jmo

 

[mlhenn]

Search for missing woman Taylor Casey expanded

The search continues for missing Chicago woman Taylor Casey, who was last seen in The Bahamas on June 19

www.newsnationnow.com

To Note:
-local police began to use drone technology to scour for any signs on the western end of Paradise Island.
-Divers have also taken to the water

-prior to her disappearance had been sending family photos of herself on the beach.

Then, all of a sudden, she just vanished.

Wonder when her last photo was sent?