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

[RickshawFan]

Looking at those photos, there are a thousand ways to go missing: water, yachts, buildings, buildings buildings....

 

[RickshawFan]

I wonder if attendees to the conference are offered any optional excursions. Sometimes retreats like this have a partial day or evening to experience local culture - sightseeing, deep sea fishing, the main shopping district, etc... Somehow she departed the safety of the Sivananda Yoga Center.

We don't know for a fact that she departed the Yoga Center. AFAIK there's no camera footage showing her anywhere else? Were guests allowed to leave before they were interviewed by LE?

 

[RickshawFan]

Missing woman Taylor Casey’s last phone ping was in water: Cousin

Casey was last seen on the evening of Wednesday, June 19, at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat.

www.newsnationnow.com

The cousin of Chicago woman Taylor Casey, who went missing while participating in a yoga retreat on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, says she last saw her aunt’s phone ping in the water.

Conard had been the only family member who had Casey’s location on the Find My iPhone app. Once she heard Casey was missing, Conard checked the app, and saw it was in the water, where her aunt’s phone was located Tuesday morning.

Royal Bahamas Police Force is now investigating.

It could have pinged on the shore at low tide and then been located in the water at high tide.

 

[RickshawFan]

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.

Anyone could dock there and get onto the island at the Ashram from the sound of things.

 

[RickshawFan]

This whole situation is giving me Aruba vibes. It seems like we pondered the same possibilities in that case.

 

[RickshawFan]

Umm no, I don’t expect anyone to stop what they’re doing and “churn out missing posters”, especially residents of NYC, Paris or London. Of course that is unrealistic. I said nothing of the kind. You missed my point.

If you read the post I was responding to, I was pointing out why, in my experience, some cases are “adopted” by a community and some aren’t. The examples in my post were all small communities that often come together to help in these situations as the Redding area did for Sherri Papini. That’s why I was surprised at the silence and inaction for Stephanie Warner ten years ago.

My point was that it fits the pattern of ignoring most average looking middle aged women who go missing, such as Stephanie and Taylor, but rallying for attractive and/or younger missing women. A pretty teenager disappeared in my town and there was a candlelight vigil downtown and a protest at the police station and much local news coverage. (She turned out to have run away for three months.) So I saw the disparity firsthand FWIW. I hope this clarifies my post for you.

Much of the help provided is in response to family involvement, so Taylor’s mother is doing well to be involved, and should expect nothing but be grateful for anything. And if Taylor was swept out to sea her efforts won’t make a difference. But it will likely be hard for Taylor’s mom to accept that it was an accident if it was.
JMO

I totally agree with you on the over-emphasis on a certain youthful demographic if someone goes missing. And, yes, other demographics, age groups, wealth, and ethnicities, get a lot less press when they go missing.

Another reason few visitors would be interested in creating or seeing "missing" posters is that they're not going to want their image of a "quiet secluded exclusive yoga retreat" messed with.

IMO the whole yoga vibe would be disarming if there actually was someone there who wasn't safe to be around. I'm thinking Kaitlin Armstrong hiding out at the yoga retreat in Costa Rica. I mean, who would imagine their yoga teacher is wanted for murder? Their bunkmate? The woman lazing around at the beach?

And we recently had a situation out of a yoga retreat at Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, where someone dove off a kayak into deep cold water and drowned. The yoga participants in that case didn't seem to know each other very well. Maybe that's in the nature of yoga retreats? I'm wondering if that's a factor in this case, too?

 

[RickshawFan]

Yes, just to add to this, many people take these 'teacher training' programs, in order to immerse themselves in yoga for a few solid weeks. It's like auditing a university course, you attend but don't have to pass exams, nor are you interested in getting a degree, or working in the field.

It probably also works out to be cheaper than staying at a resort in the Bahamas as a guest, for the same amount of time.

IMO, most people don't get enough time off to do this, it's often done during a period of life transition, ie divorce, job change...

JMO

It sounds like at this yoga retreat they sleep in tents. The yoga retreat may charge a lot of money for these, but perhaps less than a regular resort. You can get fancy glamping tents, but I'm always suspicious these are fairly lucrative for the outlay, and they can be priced lower than other arrangements.

I'll bet this yoga retreat is expensive...

 

[RickshawFan]

In the interview of TC's mom, she said people would leave the yoga resort to get coffee and other treats, since these weren't provided (I guess a caffeine-free environment?). Have we heard any LE comment on this avenue? Where, for instance, are these escapees going for coffee?

 

[tarabull]

Plenty of reviews at TA...u can search 1 - 5 stars...FWIW.

 

[branmuffin]

Taylor is pretty tall for a woman. I don’t think she would be the ideal kidnapping target. Are there a lot of sharks in the area? I’m just wondering why a body wouldn’t be found if she did fall in the ocean and swept under. That’s very sus that no one put up missing flyers, and the yoga retreat didn’t tell their other guests upon arrival that a guest was missing. Also I would want to ask her mom if she was a good swimmer.

A missing person is a missing person and I don't think a hotel, retreat or AirB&B should be responsible for being actively involved in the search for a missing person. I don't see the correlation so I'd like to hear why they should be actively involved. I could understand if a woman was attacked or sexually assaulted on the grounds of one of the above locations because security would come into play but walking on a beach, not on the grounds of the retreat doesn't fall in that category.

I also don't think the height of a woman is an indicator as to whether she would be an ideal victim or not. Situational awareness is one of the biggest indicators of someone being vulnerable to abduction or assault. Walking down the street or beach focusing on your phone without any thought of who's in front or behind you has nothing to do with height, weight or age.

 

[branmuffin]

I totally agree with you on the over-emphasis on a certain youthful demographic if someone goes missing. And, yes, other demographics, age groups, wealth, and ethnicities, get a lot less press when they go missing.

Another reason few visitors would be interested in creating or seeing "missing" posters is that they're not going to want their image of a "quiet secluded exclusive yoga retreat" messed with.

IMO the whole yoga vibe would be disarming if there actually was someone there who wasn't safe to be around. I'm thinking Kaitlin Armstrong hiding out at the yoga retreat in Costa Rica. I mean, who would imagine their yoga teacher is wanted for murder? Their bunkmate? The woman lazing around at the beach?

And we recently had a situation out of a yoga retreat at Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, where someone dove off a kayak into deep cold water and drowned. The yoga participants in that case didn't seem to know each other very well. Maybe that's in the nature of yoga retreats? I'm wondering if that's a factor in this case, too?

A retreat based on the moniker 'retreat' rather than hotel, Virbo, AirB&B or resort suggests to me that the visitors are there for a period of self reflection exempt from all the noise of the attractions that many places advertise. So a lot of them don't necessarily interact with other guests other than the usual casual contact.

 

[FansBlowing]

I doubt she was swimming with her cell phone on her. She would have to be in the water for a rip tide to drag her out to sea. She might have been in a boat. Were there rental boats or paddle boats in that area?

 

[calo44]

It sounds like at this yoga retreat they sleep in tents. The yoga retreat may charge a lot of money for these, but perhaps less than a regular resort. You can get fancy glamping tents, but I'm always suspicious these are fairly lucrative for the outlay, and they can be priced lower than other arrangements.

I'll bet this yoga retreat is expensive...

I had heard on the radio (reporting on this case) that the tents were $80/night and rooms inside the resort could go up to $500/night, FWIW.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I doubt she was swimming with her cell phone on her. She would have to be in the water for a rip tide to drag her out to sea. She might have been in a boat. Were there rental boats or paddle boats in that area?

a riptide can catch you in relatively shallow water...
People really do walk pretty far into the water to take pictures!!

 

[starlightstarbright]

Do we have any indication she could swim?

 

[LooksSusToMe]

A missing person is a missing person and I don't think a hotel, retreat or AirB&B should be responsible for being actively involved in the search for a missing person. I don't see the correlation so I'd like to hear why they should be actively involved. I could understand if a woman was attacked or sexually assaulted on the grounds of one of the above locations because security would come into play but walking on a beach, not on the grounds of the retreat doesn't fall in that category.

I also don't think the height of a woman is an indicator as to whether she would be an ideal victim or not. Situational awareness is one of the biggest indicators of someone being vulnerable to abduction or assault. Walking down the street or beach focusing on your phone without any thought of who's in front or behind you has nothing to do with height, weight or age.

I didn’t say they are legally responsible to search for the missing guest, although cruise ships are per maritime law.

It just looks bad as a “retreat” not to at least put up fliers and disclose to guests the situation. If I owned a business, and someone ended up missing, I would look actively. Didn’t any of the instructors or other retreat guests interact with her? It seems like a long immersive program, so it’s a bit weird no one got to know her there.

The LISK intentionally targeted small women, because they’re easier to overtake…and he’s a giant.

 

[castilloisno1]

When Linda Stolzfoos went missing in Amish country, all the tourist hotels and restaurants had her posters everywhere. It was jarring to know that an innocent 18 year old could be snatched in such an idyllic,beautiful setting. My heart goes out to Taylor's mom and hope that she is getting more information and help from the FBI. The fact that her phone was found near the ocean makes me worried.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“We’re looking for more answers. We want straight answers, but I haven’t heard anything I wanted to hear so far,” said Colette Seymore, Ms Casey’s mother, in a recent interview with international media.

“People can tell you anything long distance. I’m here right now. Yeah, I need to know that they are taking this seriously. I need to know they’re taking this seriously and helping to bring our loved one home. I need to know that and no, I’m not feeling that confident about that.”

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said last week that criticism of police’s efforts to find the woman is “odd”, insisting officers are doing everything they can.

He said information has been gathered from Ms Casey’s cell phone and that the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is also assisting police with its investigation.

But the family wants local police to return her phone to them, believing it will give them much-needed answers into Ms Casey’s disappearance.

‘We need answers on missing Taylor’

MORE than a week after American Taylor Casey went missing, her relatives said they need more answers surrounding her disappearance and don’t feel “as confident” in police’s investigations.

www.tribune242.com

 

[branmuffin]

I didn’t say they are legally responsible to search for the missing guest, although cruise ships are per maritime law.

It just looks bad as a “retreat” not to at least put up fliers and disclose to guests the situation. If I owned a business, and someone ended up missing, I would look actively. Didn’t any of the instructors or other retreat guests interact with her? It seems like a long immersive program, so it’s a bit weird no one got to know her there.

The LISK intentionally targeted small women, because they’re easier to overtake…and he’s a giant.

I think we can agree to disagree. I don't think a comparison between a ship on the open seas and a building on land are even remotely the same. If someone goes missing who lives in a 28 story apartment building they might get some activity of people actively putting up posters but I don't know how far that goodwill would extend to actively looking for the person. Sure, the residents will talk about it and hope for the best but many won't be personally invested. Even less so, in a resort/retreat in another country unless you presume that you might be in danger, too.

But does being missing equal foul play? It depends. Is there someone who works there who takes an active and unwanted interest in you? You might say something to LE if that's case. Other than that, I can see it from two points of view: dismay that someone who is staying at the same place you are has gone missing and hope their disappearance isn't related to the location (which may affect you) and the view that an anonymous person has gone missing and it happens to people in unknown places and at home.

Does that sound cold and unfeeling? I think it depends on many criteria. Where do you live? In a bedroom community near a big city where you don't even know the people on your street because you're a long distance commuter to work? In a rural area where you know everyone miles around? In a small community with very few outlets for entertainment so gathering spots allow interaction with people from other small communities? All of those things have an impact on your viewpoint, IMO.

As for a woman's height, I believe that many factors weigh in as to whether you are perceived as the perfect victim. If you are a woman who lives alone but leaves a window open in your home or apartment it doesn't matter how tall you are when you have someone like Paul Bernardo who raped dozens of women in the Scarborough/Toronto area in the 1990s. If you are living a high risk lifestyle like prostitution or drug use you are more likely to be a victim of violence regardless of how tall you are. If you consume enough alcohol in a bar and lack situational awareness because of severe impairment you open yourself up to violence and assault, regardless of your height. If you walk down a street at night looking at your phone instead of your surroundings you may open yourself up to a surprise attack where your height, sobriety and fitness have no impact on your survival. Many crimes are crimes of opportunity, not thought out beforehand, so many criteria can impact what makes you the perfect victim in that moment.

 

[RickshawFan]

Plenty of reviews at TA...u can search 1 - 5 stars...FWIW.

As far as I can tell from reading…. Let me say this about my own vacations. When I go to any kind of paid lodging, I expect a bed with excellent mattress, privacy, helpful and gracious staff, and access to spotless bathroom facilities when nature calls. I would ask for a refund if my room was tinier than billed, if necessities required extra charges, and if it was next to a sewage processing facility. If it’s a glamping tent, I expect the same.

Maybe that’s just me.