Vanished From Yoga Retreat In The Bahamas?! Where Is Taylor Casey?

Hey everyone, just hopping on to let you know that our brand new merch site is officially live. We've got a mix of new and classic designs for all of our shows. And sale items are up to 50% off plus, we have a very spectacular limited edition Halloween collection. That's available until October 31st. So don't miss out on that. Also 100% of the proceeds support the Higher Hope Foundation. Check it out now at MyelHireMerch.com. Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of True Crime with KindleRite. So guys, today the case that I'm going to be getting into is one that I feel is incredibly important to talk about. And it's one that has gotten almost no coverage sadly. And I have my own theories as to why that is. And it's really frustrating, but we'll get into that. I'm going to be telling you today about the disappearance of 43-year-old Taylor Casey who went missing from a retreat, a yoga retreat in the Bahamas in June of 2024. And I gotta tell you, I get super super super sketchy vibes from this retreat. And that's just my personal opinion. But the way that they have handled things and a few other reasons why that we will get into, I think you guys are going to agree with me that something is seriously wrong here. Now I first heard about Taylor Casey's case from my buddy Brian Enten and his amazing coverage on News Nation. And he's actually going to be popping in here at some point to give you guys sort of his perspective. And I guess the moment I started digging into what happened here, I knew we just had to reach out to her loved ones. And they very graciously agreed to help with the research process on this episode. And they're also going to be joining me in the episodes. So you'll be hearing from her mother, Colette, and then also her best friend Emily, who I can't think enough for speaking with me and allowing me to share her story for trusting me with her story. I don't take that lightly and also to come on a show like this. That's a pretty big platform. I know it can be very overwhelming. So I'm very grateful that they agreed to participate. And with that being said, you guys are the best. So I don't even feel I need to say this anymore. You should say it all the time. But whenever we have victims, family members, or loved ones friends on the show, I just ask you guys go to extra mile to really show your support and be as kind as you possibly can. So Taylor was born on July 11th of 1982, South of Chicago in Harvey, Illinois. And while there are so many things about Taylor that made her a very special person, I think one of the biggest attributes that really stood out to me was the fact that she really dedicated her life to serving others. She is known for her kind heart, her selflessness, and also her commitment to advocating for and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, which she herself was a member of. As a black transgender woman, Taylor got deeply involved in activism and really became a fixture in her Chicago community. For example, she worked at Chicago Freedom School, which offers education and leadership development for young people and adult allies. The school believes in empowering and supporting black and brown youth to become leaders for social justice. And Taylor worked there as a program manager. She also did some work with Howard Brown Health, which provides affirming healthcare and other medical services rooted in LGBTQIA liberation. And Taylor definitely had quite the impact there. She specifically worked with one individual named Zara. And Zara says that Taylor's support really played a huge role in her being able to complete her degree and really just believing in herself. When Zara was 17, Taylor encouraged her to apply for a job at Howard Brown, which she did end up getting. And Zara really attributes Taylor's support to her professional success. And now Zara is actually completing her PhD at Harvard of all places, which is just an incredible example of the impact that Taylor truly had on people's lives. And through Howard Brown at Health, Taylor even got involved in the Broadway Youth Center, which is a space for young people experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Plus, she was also very passionately involved in the Lighthouse Church of Chicago. Now, this church sounds fantastic. It's a predominantly black and LGBTQIA plus church located in Lincoln Park and there Taylor was really able to further her relationship with God and get in touch with her spirituality and faith in a safe place. And just like her mom, Taylor really did value her relationship with God. So this had been a really big part of her life. And of course, being Taylor, she often got involved in helping others through the church as a point person on their hospitality team. And she also advocated for homeless LGBTQIA plus youth. And another thing I learned about Taylor is she was really always rooting for everyone around her to succeed and be their best possible selves. For example, I was on the phone yesterday with her mom Colette and she was telling me how Taylor even encouraged her to have a positive self-esteem. She really cared about lifting other people up. And she seemed to be just from what her best friend Emily was telling me the kind of friend that tells you how it is isn't gonna sugarcoat anything but isn't going to hurt you in the process, but tells you what you need to hear. And I was telling Emily and she agreed that that's kind of the best type of person to have in your life as a friend, right? Like that is a rare type of person. Taylor just wanted the best for people that she loved and she wasn't afraid to encourage people to sort of look inward for opportunities for growth. And I also loved this. Okay, so her mom Colette told me that she called Taylor her flower child because she really loved flowers and gardening. And she remembered one time where Taylor just came by and randomly planted some flowers outside of her door as just a way to show her that she loved her and was thinking of her. And I thought that was so unique, so special. I've never heard of anyone doing that. And if someone did that for me, I would just absolutely melt. I love that. And I want to take that idea and do it for someone I love. And then another thing I had to mention, Colette said that Taylor just called her all the time, like all the time. And she would jokingly say, "Don't you have any friends to call?" And of course, she did have friends to call Taylor. Had a lot of friends in fact, but she just loved calling her mom. And speaking of friends, her friend Emily, who I mentioned earlier, also just had so many amazing things to say about Taylor. The two of them met back in 2008, 2009-ish at a housewarming party for another friend and they just hit it off right away. And then that same week, kind of, almost by fate, the two of them just happened to see each other on a train and Emily ended up booking a appointment with Taylor to get her haircut at her hair salon. I haven't mentioned that yet, but Taylor was a super talented hair stylist and it really allowed her to connect with so many people. And through what I've been able to learn about her, she really had a way of connecting with others that made them feel safe and loved. And that's only a fraction of why she was able to foster such strong relationships in her life. Taylor was the pillar of every community that she was in, whether that was through her family, her friends or her work. And really so much more, she lived a very rich life. And what's also incredibly impressive and I just have to mention is that Taylor was also an Air Force veteran. She joined the 18 right out of high school and served for two and a half years before being honorably discharged due to medical reasons. Yet, despite selflessly serving her country, that same country has hardly fought for her. However, luckily Taylor has an amazing support system, amazing friends and family who have been fighting non-stop and they will not stop until that day comes. And here's Collette and Emily to tell you a little bit more about Taylor. Okay, my name is Collette Slow and I am Taylor's mom and I really miss Taylor. I really miss Taylor. I need Taylor in my life, but I see that that's not going to happen right now. Anyway, yeah, I just miss the love that Taylor gave me. Taylor was just so, and not just me, the whole family. Taylor was just so loving and caring and really cared about her family. I remember one time, you know, Taylor just came out to my house. Taylor would always bring me flowers and I really appreciated that. But Taylor came out to my house this one day and had a flower in her hand. And I'm like, "Oh, what you going to do with that flower?" She said, "My, I came out here to plant this flower right on my side door in my little dirt by the bushes." And Taylor came out there, came out here and just planted this flower and just said, "This is how much I love you and this is how much my love grows for you and I'm planting this flower." I mean, just literally brought tears to my eyes. And yeah, that's one of my favorite memories that Taylor came out out to my house and Taylor lived a little distance from me. You know, it's not a hot skip in the jump and planted this flower because she loved me so much and just wanted to, wanted me to know. And I just mean, and others is just how love grows. My name is Tee Williams. Taylor is my best friend. A favorite memory that I have of Taylor is when we were on vacation in Jamaica. We had a beach vacation in Jamaica a few years ago. And every morning we would sit outside for breakfast in "Have Breakfast" and um. there was like this litter of kittens that was like on the property of the resort where we were staying. And so, Taylor started feeding the kittens. And, you know, as you can imagine the wait staff wasn't thrilled about that because then there were like four or five little cats, you know, in the breakfast area where everyone was eating. But those cats would come right up to Taylor. (laughs) Every time we sat down for a meal because they knew that Taylor was gonna feed them and Taylor did feed them. They got a lot of bacon and they got some eggs. (laughs) We just see, you know, Taylor looked for the kittens and then the kittens coming to find Taylor every time we sat down for a meal. - So another really big part of Taylor's life was her passion for yoga. And she had been doing it for 15 years and it really became a central part of her identity. It really brought Taylor a lot of peace as I imagine it would after 15 years of practicing yoga. And it's also something that she really encouraged other people in her life to try out. And because she loved sharing it with other people and after being a student in the practice of yoga for so long, she made a goal to become an instructor one day. And she specifically really wanted to bring her teachings home to Chicago to the community and share with others how healing it could really be. And so to achieve this goal, she decided to attend the Sivananda Ashram Yoga retreat in the Bahamas, which sounds great, right? Now this retreat, which is offered all over the world, has a variety of programs at center on the five principles of Sivananda yoga. And this practice of yoga has even been described as otherworldly bike when it's Paltrow's brand goop. In the location that she went to in the Bahamas also happens to be where the Atlantis Bahamas resort is located now. You may have seen the commercials for it on TV. I know I have in the past, they have a slide that goes through like an aquarium of sharks, it looks pretty wild. But this means in addition to the retreat participants, there are also thousands of other tourists just staying down there, enjoying the Bahamas, the beach, and the Atlantis resort. And the retreat itself is on the western side of the island, which is a lot less traffic than where Atlantis is, but the distance between them is walkable. And accommodations wise, the ashram offers a variety of options, everything from deluxe beach run rooms to private tents. And so Taylor ended up renting a tent space during her time there while participating in the teacher training program. And so in total, Taylor was going to be gone about a month, so pretty big chunk of time. And she was very excited about this for so many different reasons. It was going to be a cool experience. But really completing this course was a huge step towards her end goal. And she even told many people that she was very eager to be able to share what she learned when she got back. But I am obviously telling you her story today because Taylor never made it back. On the morning of Wednesday, June 20th, 2024, Taylor did not show up for class. And as the day went on, and no one had seen her or heard from her, more and more people at the retreat became concerned. And in fact, around 1 p.m. that day, Colette, back at home, got a call from this woman named Hannah from their retreat. And she asked if she had heard from her daughter. And Colette had heard from her, but not on that specific day. And at first, this call, of course, took her by surprise, but also kind of angered her because Taylor was supposed to be with them. So of course, when someone is asking her, if she knows where her daughter is or has heard from her, it sends her into a panic as it would for any mother. And to make matters even more frightening, Colette remembered that when she spoke to Taylor two days prior, something just seemed slightly off. Taylor had previously sent her these pictures of her in the ocean, saying, I miss you, Mom, I miss you. Look, I'm at the beach. And she appeared to be happy then. But when it came to her final phone call with her two days prior, something in Taylor's voice just wasn't totally right. In that call, Taylor told her, Mom, this is hard. And Colette didn't interpret that as the classes were hard. It sounded to her like Taylor was saying, I'm having a hard time here, as in her experience with others had been a challenge. [MUSIC PLAYING] Her impression was that Taylor felt ostracized from the group, which we can actually confirm. Other guests who were at Oshram at the same time as Taylor have said that she was being separated from the group and reason that they believe that is because of her identity. Because she was a black transgender woman, it's believed that she was not being treated the same as other participants. And of course, I'm not reporting this as fact. This is how it's been interpreted by people who were there and witnessed it themselves. And there's also this video clip of Taylor at the Oshram. And her body language tells you everything. She can be seen leading a chant when someone who works there comes up and sits next to her. And you can see that she almost brushes up against Taylor. Well, Taylor can be seen flinching. And she looks scared by this woman's touch and her hands are trembling. And without even knowing this at the time, Colette just knew, based on Hannah's call, that something bad had happened to her daughter. And I also want to point out that she felt like the retreat didn't want to admit that Taylor was missing. But it sounded pretty clear that she was. Now, Taylor was not the kind of person to just not show up for something that she had committed to. And she had been there since June 3rd. So it's not like she forgot where she was supposed to be. Plus, she spent about $4,000 in total to be staying there. So the fact that they couldn't find her was obviously incredibly alarming to her friends and family. And what's also incredibly alarming, maddening, frustrating beyond is that even though she didn't show up for her 6am class, the retreat didn't alert the authorities until 9.30 p.m. that night. It was on June 20th of 2024, that on 7th and the yoga retreat called me a lady name, Hannah called me. And asked me, have you heard from your child? Have you heard from Taylor? And I just-- I'm on the phone. And then I knew it was the 7th and the yoga retreat because she introduced herself. And I'm on the phone. And when she asked me, have you heard from Taylor, I took the phone away from my aunt and looked at it. And I was thinking, then my head is just lady crazy, because Taylor's with them. Because that's my thought, I'm thinking. Why are you calling me? And asking me, have I heard from my child when my child's over there in the Bahamas with you? Yeah, she proceeded to tell me that Taylor had missed a few classes and they were concerned, you know, and things of that sort. I said, that's not like Taylor. To Taylor paid all this money to come out to the Bahamas and learn how to become a yoga instructor to miss classes. That's just not like Taylor to do that. And she was like, well, yeah, I know, but she hasn't been to class. I said, well, have you reported it? And then she went on with the 24-hour thing. You can't report anybody. And I told her to get on. She said, well, I'm going to go around looking for Taylor. And see if I can see Taylor and stuff. And I told her, you know, do what you've got to do. And let me know what my child is. I was very upset. My reaction was very angry and very upset. And what's going on? What the heck is going on, you know, you can't tell me where my child is. Yeah, I was very angry. Very angry, very sad. And I didn't want to think the worst, you know, at that moment, I just didn't want to think the worst, you know, but yeah, I was, emotions were everywhere. Just everywhere. That was my reaction. I found out on social media, a mutual friend of Taylor's in mine had posted the missing person's flyer. And when I saw it, I was just in denial. I just thought, like, that can't actually be Taylor. When I messaged our friend, I was like, you're kidding. And when he responded that no, that Taylor had gone missing, then I called Colette right away to, you know, get more information, start figuring out what do we need to do? How do we get there? And then I also started calling other people in my community and in Taylor's community so that we could start organizing to get the word out that Taylor had gone missing and to put every effort we could towards finding time. Now, just a day after Taylor went missing, the Royal Bahamas police force created a missing person's flyer, which if you're watching this episode, you'll see it here on the screen. It didn't provide much information at first, but it did feature Taylor's photo as well as some brief descriptions of her. And it noted that she was last seen on Wednesday, June 19th, 2024, which has been confirmed. Then a few days later on the 24th, a press release went out, providing additional details. And in this release, Taylor was described as a light skinned black woman, approximately five feet, 10 inches tall, 145 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She has natural hair often covered by a dorag. And there was also a quote from Colette on it who said that she believed her daughter was in danger because she knew Taylor was eager to share her retreat experience with others upon her return. and this sentiment is truly shared with everyone who knew her and I'll see you next time. I'll let Collette and Emily speak more to this in this episode, but Taylor absolutely without a doubt had every intention of returning from the Bahamas. And so pretty much since the moment that her disappearance became known to the public, her community has been demanding answers, but very little was said and has been said since at least publicly. And at first, Ministry of Tourism said that there's only so much information they could share. This is an active investigation, but Taylor's loved ones felt like their focus was more on protecting the business of tourism rather than the safety of an actively missing tourist. And I gotta say, I could not agree more now. As for the US State Department, they've also issued a statement early on saying that they were aware of her disappearance and were working closely with local authorities to carry out a search effort. That being said, Taylor's loved ones have really questioned the effectiveness of these efforts. Like we hear in so many cases, it was actually a family member, not the police, who made the first discovery. Back at home, Taylor's niece had heard about her disappearance and she decided to look up her location on Find My Friends. And she was able to see that her phone was pinging in the ocean. Now sometimes of course if you are on a beach, the location can look like you're actually in the water when you're not, but in this case, the search team did end up recovering her phone. The shore, in the water, 56 feet deep. Yet nothing was done with it in those first critical days of the investigation. And early on, the Royal Bahamian police force basically just said they weren't able to retrieve any data off of it. And yeah, that was pretty much the end of that. Neither Collette or Emily could get anyone to explain who even had the phone or what efforts were being used to retrieve its data. It was incredibly sketchy and they even asked early on if they could have it so that they could be the ones to go ahead and get it processed, kind of like if you're not going to do anything with it, just let us. But it was never handed over, which is just so weird. I have so many questions there. But a big part of their efforts here to raise awareness on the case have been calling out the lack of investigation into Taylor's phone, which is a crucial piece of information of evidence. And what's really, really crazy and just blew me away when I was talking to her mom is Collette was actually able to download Taylor's call log because she's listed as a manager on her Verizon account, thankfully. And she was able to see that someone had called Taylor three times while she was in the Bahamas. Once on June 5th for two minutes, another time on June 10th for a minute. And then once on June 19th, the day before she didn't show up for a class for 16 minutes. And that last call on the 19th, that took place around 10 p.m., which again is the last day that anyone may contact with her and it's believed that she may have gone missing during this time. So figuring out who this caller is could be critical yet to our knowledge. We don't know if any efforts have been made to identify this person. If they are identifiable. And whether the authorities aren't looking into her phone for nefarious reasons or just straight up negligence, it can't be ignored how carelessly they have handled it. And there are some updates about that, more on that later. But for now, just know that the Bahamian authorities weren't saying much of anything and they have truly stood by their handling of this case. So on June 25th, 2024, Chief Superintendent Skippings said at a press conference that they have, quote, "conducted an extensive investigation into the matter and that their priority was to find Taylor in good health." She also said they've utilized drones, searching rescue dogs, divers, and that they are working closely with Taylor's family as well as reviewing CCTV cameras in the area. "Family of Taylor Casey was reported missing to our agency on Thursday, the 20th of June, 2024. Since that report was made, we have conducted extensive investigation into the matter. As often on, we updated the family of Taylor as to where we are in the investigation. We have a very, very good relationship they're very, very pleased with the investigations thus far. We used our drone technology, we used our K9, we've used our divers, we've used a number of resources and so our investigation continues into this matter." The thing is though, the statements in the press conference really don't actually at all reflect the way her family feels. And despite the authorities physically finding her phone, Taylor's loved ones feel like they can't trust any of the efforts that have actually been made. At least not to the extent that they're claiming. For starters, Collette and Emily actually flew out to the Bahamas on June 26, which was a little less than a week after Taylor had not shut up for class. And the moment that they got off the plane, they felt like they were being treated as criminals. They gave Collette a super hard time about Emily even being there, asking her if she needed her there, why is she there? And they just made it very clear that they were not happy with Emily at all. Which really didn't surprise me to hear because it sounds like Emily was the one who was asking all the hard questions, really pushing them and asking questions it sounded like they just did not want to answer, couldn't answer, weren't prepared to answer, freaked out by, you know, and that's just my interpretation of how it was explained to me. And they were absolutely shocked to see that Taylor's missing person's poster was nowhere to be found. It wasn't hanging up at the ashram, it wasn't hanging up at the police station. I mean, that is so wildly disappointing because that is obviously the easiest and most basic way that you can make effort in a missing person's case, right? And even something as small as that hadn't been done. I've also learned that the review of any possible surveillance footage wasn't done to the degree that the authorities claimed it was, or one, it doesn't appear like the ashram had surveillance cameras on their own, which my god is a whole other problem in and of itself. But the Atlantis resort luckily did, apparently though, it was Atlantis's security team who reviewed their footage, not the Bahamian authorities. Another discrepancy had to do with the scope of the physical search itself. The chief superintendent has said that their search was extensive, claiming that the entire island and surrounding area was searched. Yet loved ones say they weren't informed that only the area between the ashram and Atlantis resort was canvas, which is about a 15 minute walk. Now that is a huge difference, and they also claimed that one of their scent dogs tracked Taylor's scent down by the water, which is where the scent was lost. But even if that's true, that doesn't tell us anything, other than that she was down at the beach, which we already know, I mean she's staying in the Bahamas we've seen that picture she sent to her mom, we know that she had been to the beach a lot during her time there. Plus Emily and Colette have said that they were told that her scent had actually been picked up by the tree line, which was 50 to 60 feet away from the water, which is not the same thing. It's things like this that have, you know, understandably made Taylor's loved ones feel like they can't trust the word of those in charge of this investigation, which in my opinion is incredibly valid, especially when you hear this. In early July, Michael Johnson, who was the chief superintendent of the criminal investigation department, ended up being suspended, because it came out that he had quote "concerning voice notes circling on social media". Now at first the authorities of course wouldn't comment on the contents of those voice notes, but they did say that it "raised questions about the integrity of the police department". Well, holy shit, it came out later in August of 2024 that these voice notes had to do with him dropping an investigation into a prominent game leader. And while they are denying that this impacts Taylor's case, this definitely has an impact, even if indirectly, because it shows what kind of leadership was running the same unit that is investigating Taylor's disappearance. And Coletta said that if he can be corrupt and take bribes into dropping criminal cases, it worries her about how he treated her child's case. And if you want to hear something truly crazy, get this. The man who leaked those voice notes, well, his name is Sylvan's Mateier, and he was shot on Facebook Live while quote "making disparaging comments against the senior branch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force". This man was literally shot on a live stream, mind you, he has done other Facebook lives, talking about Taylor and her disappearance. Now I'm happy to say he did survive this shooting, and of course I cannot say that this had anything to do with the Bahamian police. Let me be clear there is no evidence of that, but you can't tell me that this is not really suspicious. I mean the timing of that is absurd. Anyways though, they should also mention that Emily and Coletta's anger and frustration isn't just with the authorities, it's also with the retreat itself. The ashram also made claims and did things that didn't sit right with them. When they got there, the woman who had initially called Colette, Hannah, whoever this Hannah person is, was teaching a class and didn't stop to speak with them, which is bizarre. that made Colette feel that the class was more important than her missing child. Plus, like I mentioned, they didn't even have her missing poster hung up at their retreat. Now, before their arrival, the Oshron did release a statement on the 25th, and it reads, "A participant from our yoga certification program, Taylor Casey is missing. On June 20th, we've requested the police investigate and informed the US Embassy in Miss Casey's family." Miss Casey's disappearance was discovered on June 20th when she did not attend morning class. She was last seen at the retreat late on the evening of June 19th. We urge anyone with information on Miss Casey's whereabouts to contact the local police immediately. The Oshron is working with the authorities in their investigation. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. So while they did alert the local authorities, the US Embassy and Taylor's family within a timely manner, alerting people to her disappearance is obviously the first step and really the bare minimum. Everything after that fell completely short of how you would expect a retreat to act after one of their very own participants vanished from their property. When Collette and Emily were there, they could hardly get people to speak with them about Taylor. And they felt like the people who they did speak with had very rehearsed answers. And what's interesting is there were two people who have been noted as having been closest to Taylor while she was on the retreat. And that would be the Hannah Woman, who originally called Collette, and also the man whose tent was next to Taylor's. And yet guess which two people wouldn't speak with Collette and Emily? Hmm, those two. And what's really bizarre is according to Collette and Emily, while they were going around trying to speak with guests, some of the swamis, which was a new word to me, but I guess from my very basic understanding, they're like spiritual masters at the retreat, at that highest level. They would go up and pull guests away from them. That's allegedly, that's according to Collette and Emily. And it wasn't just the swamis. Other Ashram staff would do it too. But they really felt like those that they were trying to talk to were being prevented from saying anything. And on top of that, it really became clear to them that some guests still had no idea that anyone was missing. Take a look at this comment that was left on the fine Taylor Casey Facebook page. It says, "I just left Zebananda today due to this situation and how they're handling it." Kept it a secret from guests for almost a week when there is potentially a security concern. I spoke with the boat operator on my way out and he said that she did not leave or return via boat. The only other way around the island is walking down the beach side. They advise guests not to walk on the beach or leave the Ashram after dark as it may be dangerous, but there are no security measures in place to prevent it or prevent people from walking into the Ashram. And many people do go for beach walks at night or venture off the property to Atlantis or elsewhere. And that wasn't the only person who left. And really bottom line here, and I think we can all agree, is every single person at the retreat should have been made aware of this right away. And they should have been able to freely speak with Colette and Emily. The vibes there, they're just really off. And believe me, I've got more to say on that. But almost everything about their visit was off-putting. And to make things worse, it was very obvious to them that Taylor's tent had not been fully processed by the authorities. So many of her belongings were still there and they hadn't taken fingerprints or secured the tent from any potential evidence tampering. And inside her tent, they found her course training book, her Bible, her sketch pad, clothing, shoes, and more. And all of those are items that suggest Taylor never intended to disappear. I also wanted to mention that Taylor's journal was already in the possession of the police. And what's also really frustrating is the Ashram released a statement on their Facebook page that painted a much, much different picture about Colette and Emily's experience there. They claimed, "In part, the Sivananda Ashram, in our community, are all distraught over Taylor's disappearance and our collective hearts go out to her family and friends." Taylor's family and friends spent many hours at the Ashram after the official meeting, collecting her belongings and speaking with Taylor's teachers, fellow students, and administrators. The police advised us that while we can encourage our community members to speak with them, the decision must be voluntary. We announced the presence of the police to Taylor's classmates and teachers, inviting anyone who wish to come forward. Many chose to do so, and the Ashram insured everyone to feel free to express themselves. Any perceived hesitancy observed in individuals was likely influenced by the unique and deeply personal ways they were processing their emotions during this challenging time. At the end of the afternoon, Taylor's mother and friends expressed gratitude for our support. But what this statement is suggesting, though, is that everyone was aware of what was going on, but we know that that is not true. The whole statement just reads, "We did our part, and it's not our faults. If people chose not to talk, didn't want to come forward, that's not our problem." And what it also tells us is that authorities were not, and are not doing everything in their power to find her like they claim. All in all, Collette Namely described their three-day visit at the Bahamas as unsettling, and they even left early because they felt unsafe. And luckily, we had them here to explain how that was for themselves. - So when we got there to the Bahamas, I'm just really saddening grief-stricken on the plane, just flying there, just knowing I was going to the place where my child was missing it, just made me extremely sad. And angry, so when we got there, they had signs talking about welcome, Collette, and I wasn't happy about that. I'm thinking, and my head don't be welcoming me, and my child just wears my child. Welcome me with my child. That's what you can do, is welcome me with my child. So I'm better, and I'm angry, and then they took us, they had people meet us, and they took us to this room, to the police station, the Royal Bahamas Police Force. They took us in this room, and it was like 13 people already, and then they took our phones. They took our phones, wouldn't let us have our phones. Had us turn our phones off, and they took them on. They really wanted me in there by myself, but I said, no, I'm not going in there by myself. The people I had with me, Emily, and Anna, and Ash, I said, no, we're all going in here together, you know? So, yeah, and then just said me, how do you want me in the room? I'm grieving here, terribly. And you want to bring me into the room with 13 people. Why do you have 13 people? And you only want it to be me. So I'm just angry at the beginning from that. And I look at the wall with the missing people. My child wasn't up there, not a fly. You have my child, I'm seeing all these other people missing. But anyway, they took us in there, they got a shot, you know? I guess they thought they was going to shot me, me, or whatever, but Emily Williams. Oh my God, she was just fantastic in that room. I thank God that she was with me and Anna and Ash to ask the questions because I'm grieving here. You know, I really wasn't knowing what to say. And I'm angry. I didn't want to say the things that I had on my mind to say because I'm angry about my child coming over here for a yoga retreat and missing. So, yeah, it wasn't a good experience. It wasn't a good, I didn't get good advice of them. Yeah. And then the questions when Emily was asking them, you know, they really couldn't answer them. You know, to me, they were just sitting there looking dumbfounded to me, just dumb. You know, tell me, what's going on with my child? They wouldn't give me my child's phone. So the experience was not great at all. I just felt so like they didn't care. I just absolutely felt like they didn't care about my child being missing. Yeah. So yeah, I was distraught, I was just, I'm just so thankful for the team I had. Go with me, go with me. Yeah. As soon as we got there, things felt totally off. And I knew that going there, it wasn't, obviously, wasn't going to feel good. But when we got there, you know, it felt much more like a performance than an actual briefing of an ongoing investigation. As Colette mentioned, they took our phones. They wouldn't let us bring our phones into the room where they were giving us their update. We turned our phones off when we gave them to, gave it to them. When we got them back, they were turned on. There were at some point, TV cameras in that room where they were giving us an update. There were more than 10 of them. There were four of us, also people from the Asha were there. And they couldn't give us a conclusive update. They couldn't keep details straight. They gave us misinformation, for example, making it seem like one could not walk from the Ashram to the Atlantis, which is absolutely not true. We found out later that people staying at the Ashram often walked to the Atlantis, some of them multiple times a day. And they tried to paint a picture of Taylor that we know is not true, you know? That Taylor left her own volition, that Taylor somehow harmed herself, you know, and we know that that's not true. You know, Taylor wanted to be at the teacher training and Taylor is not the kind of person who would hurt herself. And she was not in a mental state where she would have hurt herself when she left the United States. You know, I think that they could not give us a conclusive update and then also concrete next steps for me was a huge red flag. And then also their inconsistencies and that they couldn't keep their own details straight was also a red flag that if there's an investigation happening, it's not a very good one. and it seems as though there's. something else happening behind the scenes that we weren't aware of, but that would have prevented them from actually doing some of the basic things that one would do in an investigation in a good faith investigation to find a missing person. We've also mentioned this that there was no fingerprints done of Taylor's tent, for example, that there were not missing persons' fires put up at the police station or at the ashram that every single guest wasn't even made aware that Taylor had gone missing. You know, those are critical pieces of information that they could have gathered right away that they didn't and then somehow seemed to not admit that those were big failures on their part to actually gather information. And then when we were also at the Bahamas and when the police had gone with us to the ashram, there was such pressure on us not to disrupt the guests, not to disrupt people's vacations. And it's like if you're prioritizing people's vacations over gathering information that could help you find Taylor, our loved one, you're not doing a thorough investigation and that was clear, it was clear what their priority was. And so those are the things that that really raised questions about whether or not an investigation was actually happening and if one was happening, how thorough it actually was. Now there are feelings about the retreat are extremely valid in my opinion and I think you guys will agree that something is seriously wrong with this whole "Sevenanda" realm. When I was on the phone with Emily and Colette, they were telling me about this article and it's written by a journalist at BBC. Her name is Ishling Carr and she talks about how she was once a yoga teacher, part of the global "Sevenanda" movement. And in 2019 she came across a Facebook post from this woman named Julie who also was devoted to the program and in this post, Julie shared that she had been sexually abused over a period of three years by this "Sevenanda" founder, Swami Vishnu Devananda, and also several women have accused him of rape and sexual coercion and these things took place at the ashram and retreats. And in Julie's case, she said it took her decades to come forward only for them to attempt to silence her and so in reading this, Ishling decided to investigate further and she found a long-standing pattern of sexual abuse and cover-ups within this "Sevenanda" yoga movement. And through this investigation, Ishling interviewed 14 women who alleged that they were abused by "Sevenanda" teachers. Now the founder did pass away in 1993, so he's not allegedly hurting anyone anymore, but this clearly went beyond him and this wasn't exclusive to the 90s. In fact, she found participants that alleged they were abused as recently as 2019 and you have to remember this is just the handful of people that have come forward and oftentimes a small percentage of people who have been affected have actually come forward out of fear and there are 14 of them who have come forward, so you have to think there's likely many more. And just to be clear, I am only reporting what is alleged, no one has been found guilty in a court of law, but overall Ishling found that there was an abuse of power in these spiritual communities and a clear attempt at these acts being covered up. And she gives some really powerful examples, so I'm going to link it in the show notes for you guys, but the bottom line is we can't ignore that Taylor disappeared from a retreat who has a documented history of alleged abuse and alleged covering up of abuse. In fact, a man named Wesley Bell went missing from the same retreat Taylor disappeared from in 2013 and sources say that he walked off to go snorkeling and just never returned. And because his shirt and shoes are found the next day, the authorities declared that he had drowned, but this has understandably caught the attention of many. Why isn't this place keeping their guests safe? What is going on here? It's really alarming that they don't have security cameras when they should have absolutely been installed the moment after Wesley disappeared. And if they had taken that extra measure put in security cameras, it's possible we would already know what happened to Taylor. And I just find their lack of security measures so concerning for so many reasons and in the beginning of the episode, I mentioned Brian and Tim and how he went there himself and his experience really speaks to the retreats priorities while Brian was walking around talking to people asking questions, trying to get some answers here. The retreat asked him not to come back. And Brian also mentioned in his coverage that a guest had pulled him they were not to leave the ashram at night because walking on the beach isn't safe. And he also discovered that some of them had no clue Taylor was even missing, which isn't even a shock at this point, but people were actively leaving at that point because they felt that the retreat wasn't aligning with themselves and the values that they preach. There was no prayer circle meditation or anything to do with recognizing Taylor's disappearance, which in my opinion when I think of a yoga retreat, I'm thinking of love and community support piece like prayer circle, that type of thing group, healing group meditation, why would they not all be coming together when one of their own has disappeared. That is just so alarming to me and so off brand for a yoga retreat. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm just like what the hell is going on there. And then Brian also kindly agreed to film a clip for you guys talking about his experience there and sort of his thoughts on all of this and I'm going to play that for you now. Hey Kendall, so the case of Taylor Casey is just so troubling when I went to the Bahamas, something just didn't seem right. The police, they were giving Taylor Casey's family the run around it seemed like and when I went out to the ashram, where she was staying, they also didn't want to talk to me. It's not easy to get to the see Vanandra ashram the yoga retreat where Taylor Casey was staying. There's really no roads to get there here on Paradise Island on this part of the island. So the only way that we could find is to walk down the beach. So we made it to the ashram where she was staying. You can see it's it's pretty quiet right now, but there are people still staying here. There's some smaller buildings on this side. There's larger buildings over here and it's very, very close to the Atlantis Resort. Those big pink buildings in the distance. That's a big, big tourism destination here on Paradise Island. But I'm not seeing anybody searching on the beach. Yeah, there is nobody searching. No, I haven't seen anybody searching either. That's why I was surprised you didn't like say I was thinking there'd be like flyers. Oh, well you can go in there. Hi, do you know anything new about the missing woman Taylor Casey? No, okay. So you will have to get any information from us this evening. Can I leave my card? Is that okay? My business card? Yeah, okay. So I met up Kendall with Taylor's mom and her best friend Emily in the Bahamas. You can imagine like how upset they have been through this entire ordeal and they say that they were especially troubled the Taylor's phone was found underwater. When they told me Taylor was missing, I call my family of course and my granddaughter. She loves her family too. She likes to keep all of us on location on her phone. And she pinged the phone and said, Grandma, take you know. Auntie Taylor's phone is in the water. And my aunt, yeah, I was just that just really was the clincher for me. So scared, so scared. I'm still I need to know I need answers. I need Taylor home. We need Taylor home. Please, please. Please, please. I'll just yeah. The phone has really been an issue because Taylor's family has been trying to get their hands on it and says law enforcement won't hand it over. They still haven't been able to independently analyze it themselves. And they say even to this day, they're still getting the run around from the police in the Bahamas. Thank you, Brian. Brian is one of the best out there. You guys, I will have all of Brian's social media and his show and ways that you can connect with Brian linked in the show notes of this episode. But another big piece to all of this that I need to point out is the only way off of the island is by boat or plane, right? And we know that she didn't get on a plane and we also know from the boat operator, as I mentioned earlier, that Taylor didn't leave the boat, which all of that means that Taylor hasn't left the island. But that is one of the theories that Emily and Colette feel have really been pushed on them about Taylor that she maybe ran off that she left the island when somewhere else or maybe she took efforts to harm herself, which is so offensive to them. Yeah, pretty much, you know, they're going to push anything else except for the idea that something nefarious actually may have happened to her. But they absolutely, without a doubt, believe that someone did something to Taylor. And the very fact that her passport has never been located really speaks to this. I mean, we know that her passport hasn't been used. So we know that she didn't flee to that theory doesn't make any sense at all. we also know that her phone was in the water, which in my opinion, I think someone else chucked it out there. But that has been used to suggest that Taylor intentionally wanted to harm herself, which in what world does someone take their passport with them into the water if they're trying to end their life that way, or if they're just going out into the water and they drowned? You're not going to take your passport into the ocean, okay? Absolutely not. But your phone also, who's going to take their phone out there for any reason? In my eyes, it proves even more so that something nefarious has actually happened here and the phone was chucked out there in an effort to conceal the crime and the passport was taken to kind of set the stage that Taylor left. And here's something else. When Emily and Colette were at the Oshrom trying to speak with the guests, one of them started to share this story about how on Wednesday, June 19th, the day that Taylor was last seen, a guest was approached on the beach by a stranger. It was a man wearing a Celtics hat dressed in all black and apparently he claimed he was from Chicago. He told them he was interested in taking yoga classes and then proceeded to follow this person off the beach onto the property. They also learned that there was a man near Taylor's tent at the Oshrom on a walkie-talkie, which when hearing this really obviously concerned them and not just because of the timing, but also because this is one of those times where he swam he came up and pulled this person away from their conversation according to the two of them, almost like they didn't want Colette or Emily to learn about him. However, an HR consultant hired by the Oshrom, a guy named Peter Goody, has firmly rejected the idea that this individual is suspicious. In fact, he outright denies anything nefarious happened to Taylor at all. Instead, he chalked it up to Taylor leaving voluntarily. I'm going to read you a statement from him and keep in mind, this is in reference to an article that was written about her disappearance. So it says we are concerned that the story infers that Taylor Casey was abducted from the Oshrom. That is false and defamatory and not based on facts. The tent photo in the NBCU story taken by Miss Casey's family shows no signs of struggle. Her toothbrush and personal care products were in the tent in the photo indicating that she was going to return. Her passport, items of clothing and purse were not in the tent photo indicating that she took them with her along with her phone. In summary, these facts, all of which are within the NBCU story indicate Taylor left voluntarily. We also wish to point out that Taylor's phone pinged in the water as tracked on her niece's iPhone app. There was no indication from that evidence that she was abducted as you reported. The beach in front of the Oshrom is a public beach. There are non-guess and members of the public that walk along that beach daily. The man is from Atlanta and was staying next door at the Atlanta's resort. He was simply taking a stroll on the beach and was interested in knowing more about our yoga classes. We often have inquiries about the yoga retreat from guest at Atlantis. So besides that being obviously really insensitive, I want to point out a few things. Okay, so this Peter guy quite literally says that some of her personal belongings were left in her tent indicating that she was planning to return. He also says that because there were no signs of a struggle in her tent that she had to have left voluntarily. But how do we know that she didn't walk down to the beach only to then be met by someone who wanted to harm her? We don't know. And there was a lot of confidence in his statement as if he knows and he does not. And that's why Taylor's disappearance just can't be written off so quickly. We just don't know. And the last that anyone had heard of her being at the Oshrom, they could hear the sound of her tent, zipping and unzipping, zipping and unzipping and the fan in her tent being turned on and off on and off as well. But that's it. And then in another part of his statement, he also went into more detail about that guy with the walkie talkie. He said the other individual described in your report was holding a walkie talkie. Our best guess is that he is the security guard for one of our neighbors. He entered the Oshrom at about 2 p.m., a time when our students were in class and stayed for a couple of minutes and left. Peter also said that the person who identified this man had made a mistake in their identification. But where I take the most issue with this dude statement is when he says our best guess, which just sounds so unprofessional, really quite frankly stupid and insensitive. And I know that this guy's only an HR rep, but the language that he uses clearly reflects the fact that such little has actually been done from an investigation standpoint. Saying our best guess instead of the police spoke with him and we're confident he's not involved or something like that is just, you see where I'm coming from here. If this was your sister, your daughter, your friend, I think you would be just as upset as Emily and Colette are and everyone who cares about Taylor and wants answers. The language that people use here matters because if you listen closely, you can hear how much or in this case, how little is actually being done to find her, how much or how little people care. And it's not just this one instance. It's everything. It's the lack of communication and transparency. It's the clear lack of effort and how quickly everyone in the Bahamas has seemed to just moved on from what's happened. Oh, and I also wanted to point out something that was in a video I saw about her case and it just can't be ignored. So a friend of Taylor's name Jessica actually went down to the Bahamas to pass out flyers after she went missing and I'll have the video linked below if you're interested in watching the full thing. But towards the end of the video, she gets an attacksy and is headed to church and she strikes up a conversation with a driver. And when she asks him about Taylor, he starts talking about while there are transgender people in the Bahamas, he says it's not a country that accepts it. He even starts saying how if his sons came and told him they were trans, how he would tell them they could quote, forget about him. And of course, I'm not saying that his opinions are shared with every person living there. Of course, I am not saying that, but it would be wrong to talk about Taylor's case and ignore the role that her identity plays into every part of it. From what happened to her to how the investigation has been handled and especially how it's been covered or really not covered by the media as a black transgender woman, Taylor belonged to two communities, both of which face a disproportionate amount of discrimination and violence. So not only has that made her more vulnerable to harm in the first place, but it's also made getting justice, getting answers even harder after the fact. Here's a quote I found from CNN that I think puts some of the discrimination into context in terms of the Bahamas. So a 2023 report on human rights practices in the Bahamas conducted by the US Department of States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor found that LGBTQ+ individuals faced social stigma and discrimination and did not believe they were adequately protected by authorities. The same report also found that protections for LGBTQI+ people were not in place when it came to rape and domestic violence. So the behavior government passed the protection against violence bill. However, activists quote view the legislation as inadequate to effectively protect against gender-based violence. At the end of the day, this report highlighted how there are many human rights issues happening in the Bahamas that absolutely can't be ignored when considering what happened to Taylor. And now I think we can see first hand how it's impacting this investigation, and also the lack of media coverage we're seeing just in the United States. I mean, besides news-nation, there really hasn't been much at all. I'll let Emily and Colette speak about how they believe that this has impacted her case. Like I've said before and I'll say a thousand times, my child had two strikes against her. One that she was black and the other that she was transgender. And I think when they found that out, I think it started at the 7th and the Yoga retreat because when I spoke to my child on June 18th, the last time I spoke to my child, my child mentioned to me that, "My, this is hard." And my child has never told me something was hard. Actually, things were easy for Taylor because Taylor's intelligent and smart and willing to learn, you know, and do things. And this is something that Taylor paid a lot of money for it to do, to go over to another country and become a yoga instruction, thousands of dollars. Yeah, I think it impacted when we were sitting in the room with all those 13 people. I just felt the vibes like they just didn't care. They really didn't care. And I did some research and a real, that over in the Bahamas, they do not accept transgender people, you know, they're against it, anti-transgender totally against it. And I felt all of that, all of that in that room. Yeah, it impacted because, and then like, they sat in that room and they tried to make it seem like my child was, like Emily had said earlier, you know, not the person that they were trying to make Taylor out to be. And then they were trying to make it out to be the Taylor with suicidal. Not hardly. Suicidal people don't even make plans for one. So, Taylor made all these plans, spent all this money and, you know, all the time to go over to the Bahamas, learn to become a yoga instructor in your suicidal. And that that they say it was a journal. that was not a journal. There were no dates in it. I think it was one date in it. There were no dates in it and it just wasn't a journal. You know, I know what a journal is because I journal and that wasn't a journal. That was like a thought Taylor had just put in in that book that date. People who were at the ashram at the same time that Taylor was at the ashram sent messages on Facebook and Instagram and reach out to us personally to report that the people at the ashram did not integrate Taylor well and that they did not say for well because Tay is black and trans. And so multiple people read to us, people who were there while Taylor was there to tell us that. And so that also lets us know that Taylor's identity was a factor in what happened to Taylor and then also the response and or lack there of response to Taylor's disappearance. Also, we saw there were a few videos that were posted online run the actual teacher training and different activities that they were doing. And we felt really uncomfortable watching those videos because of the way that people were treating Taylor and those videos. For example, you know, one part of the curriculum is that each participant leads the entire group in in chance. And there's a video of Taylor leading the group in chance and there's this woman who comes up on stage while Taylor's leading the chant and like cozy's up to Taylor and puts her head on Taylor's shoulder and Taylor flinches. And it's like, why is that person doing that? Why would they be interrupting Taylor while Taylor's leading chance? And this is part of the curriculum. And so that's just one example that we could see. And we've asked for all of the information of the curriculum and things that were happening for Taylor during the training and and and the ashram has not given that to us. And so that's also a red flag to us is that what was going on during that during the two and a half weeks that Taylor was in a teacher training. You know, when my child told me, my this is hard. I didn't get the fact that I didn't get that Taylor was saying the class yoga instructs, you know, becoming a yoga instructor was hard. I didn't get that from that that was hard. I believe that hard came from being rejected, being not integrated with others, being treated funny, being treated different. That's what I got that because it really bothered me after I hung up the phone. And I know my child was going to be gone from my life, you know, but yeah, that's what got me. I said, no, it's not that yoga. It's not the yoga class is how people's treating my child. Yeah. Yeah. And because Taylor's, you know, Taylor was in the Air Force, Taylor's in very good shape and very physically capable. Yes. Taylor, after two and a half weeks would, would, would have a hard time with isolation, would have a hard time with rejection. Yes. And we, if there was yes, you could fight in or no one to be supportive. Yes. Yeah, I could. That's true. Yeah. Now, I would also like to give them the opportunity to just say what they think may have happened to Taylor. I don't think they put in the effort that they should have anyway. I felt like they should have treated my child's case like it was their child. And I saw none of that. I didn't even feel that they even had remorse. That's what was bothering me. I mean, like these people weren't even remorse. You know, I'm sitting here and my child is missing. They didn't have remorse. I don't think they did enough. You know, the information they did get about the phone, you know, I had to call them and tell them that my granddaughter pinged my Taylor's niece pinged the pinged the phone in the in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, whichever one it is, get it. And then I told them that and that's when they decided to get cadipers and stuff. The main thing that we wanted was give this case to the FBI, give it to the FBI. We know how to FBI handles cases because they were so nonchalant and I felt like they just didn't care. They wouldn't give it to the FBI. They were just so nonchalant. Like Emily has said earlier, they tried to make my child seem like the person that my child wasn't. You know, my child was carefree and loose and like wasn't concerned about the the yoga retreat, you know, paying on and thousands of dollars. That is not even my child's care when my child puts her life into something she's committed. And she does what she needs to do because she wants to learn and grow and and just do things. No, they didn't put in any effort. And we had to work so hard to get basic updates. I mean, there was when we were there, you know, we met with them. There still wasn't a lot of good information, a lot of substantive information. But then when we got back, they would say that they would call us with an update. We wouldn't hear from them. We would call and call and call and call. They wouldn't answer. They blocked our phone numbers. It would be weeks before. And we would have an embassy reach out on our behalf. And then eventually the embassy said that they stopped responding to them. No, we do not believe that they did enough because it was so hard to get substantive information from them. And it was so hard to get updates. I think in retrospect, we realized because there were no updates for them to give us because there was not so much activity going on in the investigation into Taylor's disappearance. And, you know, we've said this before that there were basic things that they should have done early on to gather any potential information from people who were there from, you know, places where we know Taylor was like her tent at the ashram or even following up on these tips that we received while we were there. For instance, the walkie talk, we were on the platform where all the tents were very close to Taylor's tent. The man walking down the beach in a Celtics hat claiming to be from Chicago, making his way on to the property of the ashram. You know, following up on those kinds of details, you know, seemed like those would be obvious things to do in an investigation if you're actually trying to find someone who's disappeared and they did not do it. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like this like the first 48 hours. Very important to a case. And you don't have no missing flyers, you know, people at the the ashram, the students, other students didn't even know my child was missing. Come on, what are you guys doing? It made me very angry, made me very, very angry. We also believe that people know what happened to Taylor. And we, yet this point, we are worse fears, you know, now have been confirmed with the amount of time and everything that we've seen with the lack of investigation. And we believe something tragic and violent happened to Taylor. And so we want everyone to encourage anyone with information to come forward, to not live with that on their conscience so that they should come forward with information. They can contact Colette as Taylor's mother directly. They can also reach out to the fine Taylor Casey page on social media. It's on Instagram, on Facebook. Also, we have a website. If you have any information at all, please come forward and please encourage anyone in the Bahamas who has information to come forward. Like you heard, their belief is that the bare minimum was and is being done. And I could not agree more. So they have had to do what so many other families have to do. Take matters into their own hands and be the ones to advocate for Taylor. And I just have to say right off the bat, they have done an amazing job. I'm so blown away on July 11th of 2024, which would have been her 42nd birthday. Her loved ones and supporters gathered outside of City Hall to call upon the US government to get involved. It started with Colette reading a beautiful and heartfelt letter that she wrote to her daughter during which she promised they would do anything they could to find her. Emily spoke to and her passion could truly be felt. She shared that the only reason anything is happening in Taylor's case is not because of the authorities but because of the demands of her supporters. And in her speech, she called on senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to put pressure on the State Department to tell the Royal Bahamian police force to get the FBI involved in the case. They also all called attention to the fact that Taylor's disappearance is among a pattern of violence against black trans women. And like others, Taylor's case is not getting the time, care or justice that she deserves. I have known Taylor for over 15 years and I've had the joy of sharing space with her beautiful family in her home as you have affirmed our community. That is what Taylor is. Taylor curates community. Taylor has brought so many the LGBTQ community for so many years and I am so sick and tired once again as we have to come together and urge for a member of our community to be found because of the plight and the blights against. In particular, black trans women of color. We will continue to fight and advocate for Taylor to come home. I was just at the White House and advocated for the White House to advocate and to do every resource, to advocate every resource that they have in finding Taylor. She's a beloved member of our community and I hope that she comes home soon. I was approached yesterday and somebody asked me, Shannon, what are your thoughts when Taylor went missing? And my thought was, again, here we are again. We have black women who are constantly being deprioritized. We have women globally across the world, more narrowly speaking trans women, whose lives are being discarded, who are being thought of as nothing but an afterthought. And again, here we are having to apply pressure when it should come as second nature and instincts to do what you know to be right. And that is to censor the humanity of an individual who right now is missing and needs to be home. Again, we continue to send a resounding message across the waters globally, locally and nationally that black women do not matter. Black trans women do not matter but we're here to say right now, emphatically, resoundingly and loudly that we reject that, that black women matter, that black trans women matter. And we will not forget this situation, while Taylor may be missing, she is not forgotten. Right? So we're going to continue to apply pressure. We're going to continue to hold our elected officials locally, nationally and globally to accountability. And we will bring Taylor home. Thank you all so much. As you can see, Taylor's entire community is very passionate about getting answers and they have been able to make some progress, however, for every step forward, they're still really being given the runaround, which is stopping them from pushing her case forward. Now, as I mentioned, getting the FBI involved has been a major focus and the behavior authorities did ask for the FBI's help, but only for specific things like they assisted in providing a dive team and cadaver dogs as well, however, they were not asked to come in and just take over the case, which would be amazing if they could. Because really the goal here at the end of the day is to have the case fully turned over to the FBI. And another thing that they were asked to help with was processing the data from Taylor's phone. Of course, that could be huge. And for a long time, nothing was being done to extract the data from Taylor's phone until finally, after Collette and Emily fought tooth and nail for this, the FBI was finally asked to process the data. However, things fell short once again, because to Collette and Emily's knowledge, the FBI turned over that data to the behavior authorities without doing any kind of investigation into it themselves and nothing has been hurt since. And no one will give them a copy of it to try and go through it themselves. So as I mentioned earlier, though, they do have that Verizon call log of hers, but that's it. They have just been bounced back and forth between US and behavior authorities trying to get a hold of someone who can just tell them what's going on with Taylor's phone. But this is where they really hit a wall. Senator Duckworth's office did agree that all of this has been completely unacceptable. So they do have some support there, which has been great. But they're frustrated still, because even they haven't been able to get them a copy of this data. And what's so upsetting is that all of this is proof that had Emily and Collette not been such strong advocates, none of this would have happened. There is no reason that any of this should have fallen onto them, but time and time again, it does fall onto families. And I think what really makes it even more difficult, what's really like salt in the wound here, is to see that so many other cases are getting the time and coverage and getting talks about more and more podcast episodes and what have you. And Taylor's case just isn't getting any of that. And that's the case, like I said, for so many families, and it's frustrating. And the fact that we all know what the FBI is capable of and how they could be pushing this investigation forward, how different everything would be if they could do that. Yeah, it's been one and a half years. And we practically don't know anymore than we did back when Taylor first went missing. Speaking with the Senator's office, I think they were, they were pretty great. They were pretty good. They were, their responses were great and quick and they would call us back and they would keep in touch, and I felt concerned on their part. I felt like they were really concerned about my missing child's case, and they wanted to get things done. And even when we spoke with Tammy Duckworth one time, she even mentioned, because we was concerned about getting my child's phone, I feel like the story of what happened to my child is in that phone, it's in that phone, and she was like, yeah, I think you guys should make that the first thing you do is get that phone, get that phone because the information is on the phone and you want to get the phone before it disappears, you know, she even said that before the phone disappears and I'm like, wow, okay, well, as you know, we never got the phone. It's been over a year now and we never got the phone. We never even got the information off of the phone. When they sent the phone to the FBI, and the FBI sent them stacks of information. I saw the power. We were on a Zoom meeting. I saw the piles of paper. It was the stacks of information on Lieutenant's, superintendent's skipping, so it was going through. I'm like, okay, we've got to go through this information and we'll get back to you guys. But what they never did, you know, they rarely got back to us about anything, as Emily mentioned early, they didn't return cause. They say, okay, we're going to talk to you this day and this day. I think they set up one appointment with us and actually made it. That's when they got the information, the stacks, piles of information from off the phone, the data, but never gave it to us. Never gave it to us. Yes. I agree. Collette Senators, Duckworth's office was the most responsive and hands down the most effective of any of the authorities that we dealt with throughout all of our efforts to try to make sure that these, you know, that there was an investigation into Taylor's disappearance. And we did originally get in contact with them because we knew that we needed more accountability. We needed more pressure put on the embassy, put on the FBI, put on the police and the Bahamas because there wasn't enough that was being done to find Taylor. And we knew and wanted the FBI to take over the investigation. What ended up happening is that the Bahamians had asked for support on a few specific things like having cadaver dogs, sending divers. Those were the things that the FBI helped out on. And then also we kept saying that we need to get the information off of Taylor's phone. We had been asking for the phone. They never gave it to us. The Bahamians did give the phone to the FBI in order for the data on Taylor's phone to be processed. We were advocating for that data to be, for copy of that data also to be sent to us so that our attorneys could process that information so that we as Taylor's family could look at the information because we know Taylor better than anyone. So we would have been able to detect things that someone who had never met Taylor wouldn't be able to detect. And so, you know, the FBI said that they were going to send it to the Bahamians, the police and the Bahamas. That's what they did to our knowledge. The FBI didn't even review the data from Taylor's phone and did not keep a copy of the data from Taylor's phone, which to us is unconscionable. You have this a person who's disappeared. There's data from the phone, the phone's been recovered. And it's an American and the FBI doesn't even look at that information. To us, that's unconscionable. We still are demanding to have access to the phone into that data that was taken from Taylor's phone. We want to know what happened to Taylor. Yes. And the FBI. And I'm like, what is the problem with you guys inviting the FBI to take over the case? So they told me the FBI actually has to be invited in to take over the case. Okay, so invite a man. I say, who has to do that? They like, we have to do it. Okay. So why won't you invite them in? Just invite them in and they can take over the case. And they never did. And they never did and they never gave me the phone. They never, the phone, yeah, the phone. And that's a huge red flag to us because in the year from when Taylor disappeared to when we were still advocating to American women with missing in other countries. And the FBI was on the scene right away. Hannah Kobayashi went missing and then was was located in Mexico. And her family was able to talk to her on the phone. And that was a result of the FBI's involvement. There was a young woman, the Dominican Republic, who went missing right away. The FBI was on it and they had a suspect. they had, you know, an idea of what had happened to her, her parents. were down there and they were able to have answers right away. So this notion that the FBI can't be involved because it's in another country. We have seen in two other cases in the last year that that's actually not the case. And that, you know, we again are employing the Bahamians to allow the FBI to take over the case. And when the FBI is assisting, we are employing them to gather all of the information that they can, you know, again, if they process the data from Taylor's phone, they should have been able to keep that information and then also look at it themselves. A lot of this stuff just doesn't add up. And that's why they have been non-stop rallying to bring attention to her case. And like I said, their efforts have truly just been outstanding. And they've been met with a ton of support from the rest of the community. Early on in the case, an anonymous donor contributed $10,000 towards reward information. And since then, thousands of dollars have been fundraised to support efforts to locate Taylor. These fundraisers have included both in-person events and online donation campaigns. And right now, they have raised just over $51,000 of their $100,000 goal. And the money from these fundraisers is crucial in helping them get justice. These funds are going towards travel costs to and from the Bahamas, hiring an attorney, private investigation team, national and international outreach campaigns, and more. It's all very expensive. And even in the darkest time of their lives, they have managed to stay strong for Taylor and keep fighting. And it's just really inspiring to see. I'm going to link their Facebook page below, as well as the link to their website, which is findtaylorcasey.com. And when you guys go there, I think you'll be blown away by their level of organization. They have all the information that anyone could need on her disappearance, making it very easy for people to get involved. They also have a storefront on their website where you can buy t-shirts and totes, buttons, pins, all of which will go towards supporting their efforts. They have an Instagram page, which will be linked as well. And I really want to encourage all of you to get involved and show your support. And there are so many ways you can do that. I mean, for starters, just something as simple as following any of their social media pages. Just showing your support. If you want to go the extra mile, dropping a comment, just letting them know, you're thinking of them that you are impressed by their efforts, whatever it is that you feel like you want to say, just something encouraging and kind just really helps. These families don't feel so alone when, you know, they feel like they don't have the support from the people who really should be supporting them, right? And then if you want to take it a step further, they've actually prepared their own tweets that you can easily just copy paste and post. Now, this is something that my team and I normally help people to make, but they've actually already done it. That's all going to be in the description box and show notes of this episode. So it'll be really easy for you guys to access. And you guys, of course, can show your support by making a donation. You can find the link to their fundraising page down below as well. I'll have everything really organized and easy to access. My team and I have also offered Colette a hope grant through my foundation, Higher Hope, and we discussed yesterday how she could use the funds where she most needs it. We're still kind of trying to figure it out, but it sounds like they're interested in using the grant to cover legal fees that they've incurred, which is very expensive. And as always, updates on the grant and all grants can be found on Higher Hope social media accounts. That's at Higher Hope org on Instagram and HigherHope.org. Speaking of which, if you want to give us a follow, we're close to 10,000 followers on Instagram, and our coordinator would just be thrilled if we could get there. And I would appreciate it. Another way that you can support them is by reaching out to Senator Dick Durbin or Tammy Duckworth. The pressure really does need to be kept on them. So we've created an email template that you can easily copy paste to let them know that we haven't forgotten about Taylor. I also want to put a personal plea out there to anyone who was at the ashram when Taylor was there if you happen to see this episode. If you have any information about her disappearance, anything that you notice, Baker Small doesn't matter. Please reach out to our family. I will have information of how to do that in the show notes and description box of this episode. I love people and thank you very much for all the support and concern and care that you've given us and love throughout this trying time. We couldn't have done it without you. We couldn't do it without you. So we appreciate you. But I'm asked that you will continue to get in touch with the senators, the office, by calling, by writing them, sending them letters and asking them to help us to get the FBI involved in this case. I know it's been a long time, but we could just still try. Nothing beats a failure but a try. So I ask that you'll continue to do that, make the calls, write the letters, continue to donate if you can, and we just don't want this to die now because we all know what happens when things die now. It's just forgetting about totally. So let's just try to keep this case aligned to help find my child and bring my child home. I really appreciate you guys. I love you guys and thank you for doing this for us. Yeah, keep talking about Taylor and Taylor's story and keep asking the hard questions. Ask the hard questions of the police and the Bahamas, ask the hard questions of the embassy of the state department of the right. It's uncomfortable that American citizen can go missing in another country and so little be done about it. So ask those hard questions and you know this is not an easy process and it's a very expensive process to hire investigators to hire attorneys to travel back and forth from the Bahamas. You know, this is it's expensive to do this. So the donations go a long way in helping to cover those expenses and continue to advocate for black trans women because this is, you know, this happens to black trans women and and we love Taylor, we know Taylor, but we also know this happens to other other people like Taylor. So advocate for them and advocate for a safer world for black trans women and don't travel to the Bahamas. Don't go there. At the end of the day, Taylor Casey really spent the majority of her life helping others and right now is our turn to advocate for her and help her. You guys hear me preach all the time about being an active true crime consumer and what does that look like? And this is a case where I really want you to put all that into practice. Just take an extra step. It doesn't take long to show family support that could actually make a huge difference for them at the end of the day. Someone out there or multiple people in my opinion know what happened to Taylor and it's really so important that this case does not become another statistic that it does not go unsolved. Taylor is a light in so many people's lives and without knowing where she is, that light is just missing. So it's time that we bring her home and get them the answers that they deserve to quote her friend Jackie to often are black trans and gender expansive siblings go missing with little to no attention in the media or investigation by authorities. We are extremely concerned for Taylor's safety and need your support in keeping the pressure on American and Bahamian authorities. As a reminder, Taylor is 43 years old, five feet, 10 inches tall and weighs approximately 145 pounds. She is black with medium complexion and has brown hair and brown eyes. If you have any information about her disappearance or whereabouts, please text or call 1773-676-0733. You can also call crime stoppers at 328-TIPS, which is 8477. There is also a $10,000 reward for information. Colette would also like you guys to know that if there is information you would like to get directed to her, there is a phone number in the show notes in the description box at this episode as well for you to do so. And also with that being said, I once again just wanted to thank Emily and Colette for joining me in this episode. I know it's a lot to ask and it was also very helpful because some of the information was confusing and they really helped clear things up for me and helped me find a few things that really just blew my mind and I wouldn't have been able to complete this episode without them. So I am deeply grateful. I'm also very deeply grateful to all of you who stuck with me throughout this episode. I know it's long and it had a lot of information. It was also very heavy and upsetting and I just appreciate all of you so much. But that is it for me today. I'll be here next week with another case to tell you guys all about. I am just getting so tired during recording lately while pregnant. It's crazy, I guess it makes sense, but my brain is just not firing how it was. But anyway, yeah, thank you for joining me today. I'll be back next week. That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.