(NewsNation) — The mother of Taylor Casey, who disappeared from a Bahamas yoga retreat in June, says life has been “miserable” without her child.
Casey, a Chicago resident, was last seen on the evening of June 19. The aspiring yoga instructor disappeared from a retreat at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat in the Bahamas.
Casey’s mother, Colette Seymore, said she’s holding on to hope that Casey is alive. Her time spent hoping for the best, however, has left her sleepless and “distraught.”
“My child just vanished,” Seymore said.
Casey’s family hasn’t received investigation updates from the Bahamas, Seymore said. She did hear that investigators deployed divers, scent dogs and drones to track Casey’s whereabouts, but Seymore said she hasn’t seen “proof” of those efforts.
“I try to be (confident) as such as I can, but it’s been a long time,” Seymore said. “But I believe in my heart — I don’t have a feeling as a mother that my child is deceased. I believe my child is over there in the Bahamas… I’m staying confident that my child will come home.”
Seymore went to the Bahamas to coordinate with local authorities on June 26 and returned about four days later, she said. The family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads directly to locating Casey.
“I pray someone will come forth and just tell us something,” Seymore said, adding that she wants police to investigate the retreat Casey was attending and question the people who were there.
“I believe they know something,” Seymore said. “I had the feeling even when I was there that they know something they’re not telling us.”