Beloved Black Trans Advocate Taylor Casey Missing

Community Urgently Seeks Help in Finding Beloved Black Trans Advocate Taylor Casey Missing Since June 20

Family and friends of Taylor Casey, a fixture of Chicago’s transgender community and a beloved youth advocate, are begging for community support in bringing her home after she vanished from a yoga retreat in the Bahamas.

Taylor Casey was last seen the evening of June 19 at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat, on Paradise Island, where she was completing a yoga certification course. Retreat employees reported her missing June 20 when she failed to attend that day’s classes. Taylor’s mother Colette Seymore traveled to Paradise Island two weeks ago. A search of the area and conversations with the Bahamian authorities left Ms. Colette Seymore with more questions than answers.

A press conference is planned in front of Chicago’s James R. Thompson Center (100 W. Randolph Street) on Thursday, July 11th at 8:30 am–to bring further awareness to Taylor’s disappearance in honor of her 42nd birthday. Ms. Seymore says, “My child has been missing for almost 3 weeks. My family, friends, and I are distraught! I am pleading with everyone to call your elected officials and demand the FBI lead this investigation and bring her home safe and sound.”

Taylor’s disappearance has sent shockwaves through Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community. Taylor’s family and friends are pleading for elected officials, LGBTQ+ leaders and media to elevate her story and pressure elected officials to leverage the federal resources needed to investigate her disappearance. “Too often our Black trans and gender-expansive siblings go missing with little to no attention in the media or investigation by the authorities, " said Taylor’s close friend Jackie Boyd. “We are extremely concerned for Taylor’s safety and need your support in keeping the pressure on American and Bahamian authorities.”

As violence against transgender people spikes globally, it is imperative that Chicago Mayor Johnson, Governor Pritzker, Lt. Governor Stratton, Senator Durbin, Senator Duckworth, and the FBI mobilize to find her. Transgender people of color are particularly vulnerable to violence in the U.S. and abroad. This year alone, the Human Rights Campaign has reported that 73 percent of transgender homicide victims are people of color. Taylor has worked her whole life to interrupt these cycles of violence facing queer youth. Now, we seek to do the same for her.

Facebook: facebook.com/findtaylorcasey

Instagram: @FindTaylorCasey

For information regarding Taylor’s disappearance, please contact the Royal Bahamas Police Force Criminal Investigations Department at 502-9991/2 or Crime stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477).