‘We will celebrate your life’: Family of missing trans woman calls attention to her disappearance on her birthday

Family and friends of Taylor Casey, a Chicago woman who has been missing in the Bahamas since June 20, held a press conference Thursday in front of Federal Plaza in Chicago, marking Casey’s 42nd birthday and calling further attention to her disappearance.

Casey’s mother, Colette Seymore, read a letter to her daughter at the press conference.

“Taylor, today is your birthday. And we all just want to say happy birthday. Although it's not so happy because you are not here with us,” Seymore said. “The pain I felt 42 years ago while birthing you doesn't compare to the pain with your message out of our lives.”

Casey was last seen attending the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat on Paradise Island, Bahamas on June 19. She was reported missing on June 20. The family said they are expecting a case update from the Royal Bahamas Police Force on Friday.

Seymore traveled to the Bahamas two weeks ago to join the Royal Bahamas Police Force in searching for her daughter.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a press conference Monday that Casey's phone was found in over 50 feet of water. Both Bahamian and U.S. authorities have been trying to access her phone’s contents, but neither party has been successful so far, police said.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force also announced Tuesday that Michael Johnson, chief superintendent and officer in charge of the criminal investigation department and who also was involved in the search for Casey, was suspended due to "a concerning voice note” circulating on social media. They did not specify what the voice note entailed.

Speakers at Thursday’s press conference included Seymore, friends of Casey, a spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and leaders from Black-LGBTQ+ spaces in Chicago.

The family also said that Casey, who is transgender, is part of the demographic of transgender people of color who are at a higher risk of violence, both in the U.S. and abroad.

“Too often our Black trans and gender-expansive siblings go missing with little to no attention in the media or investigation by the authorities," Jackie Boyd, a friend of Casey’s, said in a press release issued ahead of Thursday’s conference. “We are extremely concerned for Taylor’s safety and need your support in keeping the pressure on American and Bahamian authorities.”

In the same press release, Casey's family cited statistics from the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, which claim that 68% of homicide victims in the U.S. transgender community this year were people of color.

Kennedy Bartley, managing deputy of external relations for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office, said at Thursday's press conference that she shared the mayor's heartbreak over Casey’s disappearance. Bartley also acknowledged that Casey’s disappearance is part of a larger problem of violence against LGBTQ+ people of color.

“Taylor, like too many Black women and girls, particularly those of the queer and trans communities, go missing and it seems that it's just the community that cares. But not today,” Bartley said.

Casey’s best friend, Emily Williams, who traveled to the Bahamas with Seymore, said they want answers about Casey's disappearance, and called on lawmakers, including Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, to step in and help them.

“To Taylor, I say we'd love you. We're thinking of you. We will celebrate your life,” Williams said.