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Woman’s Body Found 2 Weeks After She Disappeared from Riverboat Cruise While Celebrating 21st Birthday

Tamia Taylor went missing after coming to Memphis to celebrate her birthday with friends on Sept. 9, police said

Tamia Taylor/Facebook

The body of a 21-year-old woman who went missing along the Mississippi River while on a riverboat birthday cruise earlier this month has been discovered, according to police.

Tamia Taylor vanished after coming to Memphis to celebrate her birthday with friends on Sept. 9, the Memphis Police Department said in their initial news release .

"Miss Taylor boarded the Island Queen Booze Cruise at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, September 9, 2023, but was not seen by her companions after the boat returned to the dock and everyone offloaded," police wrote in the Sept. 12 release. "There were two exits on the boat for patrons to offload at the conclusion of the ride." 

"Early Sunday morning, Miss Taylor's mother drove to Memphis to file a missing person report after several unsuccessful attempts were made to contact her by phone," police added.

The Memphis Police Department said in a release on Saturday that police were "assisting the Crittenden County Sheriff's Department in the investigation of a body that was recovered on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River."

On Wednesday, the department confirmed to PEOPLE that the 21-year-old's body had been found and positively identified. 

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Police said Wednesday that they are awaiting autopsy results, but ABC affiliate WATN-TV and Fox affiliate WHBQ-TV reported that the Crittenden County coroner confirmed her death was due to drowning.

What preceded Taylor entering the water remains unclear at this time. PEOPLE could not immediately reach the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office for comment.

In a previous statement , Memphis Riverboats said they had "no reason to believe she could have gone overboard."

"We can confirm from video footage circling around that she was last seen on the boat as the boat was pulling into the Harbor, where we dock our boats," they wrote. "We hope she is found safe and returns home."

The Dock Ellis Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the families of missing minority women, said on Facebook on Tuesday that it was "truly heartbroken" by the tragic discovery.

"Debra Taylor and her family are truly [grateful] for your thoughts and prayers," the foundation added. "Dock Ellis Foundation is asking everyone to please allow the family time to heal. We will all carry Tamia Taylor in our hearts."

"Tamia Taylor your life we honour, your departure we accept, your memory we cherish," the organization continued. "And although there is grief today as we say goodbye, there is gratitude for your life."

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‘We’re not giving up’: Young mother’s disappearance sparks search by friends and family

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Concerns are growing as loved ones search to find missing 21-year-old Tamia Taylor, who disappeared Saturday night after taking a riverboat ride with work friends in Downtown Memphis.

“We’re not giving up on the situation. This is not nothing we’re giving up on,” said Debra Taylor, Tamia’s mother.

Nearly 48 hours later and still no answers on Tamia’s disappearance. Friends and family quickly organized a search party near Memphis Riverboats on Monday to find the mother of two who disappeared on her 21st birthday.

“Our people are this way, our people are that way. I don’t see... where is search and rescue? Where is the Navy, the Coast Guard, somebody?” asked Gloria Claybon, a family member.

“We just, we really care about Mia, we love her, and we just want to know the truth,” said Tekisha Hill, a family friend.

Tamia’s mother said she doesn’t know much.

She does know that her daughter came to Memphis Saturday night from Hernando to meet up with three work friends and enjoy a cruise around 10:30 p.m.

”She was with them, and then she had to go to the bathroom, she put her phone down on the table and they picked the phone up and proceeded to wait for her at the door. I don’t know what made them leave, but they left,” said Debra.

While groups search along the river, Tamia’s mother hopes surveillance cameras will provide more answers.

“Whether I get her back alive or I have to put her in the ground, God is in control,” said Debra.

Loved ones say they will not stop searching until the 21-year-old is found.

If you have any information about where Tamia could be, call Memphis police at 901-545-2677.

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Breaking news, body found after 21-year-old goes missing from mississippi riverboat birthday cruise: ‘this is very traumatic’.

A body has been recovered in the Mississippi River near the area where a 21-year-old woman went missing while out on a riverboat birthday cruise, police said.

Tamia Taylor disappeared following a party boat celebration for her 21st birthday on Sept. 9, where she was last seen mingling with partygoers aboard a Memphis Riverboats cruise, ABC 24 reports.

More than two weeks later, Memphis police and the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office reported finding a body on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River .

Further details on the recovered body have not been publicly shared. Officials are awaiting an autopsy report.

The Dock Ellis Foundation, a nonprofit that aids in the search for missing women of color, said Taylor’s family is wishing for a negative result as they desperately hold out hope that the 21-year-old is still alive somewhere.

“This is very traumatic to Tamia Taylor’s family, they are still standing on faith and ask that the community do the same,” the foundation said in a Facebook post. “Tamia Taylor’s mother is standing in faith and will not give up.”

The family’s nightmare began when Taylor failed to return from a Midnight Booze Cruise operated by Memphis Riverboats.

The company has said there is no evidence that Taylor fell overboard during the night’s festivities, claiming she was seen as the boat pulled into the harbor.

Video taken on the boat just past midnight shows Taylor partying on the boat before it returned to its docking station in Memphis.

Taylor’s mother, Debra, said the cruise would have concluded at 1:30 a.m. Sept. 10.

A few hours later, Debra received a call that Taylor was missing, with the frightened mom calling the police around 5 a.m., according to the Dock Ellis Foundation.

“Until identification is done, we can’t be sure of anything,” Jasmine Ellis, the foundation’s CEO, told the local outlet. “It’s that awkward silence when everybody is at a standstill, hoping for the best.”

Memphis police and the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

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Covington mother tamia taylor still missing after memphis riverboat cruise.

The search is underway for a Covington woman missing out of Memphis.

According to a missing person report issued on Sunday, Tamia Taylor went missing after a riverboat cruise on Saturday.

“I’m hurting as a mother, her friends is hurting, her family is hurting, her brother is hurting, her children are hurting,” Tamia’s mother, Debra Taylor, told Action News 5 after the family conducted its own search for her at Memphis Riverboats Monday.

Tamia, who has two children, was part of Covington’s Class of 2020. Saturday night’s riverboat cruise was part of her 21st birthday celebration. It is believed she left her phone behind while she went to use the bathroom and the individuals with whom she attended the cruise waited for her at the door, then left.

Tamia hasn’t been seen since.

”She was with them, and then she had to go to the bathroom, she put her phone down on the table and they picked the phone up and proceeded to wait for her at the door. I don’t know what made them leave, but they left,” Debra said.

Memphis Riverboats released a statement Monday expressing sympathy to Tamia’s family and stating they did not believe she went overboard.

“We can confirm from video footage circling around that she was last seen on the boat as the boat was pulling into the Harbor, where we dock our boats. We have no reason to believe she could have gone overboard and we will be respecting [Memphis Police Department] as they conduct their investigation.”

Tamia is 5’7″ tall, weighs approximately 125 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black jacket, beige shirt, white shorts, orange socks, and white shoes. Anyone with information is urged to contact Memphis Police at 901-545-2677.

Debra said she and her family would not give up the search for her daughter.

“You got to have hope. Don’t never lose hope,” she said. “Anybody that knows anything, hear anything, please just give us whatever information. Even if you think it’s not important, it may be more important than you think.

“Whether I get her back alive or I have to put her in the ground, God is in control.”

Author: The Leader

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Body Found in Mississippi River Amid Search for Woman Who Disappeared from Riverboat

A woman’s body was found in the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River Saturday afternoon near the Interstate 40 bridge.

WREG said the body was found south of West Memphis across from President’s Island and was sent to the Arkansas Crime Lab for identification and cause of death.

The discovery comes two weeks after the disappearance of Tamia Taylor, a 21-year-old Jackson woman who was last seen celebrating her birthday on a Memphis riverboat, a s CrimeOnline reported .

Jasmine Ellis, CEO of the Dock Ellis Foundation, which is assisting Taylor’s family, told WHBQ that searches for the missing mom have been paused until information comes back from the crime lab.

“They’ve definitely reached out to the family; however, until they are able to identify the body, there will be really no communication in regards to what’s going on with the body they recovered yesterday,” Ellis said on Sunday. “So, we have not received any word. We just have to sit back and wait for the identification to happen.”

The foundation also sent out a statement from Taylor’s mother asking for continued prayers.

“We may not know if it’s Tamia, but it’s someone’s family member,” the statement said. “The search must continue.”

The Memphis Police Department is assisting the Crittendon County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation, and Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis was spotted at the scene Saturday afternoon, WREG reported.

Taylor was on the Memphis riverboat with three co-workers from the Jackson area on September 9. The co-workers said they last saw her headed to the bathroom aboard the boat.

A golf cart taxi driver told WHBQ that he twice saw Taylor with a man and two women on dry land after the cruise. Jay Munn said he’d already picked up passengers the first time he saw them, and when he returned, they declined his offer of a ride.

For the latest true crime and justice news,  subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast .

[Featured image: Tamia Taylor/Memphis Police Department]

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Missing Pamplico woman seen on video jumping into Great Pee Dee River, authorities say

FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has been searching an area of the Great Pee Dee River for a missing Florence County woman after she was seen on video jumping into the waterway, authorities said.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that Adrian Patrice Cain, 41, had been missing since about 10 a.m. Sunday from the Bluff Road area near Pamplico. On Thursday, a spokesman confirmed a report that deputies had seen security video from a boat launch on Bluff Road that showed Cain parking her car and then jumping into the water from a pier.

A DNR spokesperson said Thursday afternoon that the agency is assisting the sheriff’s office with the investigation.

Cain is about 5 foot 3 and weighs about 140 pounds.

Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at  News13 . He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and read more of his work  here .

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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OPP confirm body found in Ottawa River was missing kayaker

The name of the deceased is not being released.

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Ontario Provincial Police say the body located by police in the Ottawa River on Sept. 21 has been identified as the 30-year-old female kayaker who went missing three days earlier.

Police began searching for two people in the Ottawa River after their kayak overturned after encountering rapids near the interprovincial bridge on Highway 148.

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A 34-year-old man was rescued by police with the assistance of private citizens, but the woman was not found.

Days-long search efforts included OPP’s emergency response team, the underwater search and recovery unit, and the marine and aviation units from the OPP and the Sûreté du Québec.

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