Police say a body was discovered in the Mississippi River near where a 21-year-old woman went missing while on a riverboat birthday tour.
Tamia Taylor went missing after a party boat celebration for her 21st birthday on September 9, where she was last seen mixing with partygoers aboard a Memphis Riverboats tour, according to ABC 24.
Memphis Police and the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office reported locating a body on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River more than two weeks later.
Further information about the retrieved body has not been made public. Officials are awaiting the results of the autopsy.
According to the Dock Ellis Foundation, a non-profit that assists in the search for missing women of color, Taylor’s family is hoping for a negative outcome as they sincerely believe the 21-year-old is still alive someplace.
“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 that there is no evidence that Taylor fell overboard during the night’s festivities, claiming she was seen as the boat pulled into the harbor.
Taylor can be seen partying on the boat shortly after midnight before it returns to its mooring point in Memphis.
Debra Taylor, Taylor’s mother, claimed the cruise would have ended at 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 10.
According to the Dock Ellis Foundation, Debra received a call a few hours later informing her that Taylor was gone, prompting the terrified mother to phone the police at around 5 a.m.
“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.
