Additional details are emerging after a 21-year-old Mississippi woman inexplicably vanished during a Memphis river boat ride in Tennessee.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Memphis police issued an Urgent City Watch Alert for Tamia Taylor, who reportedly joined friends on a riverboat at 11:30 p.m. Saturday. When the cruise ended early Sunday morning and the boat docked, there was no sign of Taylor.
According to the Miami Herald, Taylor and friends went on the Memphis Riverboats Inc boat ride in downtown Memphis. Taylor’s mother, Debra Taylor, initially thought she may not have gotten on the boat, but police confirmed that she did.
“When the riverboat docked, the friends could not locate Tamia,” police said.
UPDATE:
***CITY WATCH***
Have you seen Tamia Taylor? pic.twitter.com/CxnCmqkMWk— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) September 10, 2023
Taylor’s mother told FOX13 that her daughter arrived in Memphis Saturday night for her 21st birthday. She planned to celebrate with friends, then went to the riverboat cruise on Beale Street.
“Nothing about this whole scenario of the night adds up,” Debra said. “Nothing adds up.”
Debar said she was told that Taylor boarded the boat at about around 11:30 p.m. Afterward, her friends could not provide any explanations on what happened.
“I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t know?’ She said, ‘We don’t know. We lost her.’ How do you lose somebody that you came with?’”
“She then gave me the story, ‘We were on the boat. We were getting out of the boat and Tamia says she had to go to the bathroom. She put her phone down to go back up to the second floor to use the bathroom. We picked up her phone. We went to the door to stand and wait on her and then we left.’”
Memphis Riverboats released a statement Monday, following the disappearance, stating they don’t think Taylor went overboard. saying that they do not believe Tamia Taylor went overboard.
“We would like to express our sympathy to Tamia Taylor’s family and friends in regard to her being a missing person,” a Memphis Riverboats Inc. statement said.
“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 MPD as they conduct their investigation. We hope that she is found safe and returns home. If you have any information about her please contact the Memphis Police Department.”
Taylor is described as a Black female who stands 5-feet-7-inches tall. She was last seen wearing a beige shirt, white shorts, white shoes, a black jacket.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Memphis Police 901-545-2677.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo via Memphis PD]
