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 of the recovered body have not been publicly shared. Officials awaiting an autopsy report.
The Dock Ellis Foundation, a non-profit 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 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.
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. on Sept. 10.
A few hours later, Debra received a call that Taylor was missing, with the frightened mom calling the police at 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.