Tamia Taylor.Photo:Tamia Taylor/Facebook
Tamia Taylor/Facebook
The mother of Tamia Taylor, a 21-year-old womanwho went missing on the Mississippi Riverwhile on a riverboat birthday cruise, said she will care for her young grandchildren following the discovery of her daughter’s body.
Tamia vanished after coming to Memphis to celebrate her birthday with friends on Sept. 9, the Memphis Police Departmentsaid in their initial news release.
Then in astatement issued on Saturday, the Memphis Police Department said that officers 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.”
The department confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday that the 21-year-old’s body had been discovered and positively identified.
“Everybody on the boat had a phone, everybody on the boat saw this and saw that,” she said. “Why didn’t nobody speak up?”
“She loved life too much,” she added.
Debra is grateful for the help her family has received, including from the police.
Also assisting in the search was the Dock Ellis Foundation, a non-profit that assists families of missing minority women.
“Debra Taylor and her family are truly [grateful] for your thoughts and prayers,” the foundation said in aFacebookpost. “Dock Ellis Foundation is asking everyone to please allow the family time to heal. We will all carry Tamia Taylor in our hearts.”
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“I loved her so much, but it just doesn’t feel well to not have her here,” he added.
In spite of the grief she feels, Debra said she is relieved that her daughter’s body was finally recovered.
source: people.com
