15 September 2023 , 10:17
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Newly released footage from inside a booze cruise shows passengers dancing - just moments before a missing mum disappeared.
Tamia Taylor, 21, was celebrating her birthday on the Mississippi River on September 9 with her three work colleagues when she was reported missing at around 10.30pm, according to the Memphis Police Department. She has now been missing for six days.
And now video from inside the booze cruise shows passengers dancing, drinking, singing, and having a good time. The footage, which was uploaded to Facebook by a fellow passenger, has been released to try and help police with their search for the missing mum. She is not thought to be in the video, but passengers remember seeing her dancing, according to the post.
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Footage from inside the booze cruise shows passengers dancing (WREG News Channel 3)Jay Munn, a golf cart taxi driver, said he was constantly giving passengers lifts from the boat and remembers seeing Taylor on the night she went missing. “She was intoxicated, very intoxicated, and she was with some other people,” he told Fox13. "“Everybody seemed happy,” Mr Munn said. “It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.”
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She was celebrating her birthday while on the cruise (WREG News Channel 3)He said he saw the group of friends head back to the riverboats and offered them a lift but they declined his offer. “I’m like, ‘Hey, do you guys need a ride?’” Mr Munn said. “They were like, ‘No, we’re good, we’re straight.’ From that point, I just went on and found somebody else that needed a ride.” The driver said he wasn't aware she went missing until police revealed the information the next day. He added: “My heart goes out to the family. I just wish there was something more that could have been done,” Mr Munn said.
Kuandera Jenkins, one of her work friends, told Action5News earlier that day Tamia had driven from Brownsville to Jackson to go shopping. "[At] 7.30pm, that’s when we all got dressed and was heading our way to Memphis. Tamia was already drinking. She had a little bottle with her and she was already taking shots and we were smoking."
The mum has been missing for five days (The mum has been missing for five days)
She was last seeing boarding the "booze cruise" on Saturday (Fox News)At around 10.15pm, the pair met up with some friends and boarded Memphis Riverboats, but while they were waiting Tamia spoke to someone in line. Them two were talking and whatever and he was telling her ‘Oh, you a Virgo, she’s a Virgo,’ so they started laughing and talking so he gave her some money to buy her a drink so she could celebrate her birthday,” said Jenkins. Tamia walked alone to the toilet and was gone for more than 15 minutes.
She was onboard the cruise with three colleagues when she disappeared (Action 5 News)”I walked down there to the first floor and I was talking to Canesha and Shanquila and I asked them where is Tamia? They looked and said she was just right here. So we all split it up and searched the whole boat while the boat was moving looking for Tamia. I’m praying she didn’t fall off that boat. I think somebody snatched her or I think somebody [or] some people on that boat got something to do with it. Hindsight is 20/20. If anybody knows anything, hears anything, please just give us whatever information you may think is not important,” Tamia Taylor’s mum said on Monday. “It may be more important than you think.”
The company behind the cruise said they had "no reason to believe" she went overboard. Memphis Riverboat said in a statement: "We would like to express our sympathy to Tamia Taylor’s family and friends regarding her being a missing person.
"We can confirm from video footage circling around that she was last seen on the boat as the boat was pulling into the Harbour, 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 she is found safe and returns home."