21-year-old got on riverboat with friends, then vanished, Tennessee cops say

A 21-year-old woman got on a riverboat in Tennessee, but when the boat returned to dock, she wasn’t on it, according to Memphis police.

A city watch has been issued for Tamia Taylor, who hasn’t been seen since the evening of Sept. 9, the Memphis Police Department said in a news release. Her mother told officials her daughter was planning on taking a riverboat cruise with friends at 11:30 p.m. Sept. 9.

Police received a call about a missing person and responded to the bank of the Mississippi River in downtown Memphis in the early morning of Sept. 10.

Her mother initially told police she didn’t think her daughter made it onto the boat because a friend told her she didn’t. An update from police, however, said she boarded the boat, police said.

“When the riverboat docked, the friends could not locate Tamia,” police said in the release.

The riverboat company, Memphis Riverboats Inc., released a statement Sept. 11 regarding the case.

“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,” the company said in the statement. “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.”

A search is underway for the woman. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Memphis Police Department.

This story was originally published September 11, 2023 at 1:15 PM with the headline "21-year-old got on riverboat with friends, then vanished, Tennessee cops say."