Family of Kentucky mom who says she was drugged and raped along with childhood friend at Bahamas beach resort speak out – and claim they KNEW something wasn’t right after watching alarming video before receiving bone-chilling text
The mother of a Kentucky woman who claims she was raped at a Bahamas resort has said she knew something was wrong after seeing a video of the two.
Dongayla Dobson and Amber Shearer, both 31, say they were attacked by staff at the Pirate’s Cove beach resort in Grand Bahama.
They claim the men gave them spiked cocktails and then attacked them after leading them away to collect shells during an excursion from their Carnival Cruises ship.
Dongayla’s mother, Frankie King, said she knew “something wasn’t quite right” about two hours before her daughter texted her about her ordeal.
Speak with Fox newsKing said the two shared a live video of themselves on social media and she immediately knew something was wrong.
Frankie King said she knew ‘something wasn’t quite right’ about two hours before her daughter texted her to inform her of her ordeal
Dongayla Dobson and Amber Shearer, both 31, say they were assaulted by staff at the Pirate’s Cove beach resort in Grand Bahama
She told the outlet, “I logged onto Facebook and saw a video of them all over the place, just giggling and laughing, not being themselves at all.
“I called my daughter back: ‘Are you sure you’re okay? Are you sure you’re okay?’
‘They don’t drink much, but I’ve seen both of those girls drunk. I knew something else was going on.
‘Something isn’t quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe two and a half hours later I’ll get a text that says, “Please call, we’ve been drugged and raped.”
King added: “It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. Your child is in trouble and in danger and scared, and they’re 300 to 500 miles away, or whatever, across the water, and I can’t reach them.”
After 24 hours, Dobson and Shearer were finally reunited with their families, with King saying, “I never thought how traumatized they actually were until I saw them at the airport.”
‘It was like they were kids again. They ran up to me and jumped on me. I mean, they almost knocked me down.
‘Everything came out at once. We’re all just crying. We stood there for I don’t know how long.
“They wouldn’t let go, and we just rubbed their backs and said, ‘I got you. You’re safe now.’
Police arrested a 54-year-old man from Eight Mile Rock and a 40-year-old from South Bahamas after resort staff showed them security footage of the women being led away.
Police have not named the suspects, but local reports suggest someone is linked to a powerful figure on the islands who is using his influence to secure his brother’s release.
The mothers enjoyed their first child-free vacation together, but on their last day, things took a dark turn
The women say they were on an excursion to the Pirate Cove Resort when the attacks occurred
Lawyers for the women said Carnival has a fiduciary duty to customers to warn them of potentially dangerous travel conditions
The two women left Jacksonville, Florida, on February 1 for their first-ever child-free trip abroad.
Dobson told DailyMail.com that they saw Carnival’s advertisements for Pirate’s Cove and on the last day of the four-day cruise and went for it.
When they arrived, they said they were approached by two men they believed to be a resort guest who offered them drinks.
“We thought the drinks were very strong, but Dongayla and I are gastric surgery patients, so we don’t really drink much,” Shearer explained.
“Less than a few drinks into the second drink we knew something was terribly wrong.”
“We’re kind of feeling it now, so we want to get out of the ocean, we’re going to look for shells for our kids,” Dobson said.
“The guy, this staffer who was there, said I know where a lot of these are.”
“The man who raped me was the one who told us where to go to collect the grenades,” Shearer added.
Security footage from the resort shows that within 15 minutes of receiving the drinks, the pair were barely able to stand as they were led away under the influence of cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines.
The women say their ordeal was only made worse by the arrival of Bahamian police, who they say minimized their attacks and refused to give them rape kits.
Pirate’s Cove Zipline and Waterpark is Grand Bahama’s first adventure theme park
The four-day Carnival cruise on the Carnival Elation visited Nassau and Grand Bahama
In a statement, Pirate Cove said video surveillance did not support their story and that what the two said contradicted the footage.
The resort said, “Upon further review of the surveillance videos, the allegations made at the scene, and in subsequent social media posts and news stories, are inconsistent with what the time-stamped surveillance videos contained.”
The Royal Bahamian Police said Wednesday evening that they handle all sexual assaults “with the highest level of professionalism, privacy and sensitivity.”
Emergency medical services provided medical aid to the victims, but they refused, signed a waiver and then left in a private vehicle for their cruise ship.
“Our officers recognized the seriousness of the incident and boarded the cruise ship, presented a sexual assault kit and hospital form to the ship’s doctor and obtained signed statements from the victims.”
Police said they were now working with the FBI on the case and had appointed a female Assistant Commissioner of Police, Shanta Knowles, to “personally ensure that the investigation is conducted with the highest level of professionalism and care.”
In a statement, Carnival Cruise Line said: “While ashore in Freeport, Bahamas on an independent shore excursion, two Carnival Elation guests reported to Bahamian police that they had been sexually assaulted on a local beach.
“Our onboard care team provided support to the two guests as they sailed back to Jacksonville. The Bahamian Police are investigating the matter and Carnival is providing our full cooperation.”