The mother of a Kentucky woman who alleges she was raped at a Bahamian resort said she knew something wasn’t right 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 taking them seashell collecting 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 sent her a text message informing her of her ordeal.
speaking to Fox NewsKing said the two had shared a live video of themselves on social media and he knew immediately something wasn’t right.
Frankie King said she knew “something wasn’t quite right” about two hours before her daughter sent her a text informing her of her ordeal.
Dongayla Dobson and Amber Shearer, both 31, say they were attacked by staff at the Pirate’s Cove beach resort in Grand Bahama.
She told the outlet: “I went on Facebook and saw a video where they were all over the place, just laughing and laughing, they weren’t themselves at all.”
‘I called my daughter and asked her, ‘Are you sure you’re okay? Are you sure you’re okay?’
‘They don’t drink much, but I’ve seen those two girls drunk. I knew something else was going on.
‘Something’s not quite right, but I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe two and a half hours later, I get a text saying, “Please call, we’ve been drugged and raped.”
King added: “It’s a parent’s worst nightmare.” ‘His son is in trouble and in danger and scared, and he’s 300, 500 miles away, or whatever, across the water, and I can’t get to him.’
After 24 hours, Dobson and Shearer were finally reunited with their families, and King said, “I never imagined how traumatized they were until I saw them at the airport.”
“It was like they were children again. They came running towards me and jumped on me. I mean, they almost knocked me down.
‘Everything came out suddenly. We are all absolutely crying. We stayed there for I don’t know how long.
“They wouldn’t let us go and we would just rub their backs and say, ‘I got you.’ “You are safe now.”
Police arrested a 54-year-old man from Eight Mile Rock and a 40-year-old man from South Bahama after resort staff showed them security footage of the women being taken away.
Police have not identified the suspects, but local reports suggest one is connected to a powerful figure in the islands who is leveraging his influence to secure his brother’s release.
The moms were enjoying their first kid-free vacation together, but things took a dark turn on their last day.
The women say they were hiking at Pirate Cove Resort when the attacks occurred.
Lawyers for the women said Carnival has a fiduciary duty to customers to warn them about potentially dangerous travel conditions.
The two women left Jacksonville, Florida, on February 1 for their first trip abroad without children.
Dobson told DailyMail.com they saw Carnival’s ads for Pirate’s Cove and on the last day of the four-day cruise they went for it.
When they arrived, they say they were approached by two men they thought were resort hospitality and offered them drinks.
“We thought the drinks were too strong, but Dongayla and I are gastric sleeve patients, so we don’t really drink much,” Shearer explained.
“Less than a few gulps into the second drink, we knew something was terribly wrong.”
“At this point we’re feeling it a little bit, so we want to get out of the ocean and we’re going to look for seashells for our kids,” Dobson said.
“The guy, a worker who was there, said, ‘I know where tons of these are.'”
“The man who raped me was the one who told us where to go to pick up the projectiles,” Shearer added.
Security footage from the complex shows that 15 minutes after receiving the drinks, the couple could barely stand as they were taken away under the influence of cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines.
The women say their dire situation only worsened with the arrival of Bahamian police, who they say downplayed their attacks and refused to give them rape kits.
Pirate’s Cove Zipline and Waterpark is Grand Bahama’s first adventure theme park
Four-day Carnival cruise on Carnival Elation stops in Nassau and Grand Bahama
In a statement, Pirate Cove said the surveillance video did not support its story and that what the two said conflicted with the footage.
The resort said: “Upon further review of the surveillance videos, the allegations made on the site, and in subsequent social media posts and news, conflict with what the time-stamped surveillance videos contain.”
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said Wednesday night that they treat all sexual assaults “with the highest level of professionalism, privacy and sensitivity.”
Emergency Medical Services offered the victims medical assistance, which they declined, signed a waiver, and then left for their cruise ship in a private vehicle.
“Recognizing the seriousness of the incident, our officers boarded the cruise ship, delivered 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 Deputy Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles to “personally ensure that the investigation is carried out with the highest level of professionalism and care.”
In a statement, Carnival Cruise Line said: “While ashore in Freeport, Bahamas, on a separate shore excursion, two Carnival Elation passengers 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.”