A MUM was faced with every parent’s worst nightmare when she received a chilling text from her daughter who was away on holiday.
Frankie King’s stomach dropped the moment she read the hair-raising words: “We’ve been drugged and raped.”
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Frankie’s daughter Dongayla Dobson was on holiday in the Bahamas with her pal Amber Shearer when both women were allegedly given drug-laced cocktails and raped by uniformed men on February 4.
The mum said she knew something was awry with the pair, both 31 and from Kentucky, after they posted a video of them “falling all over the place” to social media.
They were said to be at Pirate’s Cove beach resort on Grand Bahama at the time, on an excursion from their Carnival Cruises ship.
Frankie said it was especially disconcerting because neither Dongayla or Amber were prone to drinking much.
The women later claimed that their behaviour was the result of their cocktails being spiked, as the Royal Bahama Police Force confirmed on February 4 that two men – aged 54 and 40 – had been arrested.
Dongayla and Amber – who have shared their versions of events, giving up their anonymity as alleged victims of sexual assault – claimed that local men, employees of the resort, gave them spiked cocktails and attacked them while they were collecting seashells.
Frankie told Fox News: “It’s a parent’s worse nightmare. Your child is in trouble, in danger and scared, and they’re 300, 500 miles away, across the water, and I can’t get to them.
“They were on a live video that they just posted or something. They were falling all over the place.
“They don’t drink a lot, but I’ve seen both of those girls drunk. I knew there was something else going on. Like something’s not quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”
Dongayla and Amber were discovered unconscious in a bathroom by a housekeeper from the resort.
A local nurse helped to revive them and logged the details of their injuries before they returned home about a day later.
Frankie said: “I never imagined how traumatised they actually were until I saw them at the airport.
“It was like they were children again. They came running into me and jumped on me. I mean, they almost knocked me down.”
The resort has since denied the women’s claims and said it had provided local police and the FBI with “lengthy videos of all concerned” that disproved their versions of events.
In a statement released by Pirate’s Cove resort on February 8, management said: “Upon further review of the surveillance videos, the allegations made on site, and in subsequent social media posts and news stories, conflict with what the time-stamped surveillance videos contain.”
It continued: “As such, the lengthy videos of all concerned have been handed over to the local police and will be shared with our industry partners as needed.”
The Freeport resort earlier said it had called law enforcement and for medical aid, and had taken “swift” action by firing the two resort employees for violating resort policy.
It explained: “We have a zero-tolerance policy for fraternising with guests or behaving in a manner that is unsafe.”
Carnival also issued a statement and insisted the two friends were not part of the $57 excursion to the beach that it offers; it claimed the women ventured out alone.
A cruise line representative said: “While ashore in Freeport, Bahamas on an independent shore excursion, two guests on Carnival Elation reported to Bahamian police that they were sexually assaulted at a local beach.
“Our onboard Care Team provided support for the two guests as they sailed back to Jacksonville. Bahamian police are investigating the matter and Carnival is providing our full cooperation.”
The Sun has reached out to Pirate’s Cove and the Royal Bahama Police Force for further comment.
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