Search Continues for Missing Cruise Passenger With Dementia in Cozumel

It has been almost a week since Edmond Bradley Solomon III, a cruise passenger suffering from dementia, went missing. The search for him is still ongoing.

A 66-year-old former ICU nurse from South Carolina vanished last April 3 after debarking from Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas in Cozumel, Mexico.

Since he was reported missing, the local police force, the Directorate of Public Security, the Civil Protection Cozumel, and the Secretary of the Navy have conducted searches by land, air, and ocean to no avail.

According to the Civil Protection, “The search focused on the vicinity of Isla de la Pasión and all the beaches and businesses in the northern hotel zone were visited, without success.”

More recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, representatives from Royal Caribbean, and several locals have joined the search.

Meanwhile, his parents, daughter Savannah Miller, and other family members flew into Mexico City to help look for him. A GoFundMe page to help fund search efforts was established and has raised nearly $20,000, surpassing its $5,000 goal.

Miller has been giving regular updates to enlist the help of the public and coordinate search efforts. The family is afraid that his frontotemporal dementia, a progressive disease that affects one’s communication, may have affected his ability to return to the ship. “He cannot show or process emotions like a healthy person would,” posted Savannah on Facebook.

Miller also noted that her father may be walking around the city briskly and may be visiting the same areas repeatedly because of his anxiety and medical condition.

Due to the lack of security cameras in Cozumel, the family primarily follows leads from various eyewitnesses. Based on Miller’s social media updates, a civilian spotted him on April 3 at around 6 p.m. near a large grocery. 

Security footage in Cozumel’s SSA Pier shows that Solomon was wearing a white tank top, gray shorts, and dark glasses when he went missing. His daughter advises anyone who sees him not to approach him directly, to follow him at a distance, and to contact the authorities immediately. 

As their search continues, his daughter expressed hope and frustration, saying, “We are exhausted and disheartened that we haven’t found him yet, but we are not losing hope.”

Early Monday morning, Savannah posted, “No major updates. Many false leads today. It is very distressing for us to have hope and then be let down. Contact 911 immediately if you may have information and please continue sharing our story for awareness.”

Anyone with information on Edmond Bradley Solomon III’s whereabouts can contact local authorities in Mexico by calling (998) 8817150, ext. 2130.