Mexican authorities remain committed to finding a Charleston man with dementia who has been missing in Cozumel for more than two weeks.
Though time has sapped the number of people involved in the searches for Edmond Bradley "Brad" Solomon III, crews continue to scour city streets, clubs, resorts, beaches and jungles for the man last seen 16 days ago. It was previously reported that the search had turned from one of rescue to recovery.
"Upon having information that he was transferred to the city on a van, emphasis was placed on parks, properties under construction, abandoned houses, vacant lots and beaches on the east side of the island," Cozumel authorities reported on April 18.
Those searches included three government agencies, local residents and some members of Solomon's family who remain in Mexico. Other family members have returned to the United States.
Previously, family members had reported more than 100 people joining in daily searches. But on April 18, 17 people divided into four search brigades and fanned out across the small Caribbean island in the continued effort to find Solomon, authorities said.
Mexican authorities involved in the search included firefighters, paramedics, police, public security and personnel from the National Guard, Citizen Security, Secretary of the Navy and Civil Protection. They used a helicopter, all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft and shoe leather. An infrared camera and search dogs Luna and Tostadita also were used.
Members of a search brigade in Cozumel, Mexico, continue searching for missing Charleston man Brad Solomon on April 18, 2024.
Civil Protection vehicles blared a recorded message from Mimi Hyers Solomon, his wife, while traversing areas on the outskirts of San Miguel, the main city and commercial center of Cozumel.
Solomon hasn’t been seen since April 3, when the West Ashley native got separated from his wife after they disembarked from Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas. The couple was passing through the area as part of a seven-day cruise — their last big vacation after Solomon was diagnosed in 2022 with frontotemporal dementia.
The neurodegenerative disorder has slowly eroded Solomon’s independence, his daughter Savannah Miller previously told The Post and Courier.
A "lost" flyer for Edmond Bradley Solomon III of Charleston distributed by Mexican authorities. Solomon has been missing in Cozumel since April 3, 2024.
The condition caused her father to grow more reserved and anxious as his wife had assumed a caregiving role, Miller said.
Four days after Solomon’s 66th birthday, he wandered off in a market in Cozumel, an island rimmed by white sands and carpeted with scrubby tropical jungle. Cozumel is about 29 miles long and 9 miles wide.
With the boat docked, Solomon and his wife ducked into restrooms at a shopping area near Cozumel’s cruise terminal. Miller believes that her father exited first, rejoining an unfamiliar landscape of vendors and souvenirs; when he didn’t spot his wife, he set off in search of her, his daughter suspects.
Security cameras captured images of Solomon walking down various streets in and around San Miguel. He was wearing a light-colored shirt, shorts and sneakers. A lanyard hung around his neck, and he wore what appeared to be a watch.
Cozumel authorities released images from surveillance cameras that captured Brad Solomon walking on April 3, 2024, the last day he was seen on the Mexican island.
A cab driver later told authorities that a man matching Solomon's description asked him for a ride to Isla de la Pasion, a popular beach area on the north edge of Cozumel and not far from San Miguel. When the man didn't have money, the cabbie said he paid with his watch.
Previous searches had been conducted around Passion Island, with another completed on April 18, authorities said.
Undated street video of Edmond Bradley "Brad" Solomon III, in Cozumel
Lifeguards took to the water in jet skis while paramedics and firefighters walked through gaps and trails in that area. No sign of Solomon was found.
Authorities said crews and search dogs also examined a popular cave with a deep pool, around Mayan ruins and a "ghost town," in hopes of finding Solomon.
The search continues.
Members of a search brigade in Cozumel, Mexico, continue searching for missing Charleston man Brad Solomon on April 18, 2024.
Authorities made a call to community members who want to help with the search to join their operation in order to work in a coordinated manner and make the searches more efficient. Several posts on a Cozumel community Facebook page this week indicated that a number of people have continued individual search efforts, including some that included reports of false sightings of Solomon around the island.
