Three weeks have passed since Charleston native Brad Solomon was officially last seen in Cozumel, Mexico, after wandering off from a market and possibly into the jungle.
Solomon, 66, has dementia.
"(G)iven these circumstances, Solomon might have taken some wrong decisions that led him to get deeper and deeper into the jungle and get lost," said Rafael Tenorio Pizano, who is in charge of the search operation as the Citizen Protection director in Cozumel.
Edmond Bradley Solomon III was last seen April 3 after he and his wife, Mimi, disembarked from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. They were on a seven-day vacation, intended to be their last, as his conditions had worsened from behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, a neurodegenerative disorder. Solomon was diagnosed in 2022.
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 couple stopped to use restrooms at a shopping area near Cozumel’s cruise terminal. The belief is that Solomon exited first and went in search of his wife when he didn’t immediately spot her.
An estimated 2 million people annually visit Cozumel, an island in the Caribbean Sea that is roughly 30 miles long by 10 miles wide. Few, if any, of those tourists go missing, Pizano said.
"There have been isolated cases of missing persons, but none of them like Brad’s," he said. "We have search protocols in place during the first 72 hours, and the search is ongoing until authorities order that the search be interrupted. The investigation file for this case is still open, and we keep searching for Brad.”
Mexican authorities involved in the searches have included firefighters, paramedics, police, public security and personnel from the National Guard, Citizen Security, Secretary of the Navy and Civil Protection.
Locals are also assisting. Members of Solomon's family contributed to those efforts for some time, but they have since returned to the United States, Pizano said.
"There is only a group of community volunteers that keep searching for him whenever it’s possible for them," he said.
Undated street video of Edmond Bradley "Brad" Solomon III, in Cozumel
The only other missing person case in Cozumel similar to that of Solomon came decades ago. In 1993, a Missouri man went missing in the Cozumel jungle before walking out alive after 19 days.
"To be honest, I don’t have any registry of the methods used in 1993, but today we do count with the participation of all authorities and the civil population," Pizano said.
Search efforts continue in Cozumel, Mexico, for missing Charleston native Brad Solomon.
Shortly after Solomon's wife reported him missing, authorities searched surveillance camera footage and found recordings of him walking down various streets in and around San Miguel, the main commercial center near the cruise terminal. He was wearing a hat, light-colored shirt, shorts and sneakers. A lanyard hung around his neck, and he wore what appeared to be a watch.
A cab driver told authorities that a man matching Solomon’s description approached him that day and asked 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.
The cabbie's account was verified, "but again, this was on the same day he went missing," Pizano said. "The watch was recovered by his wife with the help of the local police department, and it was given to her in her own hands."
There also had been an earlier report of Solomon getting a ride back to town in a van. That report also came on April 3, Pizano said.
"Indeed, a fishermen van took him to a cruise dock, though upon checking surveillance 911 cameras, authorities realized Solomon never entered the dock," he said. "No cameras have been able to catch him in the island, which is where the hypothesis of him being lost in the jungle is the one being worked with.
"There have been no further sightings of Solomon since the last time he was seen the day he went missing."
There were some reported sightings, but Pizano said they "were only assumptions," without any real support or verification.
