Edmond Bradley Solomon III turned 66 at sea, celebrating his birthday on an enormous cruise ship cutting through idyllic Caribbean waters.
It was a momentous day on a significant trip, said his daughter Savannah Miller. In the fall of 2022, doctors diagnosed him with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, a neurodegenerative disorder that’s slowly eroding Solomon’s independence.
Miller, 29, has observed her dad — a gregarious surfer and former critical care nurse from West Ashley — grow more reserved and anxious as his wife, Mimi Hyer Solomon, has assumed a caregiving role.
The Royal Caribbean voyage was supposed to be the couple’s last big vacation. On April 3, however, the seven-day trip took a nightmarish turn. Four days after Solomon’s birthday, he wandered off in a market in Cozumel, Mexico, an island rimmed by white sands and carpeted with dense jungle.
Solomon’s family hasn’t stopped searching for him since.
Miller was in the United States when she heard her father was missing. She has since pieced together the events that led to his disappearance: with the boat docked, her father and stepmother ducked into restrooms at a shopping area near Cozumel’s cruise terminal. Miller believes that Solomon 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.
Mimi left the bathroom. Anguished minutes passed. She soon realized Solomon was missing — and plunged into panic.
An all-hands-on-deck search ensued.
Mimi disembarked, while some of her family members stayed on the boat. She hopped into the car of a security guard, and together they scoured the streets of Cozumel. But Solomon walks fast, his strides decisive — especially when he’s anxious, Miller said. As the sun set that day, he was nowhere to be seen.
Since then, Mimi has worked with local police and public safety officials to launch a search. Miller said confusion about who was in charge initially stymied efforts. But a strategy has since prevailed, with the Mexican military largely taking the lead. A few days ago, Miller and her boyfriend boarded a plane bound for Mexico, joining the multi-agency push to locate Solomon.
Edmond Bradley Solomon III is a longtime fisher, boater and surfer. The 66-year-old West Ashley native, who has dementia, wandered off in a market in Cozumel, Mexico, April 3.
Cozumel is a tiny, touristy island. Cruise ship passengers traveling through have offered to spend their vacations searching for Solomon, Miller said. Locals are rallying around the family, and news stations near and far are spotlighting their plight.
Such collaboration has heartened Miller, who spoke with The Post and Courier on the search’s ninth day. For now, the strategy is for everyone — tourists, locals, officials — to fan out, sweeping the island in a massive grid pattern. Some people are traversing the city’s plazas on foot, while others crisscross the region’s scrubby jungle on ATVs. The family set up a tip line to field calls reporting sightings, though Miller said most are unsubstantiated.
She added that anyone who spots Solomon should trail him from afar, then call the bilingual operators at +52 987-262-8178. The day Solomon disappeared, security footage spotted him wearing a white linen button-down shirt and gray shorts.
Miller has posted near daily updates on Facebook, a log of the pained days since April 3. Ashley Hyer-Miller, Solomon’s sister-in-law, is also documenting the ordeal on social media: family members renting off-road vehicles to reach remote areas, appeals for prayers, shoutouts to Cozumel residents.
A GoFundMe page, too, is collecting contributions for Mimi, a nurse who met Solomon at work. The fundraiser grew out of a group of nurses that worked with the family through the years. Marissa Aldridge, who organized the fundraiser, said Mimi shaped her life as her boss. Aldridge, a 35-year-old Johns Island resident, said Mimi was always someone who stepped up to fill in for other people or be there for them.
"We need to support Mimi so we can support Brad," Aldridge said. "That has been our view as a group for several years."
Solomon, a West Ashley native, raised Miller as a single father for much of her childhood. Everyone called him “Mr. Mom.” When he met Mimi, Miller was thrilled, and she eagerly walked her dad down the aisle. Years after that backyard ceremony on Edisto Island, Mimi has become a cheerleader for Miller and a caregiver for Solomon.
“Our family is incomplete without all 3 of us,” Miller wrote on Facebook. “We will find him and bring him home.”
Until last year, Solomon was still riding waves off Isle of Palms, still reeling in redfish off the coast, his daughter said. Aldridge said Mimi and Solomon were on the vacation they had planned together for years. He remains somewhere in Cozumel, nearly 3,000 miles from home.
The search continues.
Reporter Alan Hovorka contributed to this story.
