Search for Missing Man in Jamaica

Winston Watson is all too familiar with the areas between Negril, Westmoreland, and Montego Bay, St. James—more than he ever wished to be, actually.

For over two weeks, he and his family have been relentlessly pursuing reported sightings of his missing father, Winston Watson Sr. The elder Watson, 74, is a retired tour bus driver battling dementia who vanished from his home in Hanover. His family hasn’t seen him since.

From Fairview in Montego Bay to trudging through thick underbrush across Westmoreland and Hanover, Watson has followed every single lead. He’s put up flyers, questioned strangers, and chased reports that often placed his father in different parishes almost daily. It’s a grueling routine driven by hope but, at times, pure exhaustion and a growing anxiety that each day that slips by makes finding him even harder. The toll on Watson has been visible, with scars and rashes appearing due to the strain of the search. Sadly, every lead has turned to heartbreak.

Yet, this concerned son, who also serves in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, presses on.

Last Thursday, he was preparing to expand the search to Braeton in Portmore, St. Catherine, after hearing that his father might have been seen there. The challenge was that Watson hadn’t visited Portmore in years and barely knew anyone in the area.

“Every day, I hope someone will see me and say, ‘Your father is here,’” he shared. “Every time I return home without him, I just hold onto the hope that I’ll get a call saying, ‘Your father is safe.'”

Despite countless flyers, social media posts, police patrols, and help from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Canine Division, that wished-for call hasn’t come. “We’ve received calls from random strangers. This morning, one caller contacted my cousin first, mentioning she saw the missing-person post on her WhatsApp status. Another person reported seeing him in Fairview. In total, we’ve acted on about eight calls so far,” he explained. “And nothing.”

Winston Sr., who suffers from Alzheimer’s, reportedly wandered off from his Lethe home in Hanover around 4 p.m. on May 19 while his wife was outside tending to chickens. When he left, he was dressed in a black T-shirt, black shorts, and black-and-white Crocs.

He is one of 40 seniors reported missing by the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Constabulary Communication Network since the beginning of the year. Flyers featuring their pictures and details have been distributed across supermarkets, clinics, and posted on light posts island-wide.

At least two missing persons have been reunited with their families recently, while another, Seymour Henry, was found deceased on May 14 after disappearing from Clarendon in February.

Another recent case is that of 65-year-old Donavon Flowers, who disappeared from Kingston on May 29. A more puzzling mystery involves the vanishing of 61-year-old Joyce Fearon from Barnett Oval, Montego Bay, who hasn’t been seen since National Heroes Day in 2023.

Fearon left behind her belongings at a church in Christiana, Manchester, after attending a women’s convention. Security footage later confirmed that she was seen in Albert Town, Trelawny, but despite numerous reports from the public, there has been no significant breakthrough in her case. Some callers have even requested money in return for information.

The number of missing individuals on the CCN list who suffer from Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia remains unclear. However, Watson notes that the signs of his father’s condition began to emerge over a decade ago while he was studying in Kingston.

Initially, the regular Sunday phone calls ceased. After a break-in at their home in 2017, Winston Sr. began to believe others were stealing from him, even when he had hidden items himself. “A few times I found things that he had hidden,” Watson recalled, noting how he initially brushed it off. “But eventually, I thought, ‘This isn’t really my father.’” After some time, he sought medical help for his father.

“That’s when we were told he was showing early signs of dementia and began receiving medication. Looking back, it was clear the condition had slowly been worsening, though it wasn’t always obvious at first,” he said.

Recently, Jamaica was selected as one of nine countries to benefit from a new initiative that aims to enhance access to advanced blood testing for Alzheimer’s disease. This program, born out of a partnership between US-based C2N Diagnostics and SouthGenetics, will allow Jamaican healthcare professionals access to specific blood tests intended to detect amyloid plaques in the brain—significant indicators of Alzheimer’s. Other participating countries include Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Researchers have indicated that these tests will be available exclusively through qualified healthcare providers and are meant to supplement traditional clinical assessments.

Dr. Mellesia Lee, a molecular microbiologist who established the Molecular Evolution Laboratory in Kingston, sees this as a positive step forward, given that healthcare workers often rely on more basic methods when diagnosing dementia. “When doctors suspect dementia, they typically request a series of general blood tests,” she explained, adding that things like syphilis, HIV, and B12 deficiencies are often screening focuses. “They often don’t look for Alzheimer’s type dementia, which has its own underlying issues, including viruses and brain mutations.”

Wilson expressed concern, stating that aside from Alzheimer’s, his father has no other significant health problems. The very thought of his elderly father possibly being alone in a vulnerable state is distressing.

Estimates suggest around 19,000 to 20,000 Jamaicans are living with dementia, with a prevalence rate of about 5.9% to 6% among seniors aged 60 and older, according to research from the Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre at The University of the West Indies. A closer look shows that Alzheimer’s accounts for approximately 62% of dementia cases, while vascular dementia makes up about 32%. Women and older adults show notably higher rates of the condition.

Jean Lowrie-Chin, the founder of the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons, emphasized that the issue of elderly individuals wandering off is increasingly concerning. She urged families to establish better safety measures. “I’ve heard of many caring families who have had loved ones go missing due to simple lapses, like not securing a grille properly,” she said. “When you see the families’ pleas for their missing relatives, you realize how deeply they are loved and missed.”

“I’m finding that the alarm systems being offered by several security companies are quite affordable, and they can alert someone when a person goes missing,” Lowrie-Chin continued, suggesting families also inform neighbors when caring for vulnerable seniors.

Last week, as memories of his father flooded back, Watson wished he could have taken those preventative measures. “It’s hard to pick out just a couple of good memories. I remember him teaching me how to iron my school uniform properly and how to prepare a chicken,” he reflected. “If someone found him today, I’d be so thankful. Every evening that I come home without him, I hope for that call saying, ‘Your father is safe.’”

“I would be truly grateful to that person.”