Missing
Randall David Ward
Ward, approximately 2011
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/28/2011
Missing location (approx) :
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Missing classification : Lost/Injured Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 09/27/1952 (68)
Age at the time of disappearance: 58 years old
Height / Weight : 6'1, 185 pounds
Medical conditions : Ward has unspecified health issues and needed surgery for a painful foot condition. He was also depressed over his son's suicide at the time of his disappearance.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Gray hair, green eyes. Ward's nickname is Randy.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Ward was last seen in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 28, 2011. He had left his Eden Prairie, Minnesota home on June 21, and taken a motorcycle trip to Florida; this trip was on his "bucket list". He left his wife and two daughters behind in Minnesota.
He rented a 24-foot Hurricane Sundeck Boat from the Bahia Mar Resort and Yachting Center marina in the 800 block of Seabreeze Boulevard on Lake Worth at 9:00 a.m., and was due back by evening, but he never returned. At 8:00 p.m., the marina reported him and the boat overdue, and a search was launched.
Ward's boat was found adrift seven miles offshore at 1:00 a.m. on August 4. It was unoccupied and had some mechanical problems; there was a rope wrapped around the propeller. Ward's wife stated he owned a boat at home and whenever it had problems, he would jump in the water himself to fix them, and would not wear a life jacket while doing so.
An extensive search turned up no indication of Ward's whereabouts. His wife described him as an experienced boater and a very good swimmer who could tread water for an extensive time period and was on his high school scuba diving team. He is presumed drowned, but his body has never been located.
Other information and links : ncy
Fort Lauderdale Police Department
954-828-5700
September 2021 updates and sources
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
CBS Miami
Missing Persons of America
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 12, 2004. March 13, 2019; .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
