- February 11, 2025
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There are certain cases that hit home for Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey, and the case of William Cox was one of them.
Around 10 p.m. Feb. 8, Officer Carlos Ortiz arrived at Grand Villas in reference to a missing person. Teresa Ferro, who works at the senior living community, told him that Cox had been missing since 4 p.m. The staff didn't notice his absence until he didn't show up for dinner.
Cox was a relatively new resident at the facility, according to the police report. Though he suffered from Parkinson's disease and dementia, the 82-year-old liked to go for walks. Staff members told police he was never gone for an extended amount of time.
In the report, there is also mention of an "open door policy" at Grand Villa where residents can come and go as they please. It is unknown if a resident's mental illness affects whether he is approved for that policy. Representatives of Grand Villa declined to comment about Cox.
Janice Cox, William Cox's wife, arrived at the facility despite being advised by the staff to remain home until further notice. She told police she "felt desperate" and decided to drive there. Though she and her husband no longer lived together, Janice Cox visited him on a daily basis. She also declined to comment.
After searching the initial surrounding area of the building and deploying Air One (with negative results), OBPD called in Tomoka C I K9 unit. Officers showed the dogs a pillow case of William Cox's, and the dogs picked up a scent that led them south to the Shadow Lakes area, which Godfrey said ended in an area with two bodies of water.
"In my experience, a lot of people who walk off from nursing homes wind up in bodies of water," he said. "We are very upset here of how this went down."
According to the report, the recent rain made the unit lose the track. Air One was notified and they conducted another search with negative results. The next day, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office Dive team was called in to check the water.
"When someone drowns, they go down and then after a few days they come up," he said. "Because of the K9s, we concentrated the majority of our efforts towards that area."
In the two weeks that followed William Cox's disappearance, OBPD checked the nearby restaurants — like his favorite, Wendy's — dozens of local businesses, parks and neighborhoods, passed out the man's photo to as many people as they could and followed up on every possible lead. But William Cox was nowhere to be found.
Then, on Feb. 22, OBPD changed its search pattern and found human remains about approximately 75 yards into a dense, swampy area behind 53 Tomoka Meadows Blvd.
"Maybe the dogs were wrong, or maybe he backtracked," Godfrey said. "He was in a very wooded and difficult area, I don’t even know if the helicopter could have spotted him. It was that thick."
The medical examiner confirmed March 9 that the remains were that of William Cox.
"There are quite a few of us here who have felt this on a personal level," Godfrey said. "My mom was once a resident at Grand Villa, and going back just brings all of those memories up."
Godfrey said this is the first missing adult case the department has worked in a while, but typically people who walk away from assisted living facilities are found pretty quickly. Though the dogs may have led officers away from William Cox's location, Godfrey said the decision to rely on them came from their success in the past.
"They’re worth their weight in gold," he said. "We have had tremendous results with them."
With no one party or decision to blame in this case, Godfrey said all the efforts were made in trying to locate William Cox.
"When they’re gone for days like this, and they have medical issues, you have a feeling of what the end result will be," he said. "For law enforcement officers these are tough calls. These are the ones that hit home."