Missing man was last seen hanging onto an SUV on U.S. 1
Friends and family of a Florida Keys man have been looking for him since Sunday afternoon, when they say he had some sort of mental breakdown and grabbed onto the luggage rack of a passing car on U.S. 1 and hopped on its roof.
A woman who knows him, and is reported to be the last person to see him, told police she lost visual contact with him as he was being driven away by the SUV as it headed north on the highway, according to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office report.
Mark Miller, 46, who works in the kitchen of the Hungry Tarpon Restaurant at Robbie’s Marina at mile marker 78 on Upper Matecumbe Key, has a history of mental illness, according to Rachel Patrick, his sister. But she does not know what caused him to act so erratically Sunday.
“His family is very worried about him and fear for his safety,” Patrick said in an email.
A co-worker and friend who did not want her name used said she and her colleagues are very worried about him and have been conducting informal searches in the wooded areas around Robbie’s, where Miller lives in a trailer, since Monday.
“He has no shoes, no glasses, no money. He couldn’t have gotten far,” she said.
Robbie’s is a popular bayside spot in Islamorada, famous most of all for letting tourists hand feed the giant tarpon that hang out around the docks.
Miller’s manager called the sheriff’s office Monday to report him missing after he didn’t show up for work for two days. She said she had gone to his trailer the day before and found it unlocked and unoccupied. She was worried about him because his behavior was becoming increasingly strange in the days leading to his disappearance.
“She stated she believes he is endangered and possibly suffering from hallucinations, possibly due to alcohol withdrawal,” Deputy Scott Costa wrote in his report.
Costa spoke with another Robbie’s employee, who is the last person to see him. She said she heard a disturbance on the property around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, and when she checked to see what was going on, she saw Miller “yelling incoherently at vehicles,” Costa stated.
The passing cars slowed down as Miller yelled and waved at them. He jumped on the roof of one of them, an SUV, and the car kept going, taking Miller away until his co-worker could no longer see him.
Miller’s friends and family have been posting fliers around town with his photo, asking for those who may know where he is to call the sheriff’s office at (305) 289-2351.
He is described as being 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, and last seen wearing gray shorts and a blue T-shirt.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 1:06 PM.
