Guatemalan police are searching for an American tourist who has disappeared after visiting Mayan ruins deep in the jungle.
Raymond Ashcroft, 66, of Texas, was last seen seven weeks ago on February 3 before he disappeared.
His 40-year-old wife, Van Phung, who met Ashcroft when they both worked as pharmacists at a Houston cancer hospital, said he suffered from memory problems and mania, which meant he couldn’t be left alone for long periods of time.
She said he also had trouble walking, which she now suspects might have been taken by someone because he couldn’t walk far on his own.
The couple had been on a wildlife tour with a group of other travelers and had visited the famous ruins of Tikal – a UNESCO World Heritage site dating from the 6th century B.C. It was inhabited until the 10th century AD
Raymond Ashcroft – whom Guatemalan authorities dubbed Ashcraft – was last seen on February 3
Search and rescue teams are looking for the missing American
They were traveling with Canadian tour operator Eagle-Eye, local media reported. Eagle-Eye Tours, which offers wildlife tours worldwide, currently offers an 11-day Belize and Tikal trip for $4,075 per person on its website.
Eagle-Eye Tours is yet to confirm he was one of their tourists and has not responded to ‘s request for comment.
Phung told Prensa Libre, a Guatemalan newspaper, that they set out on foot on the morning of February 3 to try to spot birds.
“Around noon, our group was walking back to Jungle Lodge for lunch when we saw a crocodile on the bank of a pond in front of the hotel’s entrance,” she told the newspaper.
“We went closer to the pond to take photos of the crocodile and a tiger heron.”
Ashcroft left the group and said he was returning to their hotel – Phung assumed he wanted to either go to the bathroom or just wait for lunch.
Phung said he has a bad left knee and moves slowly: She said he can’t walk more than 500 steps without having to sit down.
“He’s slow walking so it’s odd that no one has seen him in less than 30 minutes since we last saw him at the pond outside the hotel entrance.”
She returned to the hotel shortly after him, but could not find him.
Ashcroft and his wife visited the Mayan ruins of Tikal as part of a birding holiday
The couple were traveling with Canadian company Eagle-Eye Tours, local media reported
The Mayan ruins at Tikal are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Guatemala
“When I got to the hotel lobby, I didn’t see him waiting for me, so I went to the restrooms behind the restaurant,” she said.
“I didn’t find him, so I went to our room, room 31, to see if he was there – but he wasn’t there.”
At 12:30 p.m., she notified two guides that he was missing.
The hotel guard and two members of the birding tour went in search of him – one of them on a motorbike.
“When they didn’t find him outside the park, five men entered the park to look for him – they split up so each went a different route,” Phung told the newspaper.
At 5pm the United States Embassy was informed and they informed the Guatemalan Ministry of the Interior.
Local officials soon arrived and began interviewing her and others at the hotel.
A search and rescue team was dispatched and 97 people were searching for him at 6:30 am on Feb. 4, Phung said.
A group of rescuers prepare to begin the search for Ashcroft
A volunteer rescuer from the Guatemalan team searches for Ashcroft
Rescuers prepare the search dogs
Ashcroft has now been missing for seven weeks
Teams in Guatemala combed the area looking for Ashcroft
Guatemalan authorities have notified Interpol, facilitating cross-border law enforcement cooperation.
Interpol has issued a yellow notice designed to help locate missing persons, often minors, or to identify those who cannot identify themselves.
In 2022, a German tourist, Stephan Baitz, 53, was found dead in the park.
His body was recovered two days after he disappeared, and authorities said he died of heat stroke.