Ultra Music Festival 2015: British Soldier Found Dead After Attending Miami Festival
A British soldier who attended the Ultra Music Festival was found dead in a Miami street. Police are investigating the veteran's death and are asking anyone with information to step forward.
The Miami Police Department released a statement on Monday announcing it had found a body on Sunday, which had been identified as Pvt. Shaun Cole, 22, a British Army veteran visiting the Florida city for the Ultra Music Festival. His body had been found on Biscayne Boulevard at around 7 a.m. Sunday.
According to CBS Miami, local police are asking for help from the public from anyone who may have had contact with Pvt. Cole.
"Somebody must have seen something. We need the public's help. This is a mystery and we are trying to put this puzzle. Together. We cannot confirm whether there was head trauma or not. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's will be doing an autopsy," said Sgt. Freddie Cruz, a spokesman for the Miami Police Department.
"This is someone who was 22, about to turn 23 in June. This was a tragedy for us, especially when it involved a tourist."
Pvt. Cole had been staying nearby at the Royal Budget Inn on the same street and was discovered by a passerby who saw his body lying in a pool of blood.
According to the BBC, the soldier had appeared to die from head trauma. The Edinburgh Evening News reports that witnesses saw him bleeding from the ears before collapsing on the street.
Pvt. Cole, a native of Edinburgh, served with the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. He had served in Afghanistan in 2012 and had recently been deployed to Sierra Leone as part of the British contingent to battle Ebola.
Edinburgh soldier Shaun Cole has been found dead on the pavement in Florida https://t.co/J1FGfB3Xjh pic.twitter.com/Ft88za71EQ
— STV News (@STVNews) March 30, 2015
He is remembered as team player and a caring and beloved family member. He had traveled to Florida with two friends: Jamie Lothian and Sean Ward.
Through the army, his family released a statement on Pvt. Cole's death, reports the Edinburgh Evening news.
"It comes with such regret that we have had to say goodbye to an amazing son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend, " they said. "An extremely popular young man, he had a flair for life and was always the life and soul of everyone he was around. He was an incredible young man who had his life taken from him too soon.
"We ask everyone to respect our privacy to grieve."
Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Matt Munro also released as statement remembering the soldier.
"The men and women of 1 SCOTS are shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the death of Pvt. Shaun Cole," he said. "Only recently back from helping to battle the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone and a veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan, Shaun achieved an extraordinary amount in a military career that was full of promise but was tragically cut short. We will miss him terribly."
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