Missing Ecuadorian ambassador found dead in New Jersey

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ – A longtime Ecuadorian diplomat living in New Jersey has been found dead after a weeks-long search, authorities recently confirmed.

According to the Newark Department of Public Safety, Edmundo Alfonso Morales Suárez, 66, of Roseland was reported missing on November 1.

Newark police have already released a missing persons report in connection with his disappearance:

“(Morales Suárez), who is associated with the Ecuadorian Embassy, ​​was reported missing at 11:15 p.m. and was reported to have made suicide threats to his family before he went missing.” Mr. Morales’ phone was linked to Mulberry Street and Edison Place in Newark where his car was found with his wallet and phone inside.”

On November 22, Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the missing man was found dead in New Jersey, Univision reported.

Morales Suárez served as Ecuador’s consul general in New Jersey and Pennsylvania from 2019 to July 2024. He requested his resignation in August.

US Senator George Helmy of New Jersey expressed his condolences to the family of the late diplomat.

“His sudden death has left a tremendous sense of loss in our Ecuadorian communities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where he served diligently in the Ecuadorian Consulate General since 2019,” the senator wrote.

Helmy continued:

“(Morales Suárez’s) distinguished decades-long career in the diplomatic core and academia, as well as his commitment to strengthening U.S.-Ecuador relations, have undoubtedly left a lasting legacy among those he served and his compatriots.” Although I did not have the privilege of working with the late Ambassador during my term of office, he was fondly remembered by family and colleagues as a respectful, kind-hearted and intelligent public servant and friend. During his diplomatic mission, he served thousands of our constituents in New Jersey.”

“His memory will be enshrined in our prayers,” concluded Helmy.

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