In later years Cecil suffered from dementia. He was reported as missing from hospital on 21 February 2015, and was last seen in the early hours of 22 February. After a search, his body was found on 24 February in a field near Cwmbran. Gwent Police treated the death as unexplained. They referred themselves to the Independent Police Complaints Commission because a member of the public had spoken to a police officer about Cecil before his body was found.