A North Carolina tourist reported missing during a vacation in Grenada was captured on surveillance video swimming in the ocean only hours before she disappeared, authorities said.
Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell, 43, was visiting the Caribbean island with a friend when she vanished near Grand Anse Beach in St. George’s on July 22.
Grenada Police Chief Randy Connaught told reporters at a news conference Tuesday that Waddell and her travel companion had spent the first 10 days of their holiday at a resort on the island’s western side before relocating to an Airbnb in the south on July 21.
The next day, surveillance footage from the Airbnb showed Waddell walking toward a nearby jetty at 11.36am. She appeared to sit in the sun for several minutes before entering the water at 11.51am.
About three minutes later, the video showed a small boat passing through the area while Waddell’s traveling companion adjusted a beach chair.
By 12.04pm, Waddell could be seen swimming in the direction of Grand Anse Beach.
Later, at about 12.46pm, her friend was recorded stepping outside to look for her before going back into the Airbnb.
Connaught said Waddell was not seen on the footage “returning from the water.” She was officially reported missing at 5.50pm that evening.
Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Waddell, 43, mysteriously disappeared near Grand Anse Beach in Grenada on July 22
Newly-released surveillance footage shows Waddell walking toward a jetty near her Airbnb that morning
By Friday, Waddell’s husband, Cailen Waddell, and their adult daughter traveled from their home in Cary, North Carolina, to the island to aid in the search efforts.
As the search for the missing mother-of-one now stretches into a week, her family has created a website, FindLiz.com, to share updates on the investigation.
‘We have now seen video footage that confirms on Wednesday, Liz was last seen around 12.04pm, about 20 feet at most from shore in water about five feet deep swimming towards the beach at Grand Anse,’ Cailen posted on the site Tuesday.
‘I went out and did this swim yesterday,’ he noted. ‘It is easy, there are lots of rocks you can stop at if you need.
‘The water is shallower near shore, where Liz could touch if she wanted, and the water is like a lake, not like ocean water we experience in North Carolina,’ added Cailen, who serves as the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources manager in the city of Cary.
The worried husband later also shared a photo from the surveillance footage showing Waddell in blue and white striped shorts and a burnt orange loose crop top as she left the Airbnb.
He now believes she went swimming in those clothes.
Waddell was wearing blue and white striped shorts and a burnt orange loose crop top as she left the Airbnb
Waddell’s husband, Cailen Waddell, traveled to the island with their adult daughter on Friday to aid in the search efforts
When Waddell’s traveling companion finished an online course later in the day, she then went out to look for her once again – only to discover her towel still lying on the pier, Waddell’s longtime friend, Amanda Romano-Harmon, told WRAL.
After several hours, the friend began to get nervous and called Liz’s husband, who was working, to inform him that she was missing.
‘She was starting to panic because she knew Liz didn’t have her phone or anything with her,’ said Romano-Harmon, who has been serving as a spokesperson for the family. ‘And so they wound up filing a missing persons report right away.’
Cailen also noted in his statement online that his wife did not have her wallet, shoes, cash or cards with her when she jumped in the water.
It remains unclear what happened to the mother-of-one in the aftermath.
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But one witness told the Grenada Broadcasting Network he was riding a Jet Ski when he spotted a woman he believed to be Waddell swimming far from the shore at around 5.30pm.
The man said he stopped and asked whether she needed any help, but the woman declined, saying she was a strong swimmer.
Royal Grenada Police released this missing persons flyer. They urged anyone with information about Waddell’s whereabouts to reach out
Police are now working to get in contact with the witness to determine a more precise location for the interaction, Cailen said.
Authorities are also appealing to fishermen, boat operators and residents across the island to keep their eyes peeled for the mother-of-one.
In the meantime, the Coast Guard and local dive teams have searched underwater for Waddell and a K9 unit has been deployed.
‘It is our hope that Elizabeth will be found, and found alive and well,’ Connaught said on Tuesday. ‘The Royal Grenada Police Force remains equally hopeful that she will be safe and that she is safe.’
Waddell is the founder of Art of Movement Physical Therapy center in Cary
Waddell is the founder of Art of Movement Physical Therapy center in Cary.
She has a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, her website said.
The business website has not been updated since January and it appears that Waddell may have ceased taking on clients.
In December, she shared an Instagram post detailing that she stopped working in mid-November due to a myriad of health conditions, including perimenopause and worsening symptoms from a pre-existing Vagus nerve injury.
‘I’ve learned to give up control and live in the moment. I listen to my body as much as possible and give myself grace when I can’t do the things I want to do,’ she wrote at the time.
‘I have no regrets. I think I’m supposed to be learning the hard lessons and taking this time to heal and grow.’
The couple officially became parents in 2024 after they adopted their adult daughter, Suwan, their profiles showed.
Waddell and her husband are avid travelers, but Waddell made the trip to Grenada with a friend
Friends described Waddell as an adventurer and a ‘ray of sunshine’
In his statement, Cailen said he understands ‘that there are likely many questions, and there are for me, too. I am heartbroken that she is missing.
‘Those of you who know us best knew our commitment to each other, to travel, to nature and exploring the world as a team,’ he added.
Photos shared on their social media accounts show the couple visited the Mexican island of Isla Holbox in May.
‘Liz has the adventure bug,’ Romano-Harmon added in her remarks to WRAL. ‘She loves to travel and there’s not a hike she didn’t like that she wanted to try.
‘She’s a ray of sunshine and she just loves to meet new people and experience different cultures and see what the world has to offer.’
An online fundraiser set up to support the search efforts also described Waddell as ‘the kind of person who brings joy to everyone she meets – she’ll join kids playing in the park and she treats friends like family.’
‘When we learned about Liz’s disappearance, our hearts broke,’ the friends that set up the GoFundMe wrote, ‘but we are determined to help bring her home.’
As of Wednesday evening, the GoFundMe had raised nearly $19,000.
