A Cary woman reported missing while vacationing in Grenada was not seen returning from the water after going for a swim near her resort, the Royal Grenada Police Force shared in a Tuesday update.
You can watch the full news conference on WRAL’s YouTube channel.
Elizabeth Waddell, 44, who goes by Liz, was last spotted Wednesday, July 22, in the Grand Anse Beach area of St. George. She was on vacation in Grenada with a friend.
“The two of them went down there, and they [were] just vacationing and sightseeing and taking in all that Grenada has to offer,” said Amanda Romano-Harmon, a friend of the Waddells for 25 years.
In Tuesday’s update, a Grenada police commissioner said Liz Waddell is still missing.
“At this time, this matter continues to be treated as a missing person investigation,” he said.
The commissioner also shared a detailed timeline of the moments before Liz Waddell was reported missing, saying surveillence video from July 22 shows Liz Waddell walking toward a jetty near her Airbnb at 11:36 a.m.
She was on the jetty in her swimsuit and sitting in the sun for several moments before she removed her towel, he said. The video shows her entering the water at 11:51 a.m., and she was seen swimming at 12:04 p.m.
At 12:46 p.m. the footage shows her friend walk outside to look for her and return alone. Liz Waddell was not seen on surveillence footage returning from the water.
She was reported missing, and there was an immediate police response and search in Grenada.
The police commissioner said eyewitnesses report seeing her in the open water, and the Grenada Broadcasting Network reports it interviewed a man who said he was out on a jetski and spotted a woman later — identified as Liz Waddell — swimming far out in the ocean. He stopped and asked if she needed help, she said no and told him she is a good swimmer, the network reports.
Grenada police said surveillence footage has been reviewed, and witnesses have been interviewed. Investigators are also reconstructing Liz Waddell’s movements.
Liz Waddell is well known in the Cary community through her work as a physical therapist and through fitness classes she teaches throughout town.
“You just can’t help but like her,” said MaryBeth Rubano, who met Waddell at physical therapy. “She’s outgoing; she cares about you [and] you were important to her.”
Rubano and many of Waddell’s friends are now supporting her family from Cary as the search for her entered its fifth day on Monday, 2,000 miles away in Grenada.
“I saw her picture for a second. I didn’t see the name, and I went, ‘Oh my God, I know her,’” Rubano said.
Liz Waddell is married to Cailen Waddell, who serves as the Town of Cary’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources operations manager. Cailen Waddell and the couple’s daughter have been in Grenada since Friday to assist with the search.
Romano-Harmon told WRAL News that Waddell left the Airbnb for a swim without her phone and didn’t return.
“Cailen was here working, and he got the phone call from her friend on Wednesday that Liz was missing … she hadn’t seen her for a few hours. She was starting to panic because she knew Liz didn’t have her phone or anything with her, and so they wound up filing a missing persons report right away.”
According to Waddell’s friends, she was last seen in the water on camera footage from a bar and grill overlooking the pier until she floated out of view.
Other friends and family are now flying out to the island to assist in the days-long search.
“I hope they find her. I hope she’s fine. I can’t imagine in my head what could have happened,” Rubano said.
There is now a website and a Facebook page dedicated to her search, saying she was last seen wearing beige shorts with blue stripes and a burnt-orange top. Waddell is 5 feet tall, and she has short, blonde hair and a medium build.
Anyone who has seen Elizabeth Waddell or has information about her
whereabouts is asked to contact the St. George Police Station at 473-444-4454, the Criminal Investigation Department at 473-440-3921 or 911.
Authorities are also asking business operators, residents and anyone
along the island’s southern coastline to report information that could
assist in the search.
