Seven full days have passed since 44-year-old American visitor Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell was officially registered as a missing person in the Caribbean nation of Grenada, with cross-agency law enforcement teams, international partners, and the tourist’s family continuing intensive search efforts across both coastal land areas and surrounding marine territory.
Waddell, a doctor of physical therapy who traveled to the island from North Carolina in the United States, was first reported missing on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Her disappearance came after she headed toward a beach pier located just north of Grenada’s popular Grand Anse Beach around midday that same day.
Security camera footage obtained by investigators places Waddell on the pier between 11:46 a.m. and 12:04 p.m. that day. The footage shows her walking out to the end of the structure, entering the water from the jetty, and swimming steadily away from the shoreline. A critical gap in the investigative process has emerged, however: Waddell left her mobile phone, official identification, wallet, and footwear behind at her local accommodation, leaving investigators with no GPS signal or other electronic location data to trace her movements after she entered the water.
Early coverage of the case from U.S. media outlets included a key detail that has since been corrected. Initial reports claimed Waddell was wearing a green bikini when she headed to the pier, but review of the official security footage shows she was actually wearing an orange top and blue-and-white striped shorts – a description that Waddell’s family has confirmed to be accurate.
Accounts from witnesses and individuals on the scene add more context to the timeline of the disappearance. Waddell’s female travel companion first noticed something was wrong at 12:46 p.m., when she found Waddell’s towel abandoned on the beach. Nearly five hours later, at approximately 5:30 p.m., the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) confirmed it received a report of a swimmer matching Waddell’s description in the open water off the coast.
In the days since the disappearance, unsubstantiated claims have circulated in some U.S. media outlets claiming Waddell was spotted at a local grocery store one day after she went missing. Waddell’s immediate family has arrived in Grenada to support the search effort: her identical twin sister flew into the country on Saturday, joining Waddell’s husband and other relatives who are already on the island. Investigators have emphasized that every reported sighting will be carefully cross-checked and corroborated to avoid misleading leads.
Given that the last confirmed visual of Waddell shows her entering the water, the majority of search resources have been allocated to marine operations. Current search efforts include coordinated coast guard patrols along the coast, professional dive teams searching near-shore and offshore areas, aerial drone surveillance to cover large stretches of water and coastline, and detailed analysis of local ocean currents to map possible movement patterns. Local law enforcement continues to issue public appeals for any information from tourists or residents who were in the area of Grand Anse Beach on the day of Waddell’s disappearance.
Acting Commissioner of Police Randy Connaught has previously confirmed that RGPF is maintaining close working partnerships with the U.S. Embassy in Grenada and the FBI’s regional office as investigators continue to comb through all available physical and digital evidence related to the case.