a towel, left folded on a pier. that’s the last physical trace anyone has found of elizabeth “liz” waddell, five days after she walked down to the water for a swim and never came back.
Who Elizabeth Waddell Is
waddell, 44, is a physical therapist from cary, north carolina, and the founder of art of movement physical therapy. she holds a doctorate in physical therapy from the university of north carolina at chapel hill. she’s married to cailen waddell, who works as an operations manager for the town of cary’s parks, recreation and cultural resources department. friends describe her as warm and outgoing “a loving, free-spirited person,” in her husband’s words, someone who “could make friends” wherever she went.
What Happened on July 22
waddell was vacationing in grenada with a friend, staying at an airbnb in the grand anse area on the island’s southwest coast a stretch known for its white sand beaches and turquoise water, one of the caribbean’s most popular tourist destinations.
around 8am on wednesday, july 22, she went down to grand anse beach for a swim. according to family friend amanda romano-harmon, waddell “went down to the pier and left her towel on the pier and went for a swim.”
she didn’t come back.
her traveling companion eventually called cailen waddell, who was still at work in north carolina. “liz went missing at noon today,” he told romano-harmon over the phone “the tone was getting a lot more serious,” romano-harmon recalled. “he was getting a little bit upset.”
How the Search Has Unfolded
the royal grenada police force issued a public missing person alert, describing waddell as approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall with short blonde hair, and released a photo to help the public identify her. their appeal was specific: they asked fishermen, boat operators, and residents along grenada’s southern coastline to report any sightings language consistent with a search for someone who may have gone into open water.
cailen waddell flew to grenada on friday, july 24, to join the search personally. romano-harmon and her husband planned to travel out as well to assist. cailen posted the missing person notice publicly, writing: “i expect nothing less than liz’s safe return so please send your love, light, thoughts, and prayers our way.”
as of this week, no additional details about the physical search dive teams, coast guard involvement, or coastline recovery efforts have been made public by grenadian authorities.
What the U.S. Government Has Said
the U.S. state department confirmed it is aware of the case. in a statement to abc news, a department spokesperson said: “the trump administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of americans. we are aware of reports of a missing american in grenada.”
the department did not provide additional operational details, consistent with its standard practice in ongoing missing persons cases involving U.S. citizens abroad.
Why This Case Has Drawn National Attention
waddell’s disappearance has been picked up by national outlets including fox news, cbs news, nbc news, and newsnation, in addition to extensive local coverage from raleigh-durham stations abc11 and wral. the combination of a well-known local community figure her husband is a recognizable town official in cary and the involvement of open water in a foreign country has made this one of the more closely watched missing persons cases of the summer.
online missing persons communities have also been tracking the case closely since the initial alert, noting details from waddell’s own social media, including recent posts about health struggles with long covid, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other conditions in the months before her trip though authorities have not indicated these are connected to her disappearance.
Elizabeth Waddell Missing Where Things Stand
five days after elizabeth waddell walked into the water at grand anse beach, there has been no confirmed sighting, no recovered body, and no official determination of what happened to her.
her husband is now on the ground in grenada, working alongside local police and search volunteers. her family and friends continue to ask anyone with information no matter how small to come forward to the royal grenada police force.
follow this blog for updates as the search for elizabeth waddell continues.
