A friend of the American woman who went missing while vacationing on the Caribbean island of Grenada said there is video that shows her last known movements. Police have since confirmed that surveillance footage captured Elizabeth Waddell the day she was last seen, July 22, swimming off Grand Anse Beach in Grenada’s capital city, St. George’s.
Her friend, Amanda Romano-Harmon, described it as showing Waddell “floating” and “swimming around.”
“But then she, you know, she floats out of the camera view and so that’s the last footage of Liz,” Romano-Harmon said.
Video showed the 44-year-old North Carolina mom walking toward a pier along the beach at around 11:30 a.m. that morning, said Royal Grenada Police Acting Commissioner Randy Connaught at a Tuesday briefing. Over the next 30 minutes or so, it showed her sitting on the sand nearby, walking on the pier, entering the water, and, finally, swimming beneath the pier just after 12 p.m., Connaught said.
About 45 minutes later, Waddell’s friend and travel companion was seen walking toward the pier, but she later returned alone, according to the acting commissioner.
“Mrs. Waddell was not seen returning from the water,” Connaught said. He added that investigators have received eyewitness accounts that indicated she had been swimming in the open ocean later in the afternoon, not long before Waddell’s friend reported her missing to police.
Police have not publicly released the surveillance footage or images related to Waddell’s disappearance, but the family on Tuesday released some of the footage themselves. Wadell’s husband, Cailen Waddell, said in a statement earlier Tuesday, before they released the video, that the family had reviewed the footage themselves after traveling to Grenada to help with the search.
“I went out and did this swim yesterday,” he said, referencing the path his wife appeared to take. “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.”
Cailen Waddell said police were working on connecting with the eyewitnesses who reported interacting with his wife farther from shore at around 5:30 p.m. on the day of her disappearance.
“I understand that there are likely many questions, and there are for me too,” he said. “I am heartbroken that she is missing. Those of you who knew us best knew our commitment to each other, to travel, to nature, and exploring the world as a team.”
Grenada Police/Cailen Waddell
Waddell was on a three-week vacation with her close friend Heather. According to the family, Waddell left their Airbnb around noon. When she didn’t return for hours, the family said Heather went looking for Waddell and found her towel, but no other signs of her.
“Liz had literally left in a swimsuit with a towel. She didn’t have her phone, ID, anything with her, no shoes,” said Romano-Harmon, who described the beloved physical therapist as “the type of person who’d give you the shirt off her back.”
Waddell’s husband has described her as “a loving free-spirit person,” telling Grenadian media last week that his wife “could make friends with anyone and she often did.”
Police are asking boaters and residents in the area for anything they may have seen regarding Waddell. They’re also working to collect more security footage from hotels along the beach, according to her husband. Connaught said search efforts have so far covered land and sea.
The State Department is aware of the reports of a missing American in Grenada, a spokesperson said.