Missing Cary Woman Last Seen Swimming in Grenada, Police Intensify Search

Elizabeth Waddell, a woman from Cary, NC, vanished after being seen swimming off a Grenada jetty on July 22. Police say the case remains an active missing person investigation.

Grenada Police Release Timeline in Disappearance of US Tourist Elizabeth Waddell

Nearly a week after Elizabeth Waddell, a woman from Cary, North Carolina, was last seen swimming in the waters off Grenada's south coast, island police have released a detailed account of her final known movements, spectrumlocalnews.com reports.

"We remain hopeful, very hopeful, that she's somewhere on the island alive and safe, and we will be able to safely reunite her with her family," said Grenada Commissioner of Police Randy Connaught at a press conference on Tuesday.

Waddell and a friend arrived in Grenada on July 11. The pair spent the first ten days of their trip on the western side of the island before relocating to the south side on July 21 — a move Connaught described as prearranged.

Surveillance footage captured Waddell's movements on the morning of Wednesday, July 22. At 11:36 a.m. she was seen walking toward a jetty and sitting on the sand. Around ten minutes later she moved onto the jetty itself. At 11:51 a.m. she entered the water, and was recorded swimming at approximately 12:04 p.m.

At 12:46 p.m., her friend was seen walking toward the jetty and returning alone. "Mrs. Waddell was not seen on surveillance footage returning from the water," Connaught said. Investigators have also gathered several eyewitness accounts confirming she was seen swimming in open water.

Waddell's friend reported her missing at approximately 5:50 p.m. that day. "That report triggered an immediate police response, including an initial search of the premises, the surroundings, shoreline and desperate searches of all areas in and around the resort," Connaught said.

Her husband, Cailen Waddell, flew to the island on Friday, July 24 to assist in the search. Connaught expressed the police force's empathy toward the family. "They seek answers, and we are here to provide those answers," he said.

Multiple agencies, organisations and community members have joined the search effort. Investigators have reviewed surveillance footage, interviewed witnesses and are working to reconstruct Waddell's movements in detail.

Connaught stressed that no final conclusions have been drawn. "The Royal Grenada Police Force has not reached or announced any final conclusion regarding the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Waddell's missing person status," he said. "At this time, the matter continues to be treated as a missing person investigation."

The commissioner said the search will be intensified and that necessary resources will be committed to a full and comprehensive investigation. Anyone with information, however minor, is asked to come forward to authorities.

Source: Google News GD — Crime