A desperate search is underway in the Caribbean after a North Carolina woman vanished during a trip to Grenada, leaving her husband and loved ones pleading for answers.
Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell, 44, was last seen Wednesday at Grand Anse Beach in St. George’s, one of the island’s most famous stretches of sand. The Royal Grenada Police Force has released a missing person alert and is urging anyone with information to come forward as the search expands along the island’s southern coastline.
Waddell, a physical therapist from Cary, North Carolina, is described as about 5-foot-5 with a medium build and short blonde hair. A missing person poster shared by police shows her with short pink hair.
Authorities have not publicly released many details about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, but they have specifically appealed to fishermen, boat operators and residents who live near the coastline to report anything that could help locate her.
The disappearance has devastated Waddell’s husband, Cailen Waddell, who serves as a parks, recreation and cultural resources manager in Cary. He shared the missing person alert on Facebook and asked anyone with connections in Grenada to help spread the word.
“I expect nothing less than Liz’s safe return,” he wrote, asking friends and strangers alike to send “love, light, thoughts, and prayers” as the search continued.
Cailen reportedly flew to Grenada on Friday to assist with the search for his wife.
A family friend told ABC11 that Waddell may have gone down to a pier, left her towel behind and entered the water for a swim before she vanished. Police have not confirmed a full timeline, and it remains unclear who Waddell was traveling with or why she made the trip to Grenada.
Back home in North Carolina, friends are rallying around the family as the mystery deepens.
“Liz is an amazing person, one of the best,” one friend wrote on Cailen’s Facebook post, adding that they were praying for her safe return.
Another wrote that they were holding both Liz and Cailen “in my heart” and sending “good energy into the universe for her safety.”
Waddell is the founder of Art of Movement Physical Therapy in Cary and holds a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her professional website describes her as a movement specialist with a background in physical therapy, fitness and dance.
In a December Instagram post, Waddell opened up about stepping back from work in mid-November while dealing with several health struggles, including perimenopause and worsening symptoms from a pre-existing vagus nerve injury.
“I’ve learned to give up control and live in the moment,” she wrote at the time. “I listen to my body as much as possible and give myself grace when I can’t do the things I want to do.”
Despite those challenges, Waddell and her husband appeared to share a love of travel. Social media posts show the couple visiting Isla Holbox in Mexico in May, and they also appear to have spent time in Thailand last year.
The couple officially became parents in 2024 after adopting their adult daughter, Suwan, according to their online profiles.
Now, what began as a trip to a postcard-perfect island has turned into a nightmare for her family.
Anyone with information about Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Royal Grenada Police Force, including the South Saint George Police Station or the Criminal Investigation Department.
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