Surveillance video has sharpened the Elizabeth Waddell search, showing the 44-year-old Cary physical therapist walking toward the beach in Grenada before she jumped into the water and swam away. The footage gives family members and investigators the clearest timeline point yet in a case that began July 23, when the Royal Grenada Police Force reported her missing.
Grenada surveillance video
The newly released footage shows Waddell at 11:45 a.m. walking toward the beach. Two minutes later, she jumped off a jetty and into the water. Nineteen minutes later, she returned to view of the camera.
That sequence is now the anchor for the search. Waddell was staying with a friend at an Airbnb in Grand Anse in St. George’s when she vanished, and her family has been trying to reconstruct the hours around the water entry. Her husband, Cailen Waddell, said the search has focused on pinning down exactly what happened after the last clear video sighting and before a possible later sighting around 5:30 p.m.
Cailen Waddell on the search
Cailen Waddell flew to Grenada to help look for his wife. On findliz.com, he wrote, “I went out and did this swim yesterday” and described the water near shore as shallow enough that Liz could touch if she wanted.
He added, “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 and the water is like a lake, not like ocean water we experience in North Carolina.” His account gives a practical read on the stretch of water captured in the video and why the family has kept attention on the shoreline and the jetty.
Royal Grenada Police Force inquiry
The Royal Grenada Police Force said it was looking into reports that a group of jetskiers interacted with a woman matching Waddell’s description at 5:30 p.m. The force also appealed for fishermen, boat operators, and residents of the coastal area to be on the lookout for the missing woman.
Cailen Waddell later wrote that after careful consultation with family, local authorities, the U.S. Embassy, and others in Grenada, he believed there was no foul play. He also said the missing person investigation would continue and that he hoped investigators could determine “her actions between the time she was last seen on video and the time she was seen in the water around 5:30, as well as any further sightings. No detail is too small.”
For the family, the video narrows the search to a short stretch of time, but not to a full explanation. What happened after the camera lost Waddell at the shoreline and before the possible 5:30 p.m. sighting is the remaining gap investigators are trying to close.
