North Carolina mom missing in Grenada as family pleads for help

Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell, a 44-year-old Cary mother, was last seen July 22 near Grand Anse Beach in St. George’s, Grenada, after going into the water for a swim. Her family has since asked for public help as Grenadian police and U.S. officials became involved in a case that spans two countries and two systems of response.

Waddell’s husband, Cailen Waddell, is an operations manager for the Cary department of parks, recreation, and cultural resources. ABC11 reported that he was flying to Grenada to help search for his wife, a move that underscores one of the hardest parts of an overseas disappearance: family members often have to rely first on local authorities in the country where the person vanished, while also trying to reach U.S. consular officials from afar.

The Royal Grenada Police Force issued a missing person poster, and multiple outlets identified Grand Anse Beach as the place where Waddell was last seen. Her family said she disappeared Wednesday after heading down to the water near the beach. NBC News described the case as that of an American woman who vanished after a swim on Grand Anse Beach.

Friends and relatives in North Carolina framed the disappearance as an urgent plea for help. ABC11 reported that they described Liz Waddell as an “amazing person.” A longtime family friend, Amanda Romano-Harmon, told WRAL that she has known Elizabeth Waddell and her husband for 25 years, a detail that shows how a local community becomes a support network when a search extends beyond U.S. borders.

ABC11’s Facebook post quoted a family message saying the State Department responded after the North Carolina woman was reported missing in Grenada, indicating that U.S. officials were aware of the case. In practice, those federal contacts do not replace local police action. In a case in Grenada, the Royal Grenada Police Force remains the lead law-enforcement agency on the ground, while family members in the United States often push simultaneously for communication, travel help and updates across time zones, jurisdictions and national borders.

The family’s appeal came as coverage from local and national outlets continued to identify Waddell as a Cary resident vacationing in the Caribbean. For her husband and relatives, the search has depended on swift communication between Grenadian police, U.S. officials and the people in North Carolina who know her best.