Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 10

Elizabeth Waddell May Have Drowned After July 22 Grenada Disappearance, Husband Says

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 10

Elizabeth Waddell May Have Drowned After July 22 Grenada Disappearance, Husband Says

Q: Why did an experienced traveler refuse rescue moments before vanishing into the waters of Grenada?

No one knows for sure. The only documented explanation is that Liz Waddell reportedly told two jet skiers, “I’m a good swimmer,” and gave a thumbs up when they urged her to ride back to shore. That account, relayed by her husband after the jet skiers came forward, suggests she may have believed she was safe, oriented, and capable of making it in on her own. But the broader evidence complicates that picture. Her husband later said she was not, in fact, a strong swimmer, was usually more comfortable with flotation devices, and had brought several with her to Grenada. He also said it would have been out of character for her to attempt such a long swim offshore without one. That has led her family to consider the possibility that something affected her judgment. Her husband said he found nothing in her journals, messages, or online history suggesting self-harm, and authorities have said they have found no indication of foul play so far. Search teams have also found no trace of her despite extensive efforts. So the most evidence-based answer is that she appears to have refused rescue because she thought she could manage in the water. Why she believed that in those circumstances remains unresolved. Her husband has said that if she swam that far, he believes “something happened” that made her act irrationally, and he now considers drowning the most likely outcome, though the case remains an active missing-person investigation.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 10

Jet skiers saw Elizabeth Waddell, 43, in the water around 5:30 p.m. on July 22 and spent 5 to 10 minutes urging her to ride back with them, her husband said.
Waddell reportedly replied, “I’m a good swimmer” and gave a thumbs-up, a new detail that has led her husband to believe the North Carolina woman may have drowned.
Surveillance video from a nearby Airbnb appears to show her walking with a towel, jumping off a dock and swimming out of frame shortly before she vanished in Grenada.
Drones, dive teams and dogs have found no trace of her, and Grenada police are still treating the case as a missing-person investigation rather than naming a suspect.