(TNND) — A search is underway for a North Carolina woman who disappeared earlier this month while vacationing with a friend in Grenada.
Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell, 44, was reported missing on July 22 from Grand Anse Beach after her friend said she couldn’t find her when she finished taking an online course at the Airbnb where they were staying.
Grenada is currently under a U.S. State Department Level 2 travel advisory, which urges Americans to exercise increased caution because of crime. The advisory notes that violent crime can occur anywhere on the island.
“She looked up and she didn’t see Liz outside, so she went outside to just kind of walk around and see where she could see maybe where she went, and she saw her towel down on the pier,” family friend Amanda Romano-Harmon, who was not on the trip, told WRAL.
Romano-Harmon said her husband, Cailen Waddell, received a frantic call in Cary, North Carolina, shortly afterward.
“She was just kind of starting to panic because she knew Liz didn’t have her phone or anything with her, and so they wound up filing a missing persons report right away,” Romano-Harmon said.
Two days later, Cailen Waddell said he was traveling to Grenada to help search for his wife, asking anyone with connections on the island to share her information.
“I expect nothing less than Liz’s safe return — so please send your love, light, thoughts, and prayers our way,” he wrote on Facebook.
As the search continues, Romano-Harmon said authorities are using an outdated photo of Waddell showing her with pink hair. She said Waddell is about 5 feet tall and currently has blonde hair.
Grenadian officials have asked fishermen, boat operators and residents along the island’s southern coastline to watch for Waddell and report any possible sightings.
Anyone with information about Elizabeth Waddell’s whereabouts is asked to contact the St. George Police Station at 444-4454, the Criminal Investigation Department at 440-3921 or 911.