Missing New York Grandmother Found Dead in Las Vegas

A grandmother from New York, who disappeared while visiting Las Vegas earlier this month, has been found deceased, her family confirmed on Friday.

Alisa Goods, 63, was reported missing on August 10, two days after she was last seen leaving a friend’s apartment near Maryland Parkway and Tropicana Avenue, based on information from her family and a missing person report.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police responded early Thursday following a report of a “deceased woman in a drainage ditch area near Wayne Newton Boulevard and the Terminal 1 parking garage at Harry Reid International Airport.” Officers later identified the woman as Goods, and she was pronounced dead on the scene.

“Our hearts are broken. We were notified that my aunt was found—unfortunately, not the way we wanted her to be,” said Goods’ niece, Alana Calloway, in a poignant statement.

This devastating news comes after the family had frantically checked local morgues and hospitals, hoping for a different outcome. They described this as an unimaginable experience. “Words cannot describe the pain our family is experiencing right now. We just want to thank the public for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers,” they added. They also emphasized the need for privacy as they mourn.

Investigators reviewed surveillance footage which seemed to show Goods falling down an embankment and then getting back up on August 8, the day she was reported missing. After that, however, there was no further movement seen in the footage.

Goods had been visiting a longtime friend, Roger John, who mentioned that she left his apartment around 12:45 p.m. on August 8 to catch a bus to buy iron supplements but never returned. John noted that it wasn’t unusual for her to be gone for a few hours, which is why he didn’t immediately worry. However, when she didn’t come back, he reached out to her family.

This situation became more perplexing when Goods’ family started receiving odd text messages from her phone on August 12, just four days after her disappearance. The messages requested gas money and Bitcoin, which raised suspicions since Goods did not drive and did not have a vehicle in Las Vegas. Calloway voiced her confusion saying, “What do you need gas for? The car? My aunt does not drive. There is no car.”

The family had expressed concern that these messages could be signs of foul play, although it remains unclear who sent them.