NY grandmother found dead near Las Vegas airport nearly two weeks after disappearance

Newly reviewed surveillance footage shows Alisa Goods falling down an embankment and later collapsing on the same day her family says she vanished while visiting Las Vegas.

Alisa Goods, the 63-year-old New York grandmother whose disappearance in Las Vegas sparked a nearly two-week search and a series of mysterious text messages, was found dead near Harry Reid International Airport.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Goods’ body was discovered early Thursday, Aug. 20, in a drainage ditch near an airport parking structure. Newly reviewed airport surveillance footage also appears to shed light on what happened to Goods on the day she disappeared.

According to police, video from Aug. 8 shows Goods falling down an embankment near Wayne Newton Boulevard, getting back up and later collapsing. Authorities said no further movement was observed after she collapsed and that her location could not be seen from the roadway.

Her cause and manner of death have not yet been released.

As theGrio previously reported, Goods disappeared Aug. 8 while visiting a longtime friend in Las Vegas. Her family said she left the friend’s home to take a bus to a nearby CVS and never returned.

She was reported missing two days later.

As relatives searched for Goods, the case drew wider attention after her family began receiving unusual messages from her phone.

The messages, which began arriving Aug. 12, asked relatives for help, gas money and eventually Bitcoin. Goods’ niece, Alana Calloway, previously said one of the requests immediately stood out because her aunt did not drive.

Goods’ son also received a phone call from someone who claimed to be his mother and asked whether money had been sent, NBC New York reported. The family said the voice did not sound like Goods.

Police now believe the text messages may have been sent by scammers using spoofing technology to make the communications appear to come from Goods’ number. Authorities have not publicly linked those messages to her death.

During the search, Goods’ relatives contacted hospitals, jails and the coroner’s office as they tried to locate her. Her daughter, Kristen Goods, also traveled to Las Vegas to assist in the search.

The family had additional concerns about Goods’ mobility. Kristen previously told CBS News that her mother had undergone several surgeries that made walking more difficult during the trip. Temperatures in Las Vegas also raised concerns as days passed without word from her.

Goods was a Newark, New Jersey, native who had been living on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and was a grandmother of five.

Her niece confirmed the family’s loss in a statement to NBC New York on Friday.

“This hurts so deeply,” Calloway said. “We are still trying to learn the details surrounding her death.”

The family also thanked those who helped spread the word about Goods’ disappearance and asked for continued prayers and privacy as they grieve.

A message posted to a GoFundMe organized for the family described Goods as “deeply loved” and said her absence leaves a space that cannot be filled.

While surveillance footage has provided investigators and Goods’ family with more information about her final known movements, major questions remain.

Police have not announced evidence of foul play, and authorities have not said Goods’ death is being investigated as a homicide. The Clark County coroner’s office will determine her official cause and manner of death.