Alisa Goods’ body was discovered in a Las Vegas drainage ditch 12 days after she vanished, with new police details revealing how surveillance cameras captured her final moments.
Goods, 63, an Upper East Side grandmother and mother of five, had been visiting longtime friend Roger John in Las Vegas when she disappeared on August 8, according to Las Vegas Metro Police. She left John’s apartment near the Las Vegas Strip to run an errand at CVS and never returned.
Surveillance footage obtained by investigators showed Goods “falling down an embankment, getting back up and then collapsing on Aug. 8,” police said. That same day, she disappeared after leaving John’s residence where she had been staying during her visit.
Her body remained hidden in the drainage ditch area near Wayne Newton Boulevard and the Harry Reid International Airport Terminal 1 parking garage for nearly two weeks. The location was not visible from the street, police noted, making the discovery difficult until a homeless man stumbled upon the grim scene and alerted parking attendants.
Authorities have not yet released Goods’ cause of death, and the circumstances surrounding her collapse remain under investigation. Police have not indicated whether foul play is suspected.
Family members revealed that Goods had recently undergone several surgical procedures on her legs that made getting around difficult for the grandmother. The medical history may have contributed to her physical distress on the day she disappeared.
John, Goods’ friend of 20 years, had hosted her during her Las Vegas stay before she left his apartment for what was supposed to be a routine shopping trip. The CVS errand was the last known activity before surveillance cameras captured her falling and collapsing near the airport area.
The 12-day gap between her disappearance and the discovery of her body has raised questions about search efforts and how the remains went unnoticed for so long in an area adjacent to a major international airport and busy parking structure.
Goods’ death has left her five children grieving and seeking answers about what happened to their mother during what was supposed to be a visit to see an old friend. The family has not publicly addressed whether they had reported her missing immediately or what search efforts were undertaken during the nearly two-week period.
Las Vegas Metro Police continue to investigate the circumstances of Goods’ death, with the official cause pending from the Clark County coroner’s office. The case has drawn attention to the vulnerability of elderly travelers with mobility challenges and the difficulties of locating missing persons in sprawling urban environments.
