Police say surveillance video shows Alisa Goods falling down an embankment and collapsing on Aug. 8.
LAS VEGAS — A 63-year-old New York grandmother who disappeared while visiting Las Vegas was found dead in a drainage area near Harry Reid International Airport, ending a nearly two-week search while leaving her family with unanswered questions about how she reached the airport.
Alisa Goods was found after Las Vegas Metropolitan Police received a call at about 1:45 a.m. Aug. 20 reporting a deceased woman in a drainage ditch near Wayne Newton Boulevard and the Terminal 1 parking garage. Police later said an early investigation identified the woman as Goods. Surveillance video from the airport showed her falling down an embankment on Aug. 8, getting back up and then collapsing, according to police. Investigators said no further movement was seen and that her location could not be seen from the street.
Goods had traveled from New York to Las Vegas and was staying with a longtime friend. Her family said she left the friend’s residence Aug. 8 to go shopping at a CVS and did not return. Multiple reports say she was reported missing Aug. 10. A later syndicated report referred to an Aug. 16 disappearance, but the police-described surveillance sequence and earlier reports consistently place her disappearance on Aug. 8.
The circumstances between Goods leaving for the store and appearing near the airport remain under investigation. News 3 reported Monday that her family was still seeking answers about how she traveled from the area of the CVS to Terminal 1. Police have not publicly released a complete timeline showing her movements before she reached the embankment. The station reported that the distance could be covered in several minutes by vehicle but would take considerably longer on foot.
Goods’ family had already become alarmed when unusual messages began arriving after she disappeared. Relatives said they received texts that appeared to come from her number asking for help, gas money and bitcoin. The requests raised particular concern because Goods did not drive. Her son also received a call from someone who identified themselves as Goods, but family members said the voice did not sound like hers.
Las Vegas police later told News 3 that the suspicious contacts did not come from Goods’ phone and were instead spoofed, meaning someone could make a message or call appear to originate from another number. The family has said Goods had two phones, and questions about the communications were among several issues relatives wanted investigators to examine. Police had earlier treated the case as a missing-person investigation and had not publicly described Goods’ disappearance as a kidnapping.
The search drew relatives from the East Coast to Las Vegas. Family members checked hospitals and other locations, distributed flyers and appealed publicly for information. Goods’ daughter, Kristen Goods, traveled to Nevada as the search continued. Relatives said Goods had undergone several surgeries that affected her ability to walk, which added to their concern as days passed without contact.
After Goods was found, her niece, Alana Calloway, said the family remained focused on learning what happened. “I need them to tell me where my aunt is and what happened to her,” Calloway told News 3 before authorities located Goods. The family later said it was grieving the loss and trying to learn more about the circumstances surrounding her death.
The case has also brought attention to how the missing-person investigation unfolded. Kristen Goods told News 3 that relatives had been told her mother was not considered a priority because authorities had not identified mental health problems or other circumstances that would place her case in a higher-risk category. Police did not respond to the station’s request for an interview about those concerns. Law enforcement officials have not announced evidence that another person caused Goods’ death.
Police said the drainage area where Goods was found was not visible from the roadway. Investigators are continuing to review how she traveled from the area where her family believed she had been shopping to the airport property. Surveillance footage establishes that she was near the embankment on Aug. 8, but authorities have not publicly released a detailed account of her movements before the fall.
The cause and manner of Goods’ death had not been publicly released as of Aug. 25. Authorities have not announced criminal charges or identified a suspect connected to her death. Her family continues to seek answers as investigators work to reconstruct her final movements and determine the circumstances that led to her death near the airport.
Author note: Last updated August 25, 2026.