For more than a week, a family has endured an agonizing wait for answers after 63-year-old Alisa Goods disappeared while vacationing in Las Vegas — a mystery deepened by texts from her phone demanding bitcoin.
Goods, a Newark native who now lives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was last seen Aug. 8 in Vegas, according to her family. Her relatives say it is unlike the active and healthy grandmother of five to disappear without checking in.
“She is loved, and she is missed. We need to find her,” Goods’ cousin Elise Whitaker said, struggling to contain her emotions as she spoke about the search.
Goods was staying with a friend during her Vegas vacation, her family said. According to Whitaker, that friend is the one who alerted the family that something was wrong.
He told them Goods said she was going to CVS and never came back, Whitaker said.
The CVS trip was Aug. 8. Two days later, the friend made a missing persons report in Las Vegas.
As the days passed without any sign of Goods, her family said the mystery took an alarming turn: They began receiving text messages from Goods’ phone.
The family said someone appeared to be posing as Goods and demanding money and bitcoin.
When asked whether she feared her sister had been kidnapped for ransom, Goods’ younger sister, Mielle Stone, said, “Yes. But we don’t have any money.”
Then Goods’ son received a mysterious phone call, according to the family. Her relatives said he recorded part of the conversation.
“This is Alisa,” the caller said.
“Are you going to send money now?” the caller said.
Goods’ family said the voice on the phone was not hers.
The family said it turned the text messages, phone call and other information over to Las Vegas police, but relatives remain frustrated and desperate for answers.
“She’s alone. She could be hurt. Anything. We just need to know. We want to know,” Stone said.
“Any person, every person is a priority. Treat my sister like she’s your sister. Like she’s your mother, like she’s your friend,” Stone said.
Las Vegas police said the investigation remains ongoing.
“Alisa Goods is still considered a missing person, and the case is still active at this time,” police said in a statement.
With each day that passes, her family is trying to remain hopeful as the uncertainty surrounding her disappearance becomes increasingly difficult to endure.
“Each passing day, day after day, it’s getting too much to bear. But we’re keeping a positive attitude,” Whitaker said.
Goods’ family is urging anyone with information about her disappearance to contact Las Vegas police.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication.
