Alisa Goods vanished during a visit to a longtime friend, leaving relatives to search hospitals, jails and other locations for answers.
LAS VEGAS — The family of a New York grandmother missing for more than a week has expanded its search across Las Vegas after she failed to return from a short trip to a pharmacy and later could not be reached.
Alisa Goods, 63, disappeared Aug. 8 while visiting a longtime friend in Las Vegas. Her family said she left the friend’s apartment to go to a nearby CVS but never returned. She was reported missing two days later, and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said the investigation remains active. Goods’ daughter has since traveled to the city as relatives search for information about where she went after leaving the apartment.
Roger John, the friend Goods was staying with, told another news outlet that he had known her for nine years and that she had stayed with him during previous Las Vegas visits. He said Goods left the apartment around midday to catch a bus. When he returned home several hours later and realized she was still gone, he began trying to reach her by telephone and text message.
John said Goods sometimes spent longer periods away while shopping, so her absence did not immediately seem extraordinary. Concern increased, however, as repeated attempts to contact her failed. Her family said her cellphone was initially disconnected or unavailable. Goods was formally reported missing Aug. 10, setting in motion an investigation and a broader effort by relatives to trace her movements.
The search took another turn Aug. 12 when family members said text messages began arriving from Goods’ phone. The messages sought money and included requests connected to gas and bitcoin. Relatives said the language and circumstances seemed inconsistent with Goods’ normal behavior, particularly because she does not drive. The family has said it cannot confirm that Goods was the person sending the messages.
The texts have become one of the major unanswered questions surrounding the case, but police have not publicly announced that they have determined who sent them. Authorities also have not announced evidence establishing that Goods was kidnapped or otherwise harmed. Her family has expressed concern about those possibilities while continuing to focus on finding her.
Goods’ daughter, Kristen Goods, is now in Las Vegas looking for information about her mother. Other relatives said they have checked with hospitals, jails and the coroner’s office without finding her. John has also put up missing-person flyers in areas connected to the disappearance as friends and relatives seek anyone who may have seen Goods after she left the apartment.
The search is especially difficult because the family has few confirmed details about Goods’ movements after she departed for the store. The central timeline remains that she left the apartment Aug. 8, was reported missing Aug. 10 and that relatives began receiving messages from her phone Aug. 12. No confirmed public account has established where she went after leaving her friend’s residence.
Goods is a grandmother of five, and relatives have described her disappearance as out of character. Her niece, Alana Calloway, said the family wants even seemingly minor information from anyone who may have crossed paths with her. John described the situation as difficult to comprehend after years of knowing Goods and seeing her routinely travel to Las Vegas without such an incident.
Kristen Goods said the family remains focused on bringing her mother home. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said the missing-person case is active and has asked the public to provide information that could help investigators. Goods remained missing Tuesday, and authorities had not publicly identified a suspect or announced a determination about who used her phone after she disappeared.
Author note: Last updated August 18, 2026.