The family of a 63-year-old grandmother from New York City who went missing during a trip to Las Vegas said they received texts from her phone requesting Bitcoin payments.
Alisa Goods’ relatives are desperate for answers. She was last seen Aug. 8 near the 4900 block of South Maryland Parkway, according to a missing persons flyer from the Metropolitan Police Department.
“I’m feeling anxious. I’m feeling annoyed. I’m feeling angry. I’m confused. I’m hurt. There’s a whole plethora of emotions that I’m feeling right now,” said Goods’ sister Mielle Stone. “She’s our superstar. We love her. We want her home.”
Goods’ daughter, Kristen Goods, said her mother traveled to Las Vegas to spend time with a good friend whom she’s known for more than two decades.
Goods was last seen at approximately 1:40 p.m., according to the police flyer, and was wearing black Adidas sweatpants and a blue denim jacket. She walks with a limp and uses a cane.
“All hospitals are asked to check their registries for the missing person and notify the police immediately,” the flyer says.
Kristen Goods said Metro informed her that her mother made it to a CVS to collect her medication.
“That is where our case goes cold,” Kristen Goods said.
According to Kristen Goods, the friend called Alisa Goods’ youngest sister, Janele, that night to relay that Alisa had not returned. After consulting Janele, the friend decided to file a police report the next day.
The friend attempted to file a police report Aug. 9, but the office had closed for non-emergencies. A missing persons report was filed Aug. 10.
“We knew when we couldn’t get her on the phone within those two days that something had happened to her, and that she was in imminent danger,” Kristen Goods said. “My mom is not some 20-, 30-, or even 40-something-year-old woman who would be in Vegas just partying. That’s not her scenario.”
Mielle Stone and Kristen Goods said that on Aug. 12, Alisa Goods’ niece received texts from her aunt’s phone requesting Bitcoin payments. Kristen Goods provided screenshots of the text messages.
“Huh? Are u trying to get gas right now for the car?” the niece wrote in a text message. The number responded, “Yes.”
Alisa Goods does not drive, nor did she rent a car while visiting, a sign that it was not Goods texting from her phone, according to Stone and Kristen Goods.
The niece then received detailed instructions from Goods’ number on how to send Bitcoin through Cash App. The number requested $40 at first, then later $50.
Growing increasingly worried and frustrated with the lack of progress over the phone, Kristen Goods flew to Las Vegas from the East Coast on Monday. During her time in the city, she spoke with detectives, but said she did not learn anything new about her mother’s disappearance.
“My goal was to come to Las Vegas to give my mother a voice because I didn’t feel that we were getting anywhere by communicating just by phone,” Kristen Goods said. “I had to give her a face, and that she has support behind her that is really concerned for her and looking for her.”
The family asked anyone with information about Goods’ disappearance to contact the Metropolitan Police Department. The Metro flyer also urges anyone with information to contact Metro at 702-828-3111, Metro’s Missing Persons Detail during business hours at 702-828-2907 or by email at missingpersons@lvmpd.com.
“I want to stress upon the public that any detail means the world to us at this point,” Kristen Goods said.
Contact Kalohe Danbara at kdanbara@reviewjournal.com.
