Eliza Fletcher, a millionaire heiress, was last seen jogging in the area where a violent criminal is accused of stalking her for almost 30 minutes before grabbing her.
Following Fletcher’s disappearance on September 2, authorities detained Cleotha Abston, 38, on Sunday before accusing him of exceptionally aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
The black 2013 GMC terrain used in the kidnapping was spotted in the same location 24 minutes prior to the mother-of-abduction two’s at 4:20 a.m. in Memphis, Tennessee, according to police surveillance footage.
Fletcher, 34, is shown being forced into the passenger side of the car in surveillance video that the police have collected but have not yet made public.
Following their scuffle, the automobile sat in the parking lot with Fletcher inside for four minutes before driving off to an unidentified place.
In search of the missing mother, police have also combed Pine Hill Park, Martin Luther King Riverside Park, and a nearby pond.
Just over two years have passed since Abston’s release from a 20-year sentence for the kidnapping and robbery of Memphis attorney Kemper Durand in May 2000.
After discovering his DNA on Champion sliders that were abandoned after the altercation with Fletcher, as well as on her water bottle and cell phone, police were able to locate him.
It is understood that he is refusing to work with authorities and provide them with information on the whereabouts of the missing mother, and his bail has been set at $500,000.
The kindergarten teacher Fletcher, according to police, was “seriously injured” by Abston, and blood was found inside the car.
His brother Mario Abston, 36, was also detained on Saturday after authorities searched his home after neighbours reported seeing his brother acting “suspiciously.”
He was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, having a firearm while committing a violent felony, and possessing controlled narcotics after officers discovered a semi-automatic handgun, a scale, and a bag of heroin and fentanyl.
According to Abston, his brother washed his clothing in the home’s sink while also cleaning the interior of his GMC Terrain with a floor cleaner.
Police discovered that Abston’s phone pinged close to the scene of Fletcher’s abduction, and another neighbour corroborated that he was acting “extremely odd.”
Over the weekend, police removed a dumpster from near by Longview Gardens, a low-income apartment building owned by Abston’s brother.
Authorities discovered the same black SUV with the broken taillight at Abston’s last known residence. According to the affidavit, Abston was waiting in the doorway when police arrived; after they arrived, he started to run but was quickly caught.
Where Fletcher is or what he did to her, Abston has still not revealed. According to the affidavit, blood found in Abston’s car and other evidence made authorities think Fletcher had sustained a “severe injury.”
“The Eliza Fletcher kidnapping inquiry is still open and ongoing.” After announcing Abston’s arrest on Sunday, police released a statement in which they stated that they were “continuing the search and investigating all leads.”
On Saturday night in Memphis, police could also be spotted looking through trash outside a McDonald’s restaurant in their hunt for the mother and kindergarten instructor.
Fletcher’s family, including her father Beasley, mother Adele, brother Gill, and husband, as well as their attorney Mike Keeney, appeared on video following the finding of the car.
In exchange for any information that helps bring Fletcher home safely, they are offering a $50,000 reward.
Keeney wrote in the statement, “We trust someone knows what happened and can help,” and thanked the police for their search efforts.
Fletcher’s spouse lost control of his emotions at this station.
Fitness enthusiast Fletcher, who frequently ran the same route, had her phone thrown to the ground and broken as a result of the crime.
The mother of two is described as having brown hair, green eyes, and a height of 5 feet 6 inches. Pink running shorts and a pink jogging top were the last things seen on her.
The kidnapped woman is the granddaughter of late hardware tycoon Joseph “Joe” Orgill III.
Adele, Fletcher’s mother, is Orgill’s offspring. Orgill Inc., their family-owned wholesale hardware company, reports $3 billion in yearly sales on its website.
Orgill is referred to as “the world’s largest independent hardlines distributor with annual sales of $3 billion” in the company description on the website. The business is privately held.
The company employs more than 5,500 workers.
As part of their investigation into the puzzling case, police examined a park close to the location where a wealthy heiress was kidnapped and thrown into a car on Friday.
A neighbour claimed that Abston was a “pervert” who once crept up behind her and made sex advances.
He treated the other women in the complex the same way, and occasionally he would sit in his black SUV and ogle at the women passing by or perched on stoops.
Another neighbour, Latoya, 35, claimed that the suspect had earlier this year had made advances toward her and her 20-year-old niece.
He kept motioning for me to come closer to him and said, “I’ve got $100,” Latoya told DailyMail.com.
He also made an attempt to apprehend my niece and get her to accompany him into the flat.
She stated, “As far as I know, nobody here has had sex with him.” He’s extremely creepy, I tell you.