In connection with the abduction of Memphis millionaire heiress Eliza Fletcher, Tennessee police “detained” a suspect and found the automobile they were looking for.
The individual who is being held captive’s identify has not been made public by the authorities.
The Lakes at Ridgeway, an apartment building in southeast Memphis, had a strong police presence on Saturday night. A complex resident claimed to have spotted an ambulance also on the site.
Ian Ripple of ABC24 reports that the SUV wanted in connection with the crime was discovered after a collision with an ATF vehicle near to the property.
Fletcher’s family, including her father Beasley, mother Adele, brother Gill, and husband, as well as their attorney Mike Keeney, appeared on video after the finding of the automobile.
Keeney said in the statement, “We trust someone knows what occurred and can assist,” and thanked the police for their search efforts. Fletcher’s spouse lost control of his emotions at this station.
A Memphis Police Department spokeswoman told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview that detectives were still trying to determine if the individual arrested is connected to the murder. According to the spokeswoman, there won’t be a news conference on Saturday night.
As part of their investigation into the puzzling case, police examined a park close to the location where a rich heiress was kidnapped and thrown into a car on Friday.
Eliza Fletcher, 34, was last seen at 4.20 am on Friday while out on a jog in Memphis when a guy approached her and, after a short struggle, pushed her into an SUV, according to police.
After Richard “Richie” Fletcher III, Fletcher’s husband, was seen outside their house with others hours earlier, the latest events took place.
Although the family’s wealth is unknown, Fletcher is the heiress to a fortune from the Orgill hardware firm, which her grandfather turned into a well-known brand worldwide.
Friday night, Fletcher’s family announced a $50,000 reward via Crimestoppers for information that results in the capture of those accountable for her abduction.
The Fletcher family previously stated in a statement, “We look forward to Eliza’s safe return and hope that this prize will assist authorities arrest those who perpetrated this tragedy.”
Missing mother Eliza Flecther pictured with her husband Richie and their two children
Eliza Fletcher’s husband, Richard Fletcher III, was spotted Saturday morning with several other people outside his family’s Memphis home
This is the SUV cops say abducted Fletcher, identified as a dark-colored GMC Terrain
Eliza Fletcher, 34, (left) was last seen about 4.20am on Friday, when she was jogging (right) in Memphis and a man approached her and forced her into an SUV after a brief struggle, police said
Media gather on Friday night as deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office spent several hours searching a wooded area of Overton Park, a vast greenspace less than 1.5 miles from where Fletcher was abducted
Memphis cops were seen towing Fletcher’s family car, a white Jeep Wagoneer, from her home on Friday afternoon
Less than 1.5 miles from the location of Fletcher’s kidnapping, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office officers spent a good portion of Friday evening investigating a forested area of Overton Park.
As night passed, the search was abandoned without producing any results, and according to WREG-TV, detectives were apparently checking into a tip related to the kidnapping case.
State police released a grainy CCTV photograph of the SUV driving away from the incident late on Friday, identifying it as a dark-colored GMC Terrain.
Memphis police were seen removing Fletcher’s white Jeep Wagoneer family vehicle from her residence.
Investigators were also seen labeling a PC and a set of garden shears as evidence.
The family’s residence was heavily policed the whole evening.
Pre-kindergarten instructor Fletcher, sometimes known as Liza, works at St. Mary’s Episcopal School.
Richie works as a manager at a boat store in Memphis, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has had positions as a Crossfit instructor and a project manager in the past.
Richie worked as an equipment mechanic with the US Coast Guard from October 2001 until October 2005.
Members of law enforcement work the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been kidnapped
Members of law enforcement work the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been kidnapped around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, near the corner Central Avenue and Zach H. Curlin Street.
She was reported missing when she did not return home from her regular morning run, and her cellphone and water bottle were discovered in front of a house owned by the University of Memphis, authorities said.
Fletcher, a fitness fanatic who would regularly jog the same route, had her phone hurled to the ground and smashed during the crime.
The mother of two is described at being 5-foot-6 and 137 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts.
The abducted woman is the granddaughter of hardware magnate Joseph ‘Joe’ Orgill III who died in 2018.
Fletcher’s mother, Adele, is Orgill’s daughter. Their hardware wholesale family business, Orgill Inc., does $3 billion in annual sales, according to the company’s website.
Eliza Fletcher, pictured, was abducted during a 4:30am jog close to the University of Memphis campus on Friday morning
The description of the company on the website calls Orgill ‘the world’s largest independent hardlines distributor with annual sales of $3 billion.’ The company is privately owned.
More than 5,500 people are employed by the company.
In a tribute article published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal in 2018, a friend of Joe Orgill III referred to him as being a cross between Bono and Mr. Rogers in hardware circles. An apparent reference to his philanthropic activities and warm demeanor.
In announcing the reward money in Fletcher’s case, the family said in a brief statement: ‘We look forward to Eliza’s safe return and hope that this award will help police capture those who committed this crime.’
In February, Fletcher said in an Instagram post that she attended the Orgill trade show in Orlando, Florida.
Fletcher and her husband belong to the Second Presbyterian Church in East Memphis.
Students at Fletcher’s school were reportedly told via letter on Friday that a teacher had been kidnapped.
‘We have not told our younger students about Mrs. Fletcher. We are supporting the older students as they learn of this news,’ read the letter from head of school Albert Throckmorton, according to Fox News.
Fletcher is with her husband of eight years, Richard ‘Richie’ Fletcher III. The couple have two children together
Richie, who has reportedly retained a lawyer, works at a company named Venture Libre, a business that makes ‘bespoke custom storage solutions for adventure vehicles.’
In 2021, a Facebook post on the school’s page referred to Fletcher as a person whose ‘smile brightens every room she enters.’
It went on: ‘She is a caring and passionate teacher who is always looking for creative ways to teach to all learners.’
The post concluded: ‘She knows each student individually and does whatever she can to excite them for learning. You will always find her celebrating big and small successes in the classroom.’
She attended Hutchison School in Memphis, graduating as part of the class of 2006. Fletcher is a graduate of Baylor University, graduating with a degree in exercise and sports science. She received her master’s in teaching from Belmont University.
Prior to working at St. Mary’s, Fletcher taught at the Promise Academy in Nashville and was also the school’s soccer coach.
She was a seasoned runner who qualified for the Boston Marathon. In 2019, Fletcher finished the St. Jude marathon at time of three hours and 26 minutes and finishing 22nd overall.
Law enforcement have not yet disclosed a potential motive or whether they believe Fletcher was abducted by an opportunistic predator or by an individual who had studied the young mom’s frequented running route.
A helicopter passes over the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been kidnapped around 4:30 a.m. on Friday
Members of law enforcement work the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been kidnapped
People gather outside the home of Eliza Fletcher on Friday. Police say Fletcher was jogging near the University of Memphis when she was forced into a dark-colored SUV
Fletcher’s kidnapping has rattled her community. By Friday afternoon a Facebook group called ‘Eliza Fletcher Missing in Memphis, Tennessee’ had amassed more than 2,000 members.
She was taken close to the University of Memphis. A student at the school, Sam Sparrenberg, told WREG: ‘Me and my buddy were probably one the first to see the police cars come out but we had no idea.’
He added: ‘I’ve never heard of anything like it happening. I spent time in colleges. I’ve been university of Tennessee and the University of Mississippi; I’ve never heard of anything like this happening.’
In 2014, Fletcher married Richard ‘Richie’ James Fletcher III in a lavish magical woodland-themed ceremony detailed in Memphis Magazine. The bride is described in the profile as being ‘outdoorsy, athletic, and warm.’
Richie works at a company named Venture Libre, a business that makes ‘bespoke custom storage solutions for adventure vehicles.’
According to posts on his Instagram page, the family took a lengthy vacation in early August.
The senior pastor at the church attended by Fletcher and her husband, George Robertson, described the missing woman as being ‘full of life,’ according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Robertson went on: ‘She and her husband Ritchie are both very active and great leaders in our congregation. They have two little boys who have come up to me every week and give me a hug.’
He continued by saying: ‘She and her husband are both just inspirations in the sense of their zest for life and love of running and athletics.’
Robertson also said that the couple have a ‘deep and profound trust in Christ.’ He said: ‘That is Ritchie’s trust right now.’
The Second Presbyterian Church said on their Facebook page that the church was open all day for prayer.
Speaking to WREG, a friend of Fletcher’s, Hart Robinson, said: ‘You don’t wanna hear that that’s going on. We want to find her.’
Robinson also said: ‘We don’t know what’s going on, but everybody is desperately looking for her and the police here are on it. You can see there is a lot of activity, so if you know anything or saw anything early this morning, we just ask that you come forward.’
In March this year, Richie marked the couple’s anniversary in an Instagram post in which he wrote: ‘[Eight] years in the making with this smoking hot babe. Wouldn’t want it any other way. Even if the stomach bug is running through our family.’
A year earlier, he wrote on Instagram: ‘Yesterday marked 7 years married to this beauty!’
He added: ‘If you were to ask us at year 3 if we would make it to 7 we probably would of said NO! We apparently weren’t given the memo that a healthy marriage is not going to come easy. Luckily, we put God/Recovery first, we were both willing to believe in each other, and asked for help.’
He continued: ‘We are so thankful for individual counseling, couples counseling, recovery and friends! We can honestly say we wouldn’t have it any other way!’
Records show that Richie has multiple arrests for alcohol related offenses including public drunkenness and driving under the influence.
No suspects have yet been identified, though police have identified the kidnapper as being male.
According to publicly available safety data on the city’s website, there have been at least 100 incidents classified as kidnappings that have occurred this year in Memphis.
A $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Eliza Fletcher’s safe return. Anyone with relevant information is urged to call or text Memphis CrimeStoppers anonymously at 901-528-CASH (2274).