Friday morning, a Tennessee educator was kidnapped while jogging near the University of Memphis.
The family of Eliza Fletcher has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to her location.
Police in Memphis have reportedly apprehended a suspect in Fletcher’s kidnapping.
Something is being loaded.
A guy has been arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, in connection with the abduction of a teacher who disappeared following a morning run.
Cleotha Abston, 38, has reportedly been arrested and charged in connection with Fletcher’s abduction, although she has not yet been located. Abston has been charged with particularly severe kidnapping and evidence manipulation.
“MPD Investigators and Officers, together with our local and federal colleagues, continue to hunt for Mrs. Fletcher,” police tweeted.
—Memphis Police Department (@MEM PoliceDept) on Twitter
September 4, 2022
Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped while jogging in Memphis on Friday morning. Her family offered a reward of $50,000 for information leading to her location.
Friday around 4:30 a.m., according to the Memphis Police Department, Fletcher was forced into a vehicle while running near the University of Memphis.
“We look forward to Eliza’s safe return and hope that this award will assist authorities in apprehending those responsible for this crime,” Fletcher’s family stated in a statement posted through Crimestoppers on Friday night, as reported by the Associated Press.
CBS News citing a police affidavit reported that an investigator said Fletcher’s husband reported her missing when she didn’t come home from her daily run. A witness discovered her phone and sandals nearby and delivered them to her family, who subsequently turned them over to the police.
In addition, surveillance footage revealed a black SUV with a damaged right taillight waiting in the area where Fletcher’s phone and shoes were discovered.
CBS News reports that the footage shows a man sprinting towards Fletcher and forcing her into the SUV, citing the affidavit.
Additionally, police earlier stated that Fletcher engaged in a brief struggle with the man who forced her into the dark-colored GMC Terrain.
The vehicle stayed four minutes in the vicinity before leaving, according to CBS News.
According to The Daily Beast, Fletcher is the granddaughter of Joseph Orgill III, co-founder of the Memphis-based hardware wholesaler Orgill Inc, and heiress to the business.
CBS News reported, citing the affidavit, that US Marshalls found the SUV on Saturday and arrested Abston after a brief pursuit. The sandals contained Abston’s DNA, and the SUV was comparable to the one possessed by the woman with whom he was staying.
On the morning of Fletcher’s disappearance, the woman with whom he was staying told police that she saw Abston cleaning out his car and his clothes. She told authorities that Abston was “acting very weird,” according to an affidavit cited by CBS News.
Fletcher, who was 34 years old, was wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts. She is 5’6″ tall and weighs 137 lbs. She has brown hair and green eyes as well.
Hart Robinson, a family friend, told Fox13Memphis that Fletcher, a teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School and a mother of two boys, was “simply a great lady.”
“You do not want to hear about what is occurring. We simply wish to locate her,” Robinson told the media outlet.