School photo/Facebook Eliza Fletcher update
There was a flurry of law enforcement activity in the Eliza Fletcher abduction case on September 3, 2022, with significant law enforcement activity at a McDonald’s parking lot and a southeast Memphis apartment complex.
Police have announced the arrest of a suspect, Cleotha Abston, who was charged with kidnapping, and they found a body. Read more about him here.
The body was identified as Fletcher, Fox13 Memphis reported, citing sources.
In a press conference on September 6, Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said, “Today is a very sad day in the City of Memphis.” She expressed condolences to the family and friends impacted by the “heinous” kidnapping and murder of Fletcher. At 5:07 p.m. on September 5, police discovered human remains at the rear of a vacant duplex apartment 1600 block of Victor Street. The body was then positively identified as Fletcher, Davis said.
You can see photos from the scenes of both throughout this story. Yellow crime scene tape can be seen at both locations. Police have yet to comment publicly on the law enforcement activity at those locations.
However, they did announce a major development as that law enforcement activity escalated. Memphis police tweeted, “UPDATE: the vehicle of interest has been located and a male who was occupying the vehicle has been detained. Eliza Fletcher has not been located. This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information should call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.” That male has not been identified.
Photos showed the vehicle with damage being towed from the area around the apartment complex. According to ABC24, the SUV crashed into an ATF vehicle.
#Elizafletcher scene were the vehicle police were looking for had a wreck with another vehicle. Residents tell me it wrecked with an ATF vehicle. One person is detained and police are investigating around an apartment in the complex in South East Memphis. @ABC24Memphis
Fletcher is a pre-kindergarten teacher and married mother of two who was abducted in the chity of Memphis, Tennessee, while jogging in the early morning hours of September 2, 2022.
Fletcher was forced into the mid-sized dark-colored SUV, Memphis police wrote in a news release. Police are actively searching for the missing woman, who was taken near the University of Memphis campus.
Here’s what you need to know:
Crime Scene Tape Surrounded a Pond & Walkway at the Apartment Complex, Lakes at Ridgeway
A woman who lives in the apartment complex near where the SUV was found posted photos showing crime scene tape around the grounds and a pond and wrote, “…It’s yellow tape EVERYWHERE… now it’s 2 tow trucks and ambulance over here.”
Alleged video from the scene of where the vehicle connected to #ElizaFletcher abduction was located. #LizaFletcher
After hearing reports about police towing a black SUV from The Lakes at Ridgeway apartments, I went and caught the tail end. I saw a white Dodge sedan being towed away followed by a police car. Police said they located a vehicle of interest related to Eliza Fletcher’s abduction.
Social media comments indicated the apartment complex is called Lakes at Ridgeway and is about 15-20 minutes from the abduction scene.
#UPDATE: Police on scene where the SUV that police were looking for in connection w/ the kidnapping of Eliza Fletcher crashed into an ATF vehicle. One person who was inside the vehicle was detained. Fletcher has still not been located.(pics submitted by member)
There was a massive law enforcement presence at the Memphis apartment complex, including what looked like SWAT teams with armored vehicles.
Authorities have not explained the activity.
There Was a Massive Law Enforcement Presence at a Shopping Center Area Near a McDonald’s
A woman shared photos showing crime scene tape near a Family Dollar and McDonald’s restaurant and claimed a McDonald’s employee told her that clothes were found in a dumpster. However, authorities have not confirmed the latter information.
FacebookThe scene near the McDonald’s
Photos showed the law enforcement presence.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS: There’s a significant police presence at a shopping center near the apartments where an SUV was towed earlier today. #ElizaFletcher
ABC24 journalist Ian Ripple tweeted photos from that scene, writing, “Now there is a large police presence at this shopping center a few miles from the apartment complex where a vehicle matching the description was towed. Can’t confirm a relation to #ElizaFletcher investigation. Some of these officers were also searching Overton Park last night.”
Now there is a large police presence at this shopping center a few miles from the apartment complex where a vehicle matching the description was towdd. Can’t confirm a relation to #ElizaFletcher investigation. Some of these officers were also searching Overton Park last night.
Here is a map that shows the McDonald’s location.
Police activity at the McDonalds on Quince and Perkins. #ElizaFletcher #LizaFletcher
“FOX13 spotted searches happening throughout the Bluff City, heavy police presence, crime scene tape, and crime scene trucks and patrol units were at multiple locations,” the Memphis television station reported.
Police Towed a Vehicle & Removed Lawn Shears & a Computer From The Home of Richie & Eliza Fletcher
Police are towing this vehicle from the home in the investigation of Eliza Fletcher’s abduction. We also saw a computer and lawn shears tagged as evidence and removed from the home. @ABC24Memphis t.co/CUPs4BTuks
Before the law enforcement activity shifted to the apartment complex and McDonald’s, authorities focused, in part, on the Fletcher home.
ABC24 journalist Ian Ripple reported that police were removing items from the Fletcher home.
“Police are towing this vehicle from the home in the investigation of Eliza Fletcher’s abduction. We also saw a computer and lawn shears tagged as evidence and removed from the home,” he tweeted.
Various items were marked as evidence, and a $50,000 reward is being offered, he reported.
Police were also searching Overton Park late on Friday evening.
#NEW: There’s a significant law enforcement presence in Overton Park currently. Includes sheriffs emergency services and MPD plus a K-9 unit.
Working to learn if this is related to a search for #ElizaFletcher. @ABC24Memphis
Fletcher was forced into a mid-sized dark-colored SUV, Memphis police wrote in a news release. Police are actively searching for the missing woman, who was taken near the University of Memphis campus.
University of Memphis police said in a safety alert that Fletcher was kidnapped. Fletcher regularly “runs on Central Avenue,” they wrote, and she was “reported missing after not returning home” at 7 a.m. Her “cell phone and water bottle were discovered in front of a house in the 3800 block of Central that is owned by the University.”
The phone was smashed, according to Action News 5.
The alert says that a “male approached her at approximately 4:30 a.m. in the middle of Central Avenue and appeared to leave with her in an unknown vehicle following a brief struggle.” Police figured this out by obtaining surveillance video showing the abduction.
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