Eliza Fletcher remains missing after she was abducted during an early-morning jog Friday near the University of Memphis, though police have arrested a suspect in her disappearance, according to reports.
Cleotha Abston, 38, has been charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence, according to a tweet from the Memphis Police posted Sunday morning. Abston has refused to provide investigators with information pertaining to the whereabouts of Fletcher, who is the granddaughter of billionaire Tennessee hardware tycoon Joseph “Joe” Orgill III, according to WREG News.
Eliza Fletcher missing: Kidnapping suspect Cleotha Abston abducted Memphis attorney at gunpoint decades ago https://t.co/FoX6wlX2e1
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 4, 2022
Fletcher, 34, was out jogging at about 4 a.m. Friday when a man exited a black GMC Terrain and “ran aggressively” toward her and forced her into the passenger side of the SUV, as shown in surveillance footage reviewed by CNN. The Terrain remained parked in the same location for approximately four minutes before the suspect drove away. Records indicate the abduction “was violent in nature and may have resulted in serious bodily injury,” according to WREG news.
At 16, Abston was charged with aggravated robbery and kidnapping of Memphis attorney Kemper Durand in May 2000, according to Fox News. (RELATED: Man Who Kidnapped 26 Children, Buried Them Alive, Receives Parole After 45 Years)
Fletcher’s family is offering $50,000 to anyone who comes forward with information that could help authorities find the mother of two. “We look forward to Eliza’s safe return and hope that this award will help police capture those who committed this crime,” the family said in a statement, according to CNN.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is assisting Memphis police in the ongoing investigation.