A teacher in Memphis, Tennessee, was abducted while jogging on Friday and family members have offered a reward in the case.
Eliza Fletcher, whose grandfather started a $3 billion hardware business called Orgill Inc., is a 34-year-old mother of two. Her family has offered $50,000 to anyone with information that would help bring her home, the New York Post reported Saturday.
She was reported missing just before 8:00 a.m. on Friday.
Relatives are simply waiting, hoping and praying, according to the woman’s father-in-law, Richard Fletcher Jr, who spoke with the outlet.
He noted he visited with his son, Richard Fletcher III, and the pair conversed “about his wife [being] missing and how hard it is and how unexpected it is and how hard it is to cope with something that seems so random.”
In a social media post Friday afternoon, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation shared images of Fletcher jogging and the vehicle believed to be involved in the case:
Have you seen this woman or vehicle?
Eliza Fletcher was abducted this morning in midtown Memphis while running.
She was forced into a vehicle. There is no known direction of travel.
Tips? Call @MEM_PoliceDept at 901-528-2274 or 901-545-2677, or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/HpTfQbKjAy
— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) September 2, 2022
More photos showed what appeared to be the SUV:
The photos of the suspect's vehicle. pic.twitter.com/7GB4RRb98t
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) September 2, 2022
Meanwhile, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputies searched Overton Park, which is located just over a mile from where the woman disappeared.
“Very important that if anybody knows the whereabouts of Mrs. Fletcher to contact the police immediately,” Major Karen Rudolph of the Memphis Police Department said Friday:
Surveillance video reportedly showed the pre-kindergarten teacher being forced into an SUV officials later described as a “dark colored GMC Terrain.”
University of Memphis Police told NBC News it was Fletcher’s habit to jog down Central Avenue where she vanished. Her phone and water bottle were later found near a home owned by the university.
Authorities at the woman’s house towed a white SUV away while a computer and lawn shears were tagged as evidence and also removed from the residence.
In a social media post Saturday morning, Memphis police said the investigation is ongoing.
The investigation into the abduction of Eliza Fletcher is still active and ongoing. Investigators are continuing the search and following all leads. No arrests have been made relative to this case. If anyone has any information they are asked to call CrimeStoppers @ 901-528-CASH. pic.twitter.com/BebGuPiwZg
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) September 3, 2022
“Investigators are continuing the search and following all leads. No arrests have been made relative to this case,” the agency stated.
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