Memphis abduction

2022 - 9 - 4

Post cover — Image courtesy of "NBC News"

Man charged with kidnapping missing Memphis jogger Eliza Fletcher (NBC News)

Cleotha Abston has been charged with kidnapping Eliza Fletcher who went missing while jogging near the University of Memphis on Friday, police said.

ET): A headline on a previous version of this article misstated the source of DNA that led police to the arrest. The DNA belonged to the man who was arrested, authorities said, not the kidnapping victim. "During this abduction, there appeared to be a struggle," the document said. He was charged with drug and firearms offenses, police A male then exited the car, ran aggressively toward Fletcher and forced her into the passenger's seat. Fletcher's phone was found with the sandals.

Eliza Fletcher abduction: Memphis judge sets bond for man charged ... (Fox News)

Memphis Police gather at Pine Hill Community Center in area where Eliza Fletcher's alleged abductor lives. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! MEMPHIS ...

Court documents state that the GMC Terrain was in a nearby parking lot with the victim inside for four minutes before driving off. at the 3800 Block of Central Ave. [relation to the abduction](https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/true-crime) are urged to call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH. Eliza Fletcher went missing on Friday morning at 4:30 a.m. Police were able to match Cleotha Abston to the crime by using DNA evidence that was collected from a pair of Champion slides sandals that were left in the area of the crime scene. [Memphis judge](https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/us-regions/southeast/tennessee) has set the bond for the 38-year-old man who is charged in relation to the abduction of Eliza Fletcher, a mother of two who was pulled into a car during an early morning run.

Memphis teacher abduction 'violent,' 'on video,' police say (NEWS10 ABC)

Memphis police said a man has been charged in connection to the abduction of Eliza Fletcher, but she is still missing.

Suspect charged in kidnapping of Memphis jogger Eliza Fletcher (Axios)

The Memphis Police Department announced in a Twitter thread they had located the "vehicle of interest" in the case.

Crews had [recovered](https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCG/bulletins/32b40de) one body at the scene of the Puget Sound crash on Sunday. [historic heat wave](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/05/california-heat-wave-west-worsens-records-fall) that's engulfing much of the U.S. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis and a [mother of two](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/missing-jogger-memphis-eliza-fletcher-kidnapping-charge-cleotha-abston-rcna46226) children. [Cal Fire](https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2022/9/5/fairview-fire/). [police wrote](https://twitter.com/MEM_PoliceDept/status/1566345389531447299). West, per [Cal Fire](https://twitter.com/CALFIRERRU/status/1566982023486779393/photo/1). [in a tweet](https://twitter.com/MEM_PoliceDept/status/1566343924511346690). She was last seen wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts, police said. [WMC-TV](https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/09/02/woman-missing-reportedly-kidnapped/)reported. [statement from Memphis Police](https://twitter.com/MEM_PoliceDept/status/1565711246158139398). [in a Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/MEM_PoliceDept/status/1566171599665086464) early Sunday that they had located the "vehicle of interest" in the case and detained the man who was in the car. [junior kindergarten teacher](https://twitter.com/StMarysMemphis/status/1565790561185009665?cxt=HHwWgsC8gYaO57orAAAA) at St.

A Man Has Been Charged With Kidnapping Memphis Jogger Eliza ... (BuzzFeed News)

Cleotha Abston has been charged with aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence, and Fletcher's whereabouts are still unknown.

[teacher](https://twitter.com/StMarysMemphis/status/1565790561185009665) at St. A member of the public found Fletcher's cellphone and the sandals and gave them to her family, who then turned them over to investigators, the affidavit said. Someone else saw Abston washing his clothes in the sink of the house where he lived and "acting very strange," the affidavit said. Abston's presence at the scene of the abduction was also verified by cellphone records. [statement](https://twitter.com/MEM_PoliceDept/status/1566343924511346690) Sunday. The affidavit states that Fletcher, a prekindergarten teacher and mother of two, was reported missing Friday morning by her husband after she did not return home from her regular 4 a.m.

Video shows violent abduction of missing Memphis jogger Eliza ... (WABC-TV)

Surveillance video obtained by investigators shows missing Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher being violently abducted during her early morning jog by a man ...

Fletcher is the granddaughter of the late Joseph Orgill III, a Memphis hardware businessman and philanthropist. Durand noted that it took over a year for Abston to sign the guilty plea, calling the refusal "jailhouse braggadocio." Police also linked the vehicle they believe was used in the kidnapping to a person at a residence where Abston was staying. A large police presence was reported in the area where authorities reported finding the body just after 5 p.m., local news reports said. Late Monday, police tweeted that a body had been found in a Memphis neighborhood but that the identity of that person and the cause of death was unconfirmed. While Fletcher has not been found, Memphis police said in the affidavit they believe she was seriously injured in the abduction, which was caught on surveillance video.

Man Held in Abduction of Eliza Fletcher, Billionaire's Granddaughter (The New York Times)

Eliza Fletcher was last seen early on Friday jogging in Memphis. She was forced into a dark-colored S.U.V. and remains missing, the police said.

Fletcher is an heiress to the company’s fortune. “It is believed and supported by the facts and physical evidence that she suffered serious injury,” court records said. Cleotha Abston worked for a cleaning service, his employer confirmed to the police. The shoes were linked by DNA testing to Cleotha Abston, and video evidence also showed him wearing the shoes, court records said. A person who was biking in the area around 6:45 a.m. used in the abduction, court records said. He was charged with drug and weapon possession charges. Abston had been in the S.U.V. Video surveillance showed that a person exited the S.U.V. on Friday when she was forced into a dark-colored S.U.V., the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Fletcher, 34, who also goes by Liza, was last seen jogging near the University of Memphis campus at about 4:30 a.m. She was forced into a dark-colored S.U.V.