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Eliza Fletcher

Eliza Fletcher: Vehicle Used in Abduction Location; Large Police Presence at Nearby Apartment Complex
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The vehicle believed to have been used in Eliza Fletcher’s abduction early Friday morning apparently crashed into a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives vehicle before it was seized.

And shortly afterward, multiple armed law enforcement agents swarmed over a nearby apartment complex and kicked in the front door of an apartment, as seen in video taken by a resident.

It’s not clear if the two incidents — the crash and the apartment raid — are related, but Memphis Police had earlier tweeted that the SUV used in Fletcher’s abduction — believed to be a GMC Terrain — had been located and a man inside detained.

ABC24 reporter Ian Ripple was on scene as the damaged SUV was hauled away.

A Memphis police spokesperson spoke with UK tabloid the Daily Mail and said investigators are still working to determine if the man detained Friday afternoon is connected with the case. The spokesperson said police have not planned a news conference for Saturday evening.

Police have thus far said nothing about the police presence at the apartment complex, but videos and photos show police officers on the scene, apparently staking out an apartment, before a van of armed tactical officers arrive and go inside..

According to the Daily Mail, the woman who videoed the police action at the apartment said that officers brought out a woman, her daughter, and a baby.

Fletcher, a teacher and 34-year-old mother of two young sons, was out jogging early Friday morning when she was approached by a man who forced her into a dark SUV and drove off. Her damaged cell phone and a water bottle were found on the scene.

Fletcher’s husband, Richard Fletcher, reported her missing later Friday morning when she didn’t return from her run, launching an intense search, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Overnight, crews search a section of Overton Park — about a mile from the Fletchers’ home — but didn’t say what if anything they found or what led them to search the area. Earlier in the day, investigators towed a light colored SUV from the home and took other items as evidence, including a computer and yard shears.

Crews searched a section of Overton Park, a little over a mile from the Fletchers’ resident, overnight. Investigators didn’t say what, if anything, they found, or what led them to the location. Earlier on Friday, investigators removed items from the Fletchers’ home, including a light colored SUV, garden shears, and a computer.

A Memphis police spokesperson spoke with UK tabloid the Daily Mail and said investigators are still working to determine if the man detained Friday afternoon is connected with the case. The spokesperson said police have not planned a news conference for Saturday evening.

After the suspect vehicle was seized Friday afternoon, Fletcher’s family — including her husband Ritchie — appeared in a video pleading for help finding her.

“We believe someone knows what happened and can help,” Fletcher’s uncle, Mike Keeney, said in the video statement as Ritchie Fletcher wiped tears from his eyes.

Fletcher’s mother, father, and brother were also in the video.

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