Investigators in West Virginia have now confirmed that 28-year-old Gretchen Fleming was last seen leaving a bar in the early hours of December 4 with an older man, but, they say, that man has given them “inconsistent statements” about what happened after that.
Fleming’s family reported her missing to the Parkersburg Police Department on December 12, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Police said she was last seen on surveillance footage walking out the door of the My Way Lounge around 3 a.m.
Detectives have identified the man she was seen with and spoken with him, but he has not been charged with a crime, Fox News reported.
“He is a person of interest in this investigation,” Parkersburg Police Lt. James Stalnaker told Fox News. “We know she left with him. We believe that she traveled back to his residence with him. He’s given inconsistent statements.”
The man, however, has admitted Fleming was in his car but denies she ever came to his house. Also, Stalmaker said, “There is no indication they knew each other prior to this night.”
Stalmaker said that the surveillance video from the bar doesn’t show the man and Fleming getting into his car because of where it was parked. Other video cameras show his car traveling toward his home, which is about two miles from the My Way Lounge, he said, and investigators have executed search warrants on his house, car, and electronic devices. Now, Stalmaker said, they’re awaiting resluts of some forensic tests and additional search warrants — including phone records.
“At this point, we’re not getting anything from the person of interest,” he said.
Fleming, who turned 28 on December 24, lives in Vienna, West Virginia, a small city about five miles north of Parkersburg, itself only slightly larger. She came to Parkersburg that night with a friend.
Stalmaker said her disappearance has “pretty much consumed us here in the last couple of weeks.”
Anyone with information is aked to contact lead Detective James Zimmerman at 304-424-1072 or the Police Department at 304-424-8444.
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[Featured image: Family Handout via Jake Grim]
