In connection with the ongoing disappearance of a 34-year-old teacher who was abducted, Memphis police on Sunday announced the arrest of a 38-year-old man. Around six in the morning, police tweeted. That tampering with evidence and particularly aggravated kidnapping are charges against Cleotha Abston.
Having been found guilty of kidnapping in 2000, he was released from prison in November 2020. Provided no information regarding Eliza Fletcher’s prior connections. She is the great-granddaughter of the late billionaire philanthropist Joseph Orgill III, who helped run Orgill Inc., a family-owned hardware supply company based in Memphis.
Around 4:30 in the morning, Fletcher went for a jog, and investigators were still looking for him. When an unknown person approached her on Friday near the University of Memphis campus, she was forced into a medium-sized dark SUV and taken away, according to police. By 7 a.m., her husband, Richard Fletcher, called Memphis police to report that his wife hadn’t come home from her run. Police announced at 5 p.m.
That Abston would be arrested twelve hours later. They claimed to have located the GMC Terrain used in Fletcher’s kidnapping on Saturday. Police posted on Twitter, “The vehicle of interest has been located, and a male occupying the vehicle has been detained.” During this investigation, a second person was also detained, currently not thought to have any connection to Fletcher’s kidnapping.
Mario, Abston’s brother, reportedly saw Abston washing his clothes in the home’s sink. The FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation both conduct searches. A news release provided to WHBQ by CrimeStoppers Executive Director Buddy Chapman discovered the teacher’s broken phone close to where she is thought to have been kidnapped.
The family of Fletcher made a video statement on Saturday afternoon pleading with anyone with information to get in touch with Crimestoppers. According to Fletcher’s uncle Mike Keeney, “the family has met with police, and we have given them all the information we know. More than anything, we want to see Liza return home safely.”
Through Crimestoppers, her family is offering a $50,000 reward. Fletcher is a mother of two and a kindergarten teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis. According to a tweet, we request your assistance in locating our cherished JK Teacher, Liza Fletcher, in conjunction with the police.
Only a few blocks separate her second Presbyterian church from where she last observed her. The senior pastor of the church, George Robertson, told the Commercial Appeal on Friday that “someday we’ll eradicate this kind of tragedy.” “We grieve for ourselves, we grieve for the Fletchers, and we also grieve for our city. Our whole city is hurting,” the speaker continued.
“We grieve the abduction a couple of days ago near Wolfchase. We grieve all this kind of violence and evil in our city.” According to public safety statistics published on the city website, Memphis has experienced at least 100 incidents that could be classified as kidnapping this year.
