A Man Has Been Charged With Kidnapping Memphis Jogger Eliza Fletcher

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A man has been charged in connection with the alleged abduction of 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher, who authorities said was last seen being forced into a vehicle while she was out jogging in Memphis early Friday morning.

Cleotha Abston, 38, was arrested and charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence, the Memphis Police Department said in a statement Sunday. The whereabouts of Fletcher, who goes by Liza, remain unknown. According to a police affidavit obtained by Memphis news outlets, Abston was identified by his DNA on a pair of Champion slide sandals that were found at the scene near where Fletcher’s cell phone was found.

The affidavit states that Fletcher, a pre-kindergarten 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. run. A member of the public found Fletcher’s cell phone and the sandals and gave them to her family, who then turned them over to investigators, the affidavit said. When police examined video surveillance from where the phone was found, they were able to find footage of Fletcher being forced into the car.

The video showed a black GMC Terrain “passing and then waiting for the victim to run by,” according to the affidavit. When Fletcher appeared, “a male exited the [SUV], ran aggressively toward the victim” and, following a struggle, forced her into the vehicle’s passenger side. The SUV sat for four minutes before driving away.

After the DNA on the sandals was identified, investigators said they were able to obtain footage of Abston wearing them the day before the abduction and determined that he was currently living at an address belonging to a woman who owns a black GMC Terrain. Abston’s presence at the scene of the abduction was also verified by cell phone records.

The affidavit states that investigators talked to Abston’s neighbors and learned that on Friday morning he was seen cleaning the inside of the SUV and “behaving oddly.” Someone else saw Abson washing his clothes in the sink of the house where he lived and “acting very strange,” the affidavit said.

Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/liza-fletcher-kidnapping-arrest

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