Saturday 3 September 2022 06:58 PM Police search Memphis park near site of wealthy heiress Eliza Fletcher's ... trends now
Police in Tennessee have searched a park near the site where a wealthy heiress was abducted and forced into vehicle, as they search for clues in the baffling case.
Eliza Fletcher, 34, was last seen about 4.20am on Friday, when she was jogging in Memphis and a man approached her and forced her into an SUV after a brief struggle, police said.
On Friday night, deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office spent several hours searching a wooded area of Overton Park, a vast greenspace less than 1.5 miles from where Fletcher was abducted.
The search was called off without result as darkness fell, and investigators were reportedly looking into a tip connected with the abduction case, according to WREG-TV.
Late Friday, state police said that the suspect vehicle in the case was a dark-colored GMC Terrain, issuing a blurry surveillance image of the SUV speeding away from the crime.
Meanwhile, state and local police along with the FBI were seen searching Fletcher's Memphis home, which she shares with her husband of eight years, Richard 'Richie' Fletcher III and their two children.
Eliza Fletcher, 34, (left) was last seen about 4.20am on Friday, when she was jogging (right) in Memphis and a man approached her and forced her into an SUV after a brief struggle, police said
Media gather on Friday night as deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office spent several hours searching a wooded area of Overton Park, a vast greenspace less than 1.5 miles from where Fletcher was abducted
Memphis cops were seen towing Fletcher's family car, a white Jeep Wagoneer, from her home on Friday afternoon
This is the SUV cops say abducted Fletcher, identified as a dark-colored GMC Terrain
As the search continues, reporter Melanie Moon tweeted that Richie had 'reportedly lawyered up.'
Memphis cops were seen towing Fletcher's family car, a white Jeep Wagoneer, from her home.
Investigators were also seen to label a pair of garden shears and a computer as evidence. A large police presence remained at the family home all evening.
Fletcher, who goes by Liza, is a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Mary's Episcopal School.
She is heiress to a family fortune from Orgill hardware company, which her grandfather founded, though the family's net worth is unclear.
Fletcher´s family offered a $50,000 reward Friday night through Crimestoppers for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for her disappearance.
'We look forward to Eliza's safe return and hope that this award will help police capture those who committed this crime,' Fletcher´s family said in a statement.
Members of law enforcement work the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been kidnapped
Members of law enforcement work the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been kidnapped around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, near the corner Central Avenue and Zach H. Curlin Street.
She was reported missing when she did not return home from her regular morning run, and her cellphone and water bottle were discovered in front of a house owned by the University of Memphis, authorities said.
Fletcher, a fitness fanatic who would regularly jog the same route, had her phone hurled to the ground and smashed during the crime.
The mother of two is described at being 5-foot-6 and 137 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts.
The abducted woman is the granddaughter of hardware magnate Joseph 'Joe' Orgill III who died in 2018.
Fletcher's mother, Adele, is Orgill's daughter. Their hardware wholesale family business, Orgill Inc., does $3 billion in annual sales, according to the company's website.
Eliza Fletcher, pictured, was abducted during a 4:30am jog close to the University of Memphis campus on Friday morning
The description of the company on the website calls Orgill 'the world's largest independent hardlines distributor with annual sales of $3 billion.' The company is privately owned.
More than 5,500 people are employed by the company.
In a tribute article published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal in 2018, a friend of Joe Orgill III referred to him as being a cross between Bono and Mr. Rogers in hardware circles. An apparent reference to his philanthropic activities and warm demeanor.
In announcing the reward money in Fletcher's case, the family said in a brief statement: 'We look forward to Eliza's safe return and hope that this award will help police capture those who committed this crime.'
In February, Fletcher said in an Instagram post that she attended the Orgill trade show in Orlando, Florida.
Fletcher is a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Mary's Episcopal School and she and her husband belong to the Second Presbyterian Church in East Memphis.
Students at the school were reportedly told via letter on Friday that a teacher had been kidnapped.
'We have not told our younger students about Mrs.
