Body found in Memphis as police search for abducted jogger Eliza Fletcher
Update: Memphis police confirmed Tuesday morning that Eliza Fletcher's body has been identified. Read the latest here. Our earlier story is below.
Police said Monday that a body has been found in south Memphis, an area they have been searching for Eliza Fletcher, the teacher who was abducted while jogging early Friday morning. The deceased person has not been identified and no cause of death has been determined, Memphis police said.
Police said the body was found at 5:07 p.m. local time.
Authorities have said Fletcher, 34, was jogging around 4 a.m. on Friday when a man approached her and forced her into a dark SUV after a brief struggle, which was caught on surveillance video. Fletcher was reported missing when she did not return home that morning.
Memphis police said in an affidavit that they believe Fletcher was seriously injured in the abduction.
On Saturday, 38-year-old Cleotha Abston was arrested in connection with Fletcher's disappearance. He is currently charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
CBS affiliate WREG-TV's Bria Jones reported Monday that there was a large police presence in an area "very close to where a dumpster was towed from outside Cleo Abston's brother's apartment" on Sunday.
Fletcher is a junior kindergarten teacher at St. Mary's Episcopal School, an independent, private, all-girls school in Memphis. "We join the Fletcher and Wellford families in praying for Liza's safe return," the school wrote in a Facebook post Saturday.
