Eliza Fletcher, 34, was last seen at around 4.20am. on Friday when she was jogging in Memphis and a man approached her and forced her into an SUV after a brief argument, police said.
On Friday night, Shelby County sheriff’s deputies spent several hours searching a wooded area of Overton Park, a vast green space less than 1.5 miles from where Fletcher was abducted.
The search was called off with no results as darkness fell and investigators were reportedly looking into a tip related to the kidnapping case, according to WREG-TV.
Late Friday, state police said the suspect vehicle in the case was a dark-colored GMC Terrain, providing a blurry surveillance image of the SUV speeding away from the crime scene.
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 “Ritchie” Fletcher III, and their two children.
Eliza Fletcher, 34, (left) was last seen at around 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 argument, police said.
The media gathered Friday night as Shelby County sheriff’s deputies spent several hours searching a wooded area of Overton Park, a vast green space less than 1.5 miles from where Fletcher was abducted.
Memphis police officers were seen towing Fletcher’s family car, a white Jeep Wagoneer, from her home Friday afternoon
That’s the SUV police say Fletcher was abducted from, identified as a dark-colored GMC Terrain
As the investigation continues, reporter Melanie Moon tweeted that Richie “reportedly has an attorney.”
Memphis police officers were seen towing Fletcher’s family car, a white Jeep Wagoneer, from her home.
Investigators also noticed a pair of garden shears and a computer marked as evidence. A heavy police presence remained at the family’s home throughout the evening.
Fletcher, who plays Lisa, is a kindergarten teacher at St. John’s Episcopal School. Mary’s.
She is heir to a family fortune from the hardware company Orgill, which her grandfather founded, although 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 this award will help police catch those who committed this crime,” Fletcher’s family said in a statement.
Members of law enforcement work at the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been abducted
Members of law enforcement work the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been abducted around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, near the corner of Central Avenue and Zach H. Curlin Street.
She was reported missing when she didn’t return home from her usual morning run, and her cell phone and water bottle were discovered in front of a home owned by the University of Memphis, authorities said.
Fletcher, a keen exerciser who regularly jogged the same route, threw her phone to the ground and it broke during the crime.
The mother of two is described as 5-foot-5 and 137 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts.
The kidnapped woman is the granddaughter of hardware tycoon Joseph ‘Joe’ Orgill III who died in 2018.
Fletcher’s mother, Adele, is Orgill’s daughter. Their family-owned wholesale hardware business, Orgill Inc., has annual sales of $3 billion, according to the company’s website.
Eliza Fletcher, pictured, was abducted during a 4:30 a.m. jog. near the University of Memphis campus Friday morning
The company’s description on the website calls Orgill “the world’s largest independent distributor of hard drives with $3 billion in annual sales.” The company is privately owned.
More than 5,500 people are employed in the company.
In an op-ed published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal in 2018, a friend of Joe Orgill III referred to him as a cross between Bono and Mr. Rogers in material circles. Obvious reference to his philanthropic activities and warm demeanor.
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 this reward will help police catch 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 preschool 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 informed by letter on Friday that a teacher had been kidnapped.
“We haven’t told our younger students about Mrs. Fletcher. We are supporting older students as they learn this news,” the letter from school principal Albert Throckmorton read, according to Fox News.
Fletcher is with her husband of eight years, Richard ‘Richie’ Fletcher III. The couple has two children together
Richie, who reportedly has a lawyer, works for a company called Venture Libre, a business that makes “custom custom storage solutions for adventure vehicles.”
In 2021, a Facebook post on the school’s page referred to Fletcher as a person whose “smile lights up every room he walks into.”
She continued: “She is a loving and passionate teacher who is always looking for creative ways to teach all students.”
The post concluded: “She gets to know each student individually and does everything she can to get them excited about learning. You will always find her celebrating big and small successes in class.’
She attended the Hutchison School in Memphis, graduating as part of the class of 2006. Fletcher is a graduate of Baylor University, graduating with a degree in exercise and sports science. She received her master’s degree in teaching from Belmont University.
Before working at St. Mary’s, Fletcher taught at Promise Academy in Nashville and was also the school’s football coach.
She was an accomplished runner who qualified for the Boston Marathon. In 2019, Fletcher finished the St. Jude in a time of three hours and 26 minutes and finished 22nd overall.
Law enforcement has not yet released a possible motive or whether they believe Fletcher was abducted by an opportunistic predator or by someone who had studied the young mom’s frequent route.
A helicopter flies over the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been abducted around 4.30am on Friday
Members of law enforcement work at the scene where Eliza Fletcher, 34, is believed to have been abducted
People gather outside Eliza Fletcher’s home on Friday. Police say Fletcher was jogging near the University of Memphis when she was pulled over by a dark-colored SUV
Fletcher’s kidnapping has shocked her community. By Friday afternoon, a Facebook group called “Eliza Fletcher Missing in Memphis, Tennessee” had more than 2,000 members.
They took her near the University of Memphis. A student at the school, Sam Sparenberg, told WREG, “My friend and I were probably the first ones to see the police cars come out, but we had no idea.”
Timeline of Eliza Fletcher’s disappearance
Early on September 2: Fletcher leaves her house to go jogging, following her normal route
4.20am: Fletcher is forced into an SUV after struggling with a male attacker
Moments later: A dark GMC Terrain is seen speeding away from the scene of the abduction
7 a.m.: After Fletcher fails to return from her run, someone calls the Memphis Police Department
7.45am: Police found Fletcher’s water bottle and smashed cellphone at the scene of the abduction
That afternoon: Cops and the FBI search the home Fletcher shares with her husband and their two children. The family vehicle, a Jeep Wagoneer, is towed and officers mark a computer and scissors as evidence.
That night: Sheriff’s deputies search a wooded area of Overton Park, acting on a tip in the case, according to reports. They leave without seeming to find anything.
He added: “I have never heard of anything like this happening. I spent time in colleges. I have been to the University of Tennessee and the University of Mississippi. I have never heard of such a thing happening.’
In 2014, Fletcher married Richard ‘Richie’ James Fletcher III in a lavish woodland-themed ceremony described in Memphis magazine. The bride is described in the profile as “outdoorsy, athletic and warm.”
Richie works for a company called Venture Libre, a business that makes “custom custom storage solutions for adventure vehicles.”
According to posts on his Instagram page, the family took a long vacation in early August.
The senior pastor at the church Fletcher and her husband attended, George Robertson, described the missing woman as “full of life,” according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Robertson continued, “She and her husband Richie are both very active and great leaders in our church. They have two little boys who come up to me every week and hug me.’
She continued: “She and her husband are both just an inspiration in terms of their zest for life and their love of running and sports.”
Robertson also said the couple have a “deep and profound trust in Christ.” He said: “That’s Richie’s confidence at the moment.”
Second Presbyterian Church said on its Facebook page that the church was open all day for prayer.
Speaking to WREG, a friend of Fletcher’s, Hart Robinson, said, “You don’t want to hear about this happening. We want to find her.’
Robinson also said: “We don’t know what’s going on but everyone is desperately looking for her and the police are here. You can see there’s a lot of activity, so if you know anything or saw anything early this morning, we’re just asking…
