Suspect Cleotha Abston, Eliza Fletcher
A body was found in the hunt for ‘kidnapped’ billionaire heiress Eliza Fletcher on Monday.
Police in Tennessee detained Cleotha Abston Saturday and located the car sought in the kidnapping of Memphis billionaire heiress Eliza Fletcher.
Cleotha Abston was accused of rape as a pre-teen and previously served 20 years in prison for kidnapping a prosecutor at gunpoint in 2000, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported.
Eliza Fletcher, the granddaughter of Joseph Orgill III, who inherited and ran a hardware company that now claims over $3 billion in annual sales, was abducted by unknown assailants.
Fletcher was jogging near University of Memphis at 4:30 am on Friday when she was abducted.
The family reached out to the public for help and offered a reward on Friday.
Eliza Fletcher's family reaches out, asking anyone for help finding the Memphis mom who was abducted while out on an early morning run. https://t.co/amJbYtc6sM pic.twitter.com/Nm6IjFTSDP
— WREG News Channel 3 (@3onyourside) September 3, 2022
According to reports, Cleotha Abston has so far been charged with aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
Abston is being held at Shelby County Jail on a $500,000 bond according to reports.
A body was found near the suspect’s brother’s home Monday evening however, police have not confirmed it is the remains of Eliza Fletcher.
The Daily Mail reported:
A body was found on Monday evening in the area that was cordoned off by law enforcement in Memphis amid the frantic search for missing mother-of-two Eliza Fletcher.
Police have not confirmed that the body that was found is that of Fletcher. The missing billionaire heiress vanished while out for a jog around 4:30 am in Memphis. Monday’s discovery is around seven miles from where she was last seen.
The area being searched is beside the Longview Gardens apartment complex, where kidnapping suspect Cleotha Abston’s brother, Mario, lives.
Just prior to the announcement of the discovery of human remains, a large Memphis Police Department mobile command unit truck was moved into area. Reporters who were covering the search were also asked to move further back from the scene.
Photos from the scene showed a police helicopter circling above the search.
Neighbors gathered around the crime scene, horrified.
#HappeningNow mobile command center arriving. @ABC24Memphis #elizafletcher pic.twitter.com/4etEPF3Gll
— Ian Ripple (@Ripple1026) September 5, 2022
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