Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old mother-of-two from Memphis, was abducted during a Friday morning run.
Investigators believe that the junior kindergarten teacher was running along Central Avenue near the University of Memphis when she was “abducted.” She was forced into a mid-sized dark-colored SUV around 4:30 am.
Memphis Police said they received two calls around 7:45 a.m., one from Fletcher’s husband Richard Fletcher III, and one from the University. They found some of her belongings at the scene and were told that a male approached Fletcher and forced her into a dark SUV after a struggle.
She was a regular runner, according to authorities. Fletcher qualified for the Boston Marathon.
Memphis Magazine announced that Fletcher had married Richard on March 8, 2014. Fletcher was described as “outdoorsy and warm”, and he married Richard at Dixon Gallery and Gardens on Park Avenue.
He has been celebrating their anniversary on Instagram every year since then. He also took many selfies.
He wrote, “Eight years in making with this smoking hot lady. Wouldn’t have it any other! Even if the stomach bug runs rampant in our household!”
Fletcher’s parents declined to comment, and no one picked up the phone at the home she shares with her husband and two children. Images posted online showed a significant police presence there Friday evening.
Richard Fletcher was her husband and posted an Instagram photo of them at an outdoor brunch table in March 2021.
“Yesterday marked seven years of marriage to this beauty!” He wrote. It seems we didn’t realize that healthy marriages were impossible. Instead, we put God/Recovery before anything else. Both of us believed in each other, and we both asked for help.
He stated, “We are so thankful for individual counseling, couple counseling, recovery, and our friends!” We couldn’t have imagined it any other way.
Memphis police stated Friday night that the husband, and their two children, were in good health.
She said that she did not believe that Fletcher was abducted and that there were reports at the start of the semester that someone had been harassing women on the University of Memphis’ cross-country team.
Have you seen this woman or vehicle?
Eliza Fletcher was abducted this morning in midtown Memphis while running.
She was forced into a vehicle. There is no known direction of travel.
Tips? Call @MEM_PoliceDept at 901-528-2274 or 901-545-2677, or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/HpTfQbKjAy
— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) September 2, 2022
St. Mary’s Episcopal School where she works praised her last Year in a post on Facebook. She stated that her smile brightens every space she enters and that she is a “smiler span>
This post states that she’s a passionate, caring teacher who is open to learning new ways to teach all students.
Albert Throckmorton wrote Friday that Fletcher (identified as a JK teacher) had been abducted “early this morning.”
A Baylor University graduate she earned her bachelor’s in exercise science and sports science. She later received her master’s in teaching from Belmont University.
Fletcher describes herself as a white woman with blonde locks, green eyes, and long hair. Fletcher wore a matching headband.
Anyone with information regarding the abduction of a child should call Crime Stoppers at 951-528 CASH.
