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The abduction of Eliza Fletcher: SHOCKED Memphis billionaire family offers $50K for info on teacher forced into SUV

Eliza Fletcher is a teacher at St Mary's Episcopal School, who regularly ran in the vicinity of the school

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: A Memphis school teacher went missing after she was abducted near the city university, during an early morning jog. Eliza Fletcher, 34, heiress to the billion-dollar fortune of her family’s hardware business Orgill Inc was forced into a black SUV on Friday, September, 1, by an unknown individual.

The mother-of-two was abducted near the University of Memphis at about 4:20 am, in the area of Central Avenue and Zach Curlin Street. Fletcher was last captured on surveillance video wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts at the time, police said. She is described as White, standing 5’6″, 137 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes. An image of the dark-colored SUV vehicle was also released. Fletcher’s family is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to her rescue.

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Fletcher is a teacher at St Mary's Episcopal School, and she regularly runs in the vicinity of the school, Memphis news station WREG reported. Fletcher’s phone was found abandoned in the area. Even though the police have released a picture of the SUV but said they had no evidence as to which way it traveled. Less than 24 hours after her disappearance, Memphis cops were seen towing her family car from her home. Investigators were also seen labeling a pair of garden shears and a computer as evidence. Fletcher who goes by Liza lives with her husband, Richard 'Richie' Fletcher III, and their two children. The abducted woman is the granddaughter of hardware magnate Joseph 'Joe' Orgill III who died in 2018. However, it has not been confirmed who reported her missing. 

The FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are also assisting with locating Fletcher. “We don’t know what’s going on, but everybody is desperately looking for her and the police here are on it,” Hart Robinson, a friend of Fletcher’s, told the station. “You can see there is a lot of activity, so if you know anything or saw anything early this morning, we just ask that you come forward." Fletcher's family said, “We look forward to Eliza’s safe return and hope that this award will help the police capture those who committed this crime.” Records show Richie has multiple arrests for alcohol-related offenses including public drunkenness and driving under the influence. Law enforcement has not yet disclosed a potential motive or whether they believe Fletcher was abducted by an opportunistic predator or by an individual who had studied the young mom's frequented running route.

Anyone who spots her please call 911, police said. MPD can also be reached at 901-545-COPS.