MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The family of a Tennessee woman who police said was abducted and forced into a vehicle while she was jogging near the University of Memphis campus has offered a $50,000 reward for information in the case.
Eliza Fletcher, 34, was last seen about 4:20 a.m. Friday, Memphis police have said. She was jogging when a man approached her and forced her into a dark-colored GMC Terrain after a brief struggle, police said. She was reported missing when she did not return home from her regular morning run, and her cellphone and water bottle were discovered in front of a house owned by the university, authorities said.
Fletcher’s family offered the 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 that this award will help police capture those who committed this crime,” Fletcher’s family said in a statement released Friday night through Crimestoppers.
Fletcher is the granddaughter of the late Joseph “Joe” Orgill III, a Memphis hardware businessman and philanthropist, according to news outlets.
The mother of two is described at being 5-foot-6 and 137 pounds (62 kilograms) with brown hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts.
Memphis police said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI were called in to assist with the investigation.
Officers canvassed the area where she was abducted and combed through her home, searching for clues and collecting evidence, news outlets reported.
Authorities left her home with a laptop and garden shears and towed away a cream Jeep Wagoneer, WMC-TV reported.
