Eliza Fletcher latest: Memphis police search wooded area near home of kidnapping suspect Cleotha Abston

The suspect accused of abducting a 34-year-old teacher in Tennessee was identified with the help of DNA from sandals found nearby.

Eliza Fletcher, a mother of two and the granddaughter to billionaire Joseph Orgill III, was abducted during a 4am jog in her neighbourhood near the University of Memphis campus on Friday.

The Memphis police have arrested 38-year-old Cleotha “Pookie” Abston and charged him with “aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence”.

According to an affidavit, a pair of Champion slide sandals that were recovered near the spot of Ms Fletcher’s disappearance were laced with the suspect’s DNA. Her phone was also found with the sandals.

Read on for the full story.

The man charged with kidnapping Eliza Fletcher is a violent felon who spent 20 years in prison for abduction and robbery, arrest records show.

Cleotha “Pookie” Abston, 38, was arrested on Saturday and has been charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence, Memphis police said in a tweet early on Sunday morning.

Read more on Abston’s lengthy criminal records below.

The desperate search to find missing Memphis teacher and business heiress Eliza Fletcher has now entered its fourth day – as a 38-year-old man charged with her kidnapping is reportedly refusing to reveal her whereabouts to authorities.

Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old mother-of-two, was snatched while on an early morning jog near the University of Memphis campus on Friday.

On Saturday, 38-year-old Cleotha Abston was arrested on suspicion of her abduction.

He was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence on Sunday and is being held on $500,000 bond.

No motive has been given and there are no clues as to Ms Fletcher’s whereabouts.

Rachel Sharp has the full story.

Friends of Eliza Fletcher have joined a large-scale police search for the missing mother of two, according to reports.

Reporter Brittani Moncrease tweeted a photo showing civilians joining in the search for Ms Fletcher, who vanished after being abducted while out jogging early on Friday morning.

Police have charged Cleotha Abston, 38, with kidnapping and tampering with evidence.

Police say he is refusing to tell them any information about Ms Fletcher’s whereabouts.

A man charged with kidnapping Eliza Fletcher is facing three new theft charges, as police continue to search for the missing heiress.

Cleotha Abston, 38, was charged with identity theft, theft of property under $1,000 and fraudulent use of a credit card by Memphis police on Monday.

Abston, 38, was arrested on Saturday and charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence in relation to Ms Fletcher’s disappearance, Memphis police said in a tweet early on Sunday morning.

Abston has refused to give police any information about Ms Fletcher’s whereabouts, according to a police affidavit.

The suspect accused of abducting a 34-year-old teacher in Tennessee was identified with the help of DNA from sandals found nearby.

Eliza Fletcher, a mother of two and the granddaughter to billionaire Joseph Orgill III, was abducted during a 4am jog in her neighbourhood near the University of Memphis campus on Friday.

The Memphis police have arrested 38-year-old Cleotha “Pookie” Abston and charged him with “aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence”.

According to an affidavit, a pair of Champion slide sandals that were recovered near the spot of Ms Fletcher’s disappearance were laced with the suspect’s DNA. Her phone was also found with the sandals.

The man charged with kidnapping Eliza Fletcher is a violent felon who spent 20 years in prison for abduction and robbery, arrest records show.

Cleotha “Pookie” Abston, 38, was arrested on Saturday and has been charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence, Memphis police said in a tweet early on Sunday morning.

Read more on Abston’s lengthy criminal records below.

The desperate search to find missing Memphis teacher and business heiress Eliza Fletcher has now entered its fourth day – as a 38-year-old man charged with her kidnapping is reportedly refusing to reveal her whereabouts to authorities.

Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old mother-of-two, was snatched while on an early morning jog near the University of Memphis campus on Friday.

On Saturday, 38-year-old Cleotha Abston was arrested on suspicion of her abduction.

He was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence on Sunday and is being held on $500,000 bond.

No motive has been given and there are no clues as to Ms Fletcher’s whereabouts.

Rachel Sharp has the full story.

Police and federal agencies are continuing to search locations around Memphis for any trace of missing teacher Eliza Fletcher on Monday.

Ms Fletcher was abducted while out jogging early on Friday morning, and suspect Cleotha Abston has been charged with kidnapping.

Officers on all-terrain vehicles were seen searching a rural area just off Interstate 240 on Monday afternoon, WREG reporter Shay Arthur tweeted.

Investigators have also been searching Martin Luther King Riverside park and Pine Hill Park for Ms Fletcher.

Abston is refusing to tell police anything about the abduction, according to an affidavit.

Her family have offered a $50,000 for her safe return.

The suspect charged with abducting missing heiress Eliza Fletcher was seen stalking her in his SUV 24 minutes before she was abducted, police say.

Cleotha “Pookie” Abston has been charged with kidnapping Ms Fletcher, 34, while she was jogging near the intersection of Central Avenue and Zach H. Curlin Street in Memphis at around 4.20am on Friday.

According to a police affidavit, Abston’s GMS Terrain was seen on surveillance footage in the area 24 minutes before the kidnapping.

Footage then shows a man exit the dark-coloured SUV and aggressively force Ms Fletcher into the passenger side of the vehicle.