Man charged with kidnapping in connection to Memphis jogger's disappearance

(Image credit: Shelby County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

published 5 September 2022

A suspect has been charged in connection with the disappearance of Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old Memphis jogger whose abduction was caught on security video on Friday, CNN reports. Police said they used DNA from sandals found near where Fletcher was apparently abducted to identify and arrest Cleotha Abston, 38, who was charged Sunday with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence. Fletcher's phone was reportedly found with the sandals.

Abston is being held on a $500,000 bond and has so far "declined to tell investigators whether he knew where Fletcher was," NBC News reports.

Mario Abston, 36 — Cleotha Abston's brother — was also arrested and charged with drug and firearms offenses, according to the Memphis Police Department, although he is "currently not believed to be connected to Fletcher's abduction." CNN reports that a witness "said she saw Abston at his brother's house after the abduction. Both the witness and his brother said Abston was behaving oddly as he cleaned the interior of his SUV and washed his clothes in the sink."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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