Found Deceased AL - Aniah Haley Blanchard, 19, Auburn, Lee County, 23 Oct 2019

[diggndeeperstill]

Correct this footage says she made a PURCHASE! So just before being spotted on south college and I 85, she made a purchase at a chevron according to police.

Well if she was just meeting up with a "young man", I could see how they might be going dutch. I wouldnt expect somebody I was just out and about with to pay for my night. Esp a fellow broke college student. Perhaps they were just meeting up OR just met - then I could see where getting her own money may make sense. Again, do we know she was already with him at this time? also do we know that she went to the ATM here in this footage? I thought I remembered reading what time she took money out - but not sure.

 

[diggndeeperstill]

I will share this tweet however. Her dad making a plea for her return. ABC News on Twitter

 

[diggndeeperstill]

The Chevron possibilities are attached. I wonder if she stopped and got gas on the way home and bought something inside.

In looking at registered offenders in that area, there are offenders very near each of those chevrons.

 

[NicMed329]

Homicide investigation ongoing after woman found dead inside Auburn home

Just came across this. Hoping it's not Aniah. There's another article people are referencing from almost 2 weeks ago but this appears separate I think.

 

[diggndeeperstill]

Oh wow! Thanks

Homicide investigation ongoing after woman found dead inside Auburn home

Just came across this. Hoping it's not Aniah. There's another article people are referencing from almost 2 weeks ago but this appears separate I think.

That appears to be a nice area.

ETA:: this article appears to be old. It referenced Thursday. Not sure why the date is updated. But as it’s not Thursday, and nothing come out about it since, then I’m gonna say it’s the original story from a couple weeks ago and there was an arrest of a female I believe.

 

[Mrs. Beasley]

I thought this too - but then I wondered if that didn’t fit the bill of an opportunist. It’s possible they never even knew who she was until the alarms started ringing.

Have there been reports in the area of attempted carjackings?

I saw that several locals mentioned an uptick in crime in recent years. Does anyone have any idea if aside from regular national economic hardships if any economic stressors/events have happened/are happening in the area to explain this?

Why do we think Aniah was taking out money at 11:30 at night? What for? Could be for anything but in the vein of teen college student: possibly drug related?

Regarding the Venmo payment from her father: was it ever specified if they had food together? Did she pick it up and bring it? Did they order a pizza and she had cash and paid? Or was the money for her to get some food later?

Last - has there been an uptick in missing students? A short search showed me that there is one other, a 21 year old male student named Chih-Kai Lai who disappeared in August, just before term. There isn’t enough to show any relation but definitely something to keep in mind.

Let me know if I’ve broken any rules, new poster!

I live in the Montgomery area. I have a freshman at Auburn Univ. About Lai, I've been concerned with his disappearance. There hasn't been much talk about him. In fact when I asked my daughter about him she wasn't even aware. I can't believe the Univ. didn't make a big deal over this. Now with Aniah missing it has put me on high alert . I call my daughter every night just because this has made me a nervous wreck.

Before Aniah's disappearance I spoke with head of campus security after Auburn tweeted about people passing out religious information on campus and there was an investigation. it was an odd thing to Tweet. My daughter had been handed a Bible the week before this Tweet. One comment got my attention. The person said there had been a rumor of possible human trafficking. I called just to see if the person passing out the Bibles were those being investigated. It was not. I was relieved because I was terrified that my daughter had been a target. I was told they found nothing linking these people handing out "business cards" to human trafficking . Now with Aniah missing I'm not so sure now.

I hope that made sense.

 

[CuriousBystander]

Oh wow! Thanks


That appears to be a nice area.

ETA:: this article appears to be old. It referenced Thursday. Not sure why the date is updated. But as it’s not Thursday, and nothing come out about it since, then I’m gonna say it’s the original story from a couple weeks ago and there was an arrest of a female I believe.

You are correct. That was a case of a teenager killing a fathers fiancé. Teenager was disturbed.

 

[OldCop]

“The Auburn Police Division, as part of the ongoing joint investigation with the Montgomery Police Department, is releasing a snippet of a video capturing Aniah Haley Blanchard making a purchase at a convenience store located on South College Street, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, just prior to her vehicle being observed traveling south bound on South College Street.”
Auburn PD says the video was taken just prior to her vehicle being observed traveling southbound on South College St. This leads me to believe she stopped at the Chevron at 1599 South College. This would be the one north of 85. It would follow that she left the Sky Bar area, travelled south on So College, stopped to “make a purchase” where we see her on video and then her car is seen further south on South College close to 85. The car is found 2 days later at the Park Place Apts. We do not know who, if anyone, was observed driving the vehicle after the stop at the convenience store.

 

[Mrs. Beasley]

“The Auburn Police Division, as part of the ongoing joint investigation with the Montgomery Police Department, is releasing a snippet of a video capturing Aniah Haley Blanchard making a purchase at a convenience store located on South College Street, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, just prior to her vehicle being observed traveling south bound on South College Street.”
Auburn PD says the video was taken just prior to her vehicle being observed traveling southbound on South College St. This leads me to believe she stopped at the Chevron at 1599 South College. This would be the one north of 85. It would follow that she left the Sky Bar area, travelled south on So College, stopped to “make a purchase” where we see her on video and then her car is seen further south on South College close to 85. The car is found 2 days later at the Park Place Apts. We do not know who, if anyone, was observed driving the vehicle after the stop at the convenience store.

I live in the Mtgy area. When you exit I-85 and enter Atlanta Hwy. you pass at least 3 other apartments before arriving to the apartments where her car was found. I know Mtgy very well and I believe whoever left her car there knows the area. The apartments aren't visible from Atlanta Hwy. I didn't even know they were there. But maybe the person drove around until they found a more secluded place.

 

[Drc40]

I live in the Mtgy area. When you exit I-85 and enter Atlanta Hwy. you pass at least 3 other apartments before arriving to the apartments where her car was found. I know Mtgy very well and I believe whoever left her car there knows the area. The apartments aren't visible from Atlanta Hwy. I didn't even know they were there. But maybe the person drove around until they found a more secluded place.

There is also a couple of retirement and assisted living communities nearby. Doubt the developers expected the area to deteriorate when they were built. Sad...

BTW: when does anyone remember 85 HASNT been under construction? Seems like every highway to Atlanta has road work going on for 20 years. .

 

[gavandmimi]

I live in the Mtgy area. When you exit I-85 and enter Atlanta Hwy. you pass at least 3 other apartments before arriving to the apartments where her car was found. I know Mtgy very well and I believe whoever left her car there knows the area. The apartments aren't visible from Atlanta Hwy. I didn't even know they were there. But maybe the person drove around until they found a more secluded place.

Those apts. are gonna be more important than just a vehicle dump.

 

[MassGuy]

I live in the Mtgy area. When you exit I-85 and enter Atlanta Hwy. you pass at least 3 other apartments before arriving to the apartments where her car was found. I know Mtgy very well and I believe whoever left her car there knows the area. The apartments aren't visible from Atlanta Hwy. I didn't even know they were there. But maybe the person drove around until they found a more secluded place.

Which would also follow the typical pattern. People tend to revert to what is familiar to them, especially when you’re talking about crime.

They’ll dump a body, or in this case a vehicle, in a place they know.

 

[NicMed329]

I live in the Montgomery area. I have a freshman at Auburn Univ. About Lai, I've been concerned with his disappearance. There hasn't been much talk about him. In fact when I asked my daughter about him she wasn't even aware. I can't believe the Univ. didn't make a big deal over this. Now with Aniah missing it has put me on high alert . I call my daughter every night just because this has made me a nervous wreck.

Before Aniah's disappearance I spoke with head of campus security after Auburn tweeted about people passing out religious information on campus and there was an investigation. it was an odd thing to Tweet. My daughter had been handed a Bible the week before this Tweet. One comment got my attention. The person said there had been a rumor of possible human trafficking. I called just to see if the person passing out the Bibles were those being investigated. It was not. I was relieved because I was terrified that my daughter had been a target. I was told they found nothing linking these people handing out "business cards" to human trafficking . Now with Aniah missing I'm not so sure now.

I hope that made sense.

Unfortunately the primary goal of college campuses is to keep things under raps so that the university doesn't "look bad." That's why there are such massive underreported sexual assaults on college campuses. When a student reports it to the college, it's their job to make sure nothing ruins the college's reputation.

 

[OldCop]

To further add to my previous post, I believe Aniah was either 1) accosted as she got back into her vehicle at the convenience store or 2) she volunteered to drive her “date” back towards Montgomery, (maybe Auburn Uni, Montgomery campus?) and she was assaulted in the vehicle at some point. Perhaps this is when the damage to her vehicle occurred. There is also a rest area on 85 between Auburn and Montgomery, the Macon County Rest Area. Perhaps he asked her to pull off so he could use the facilities and overtook her there. The rest areas usually have some video cameras, but the area is pretty isolated. I think one of these theories make more sense as the other scenarios would likely mean the perp had a vehicle and would need an accomplice to get back to it after driving her car to the apartment bldg lot.

 

[moonriverfarm]

Also a Montgomery native. Agree these apartments are not "on" the Atlanta Highway (which would make them visible) but off behind some businesses. I have never seen them, as many times as I drive past the turn off to get to them.
Her last seen location would have been at exit 51 and these apartments are at or around exit 9 off I-85. So I believe whoever parked her car there lives in Montgomery.

 

[Subiechik21]

Curious about the life360 app. Would someone have to log out of the app or delete it from the phone for it to be considered disabled? I’m afraid my thoughts are leading me think she might have tried to access it to receive help and the perp might have seen it.

Hoping for a good outcome for Aniah and her family but with what we know so far I don’t think it’s looking good : (

I found a couple of FAQ's about the Life360 app site, this will take you to the location section, but they have other FAQ's on the side
Support - Life360
Life360 Family Locator: How do I stop sharing my location?

 

[gavandmimi]

Could be a carjacking that went terribly wrong & she hit him so damn hard that it sent him into a kill rage.(made him run into something). Maybe not even a carjacking but someone who just said “can u just run me up here” & tries to make a move & she realizes she is in trouble, fights & sends him to rage.

 

[ThinkThinkThink]

I remember when I lived in Washington state many years ago and I answered a dating ad in the newspaper...yikes, that makes me feel old.
I met this guy at a tiny diner during the day. It was an odd date from the beginning..he didn't order anything or offer to get me anything..we just sat there. Next thing I know, some guy drives up and he goes "oh here he is" and this other guy walks in, sits next to me, both are gawking at me. I was just so young and naive, I didn't know what to do. But that's not the strangest thing that happened on this date, the guy that came in had a scrapbook to show me..
A scrapbook full of newspaper clippings solely about some murders of a young couple on the Bremerton ferry (Murder of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg - Wikipedia)
I never forgot to this day how creeped out I felt...I finally came to my senses and got the heck out of there! I wonder to this day if one of them was the killer. I do see he was finally found many years later. 2018, And his age is about right!!

I had to pause - as I catch up on this thread - to comment on this. Yikes, Tabitha!! I'm so glad you're here with us today. I've had my own (what I consider) "close calls," and it was always that gut-level check that I feel saved me. We should never ignore our own gut, as our subconscious picks up on so much. I think girls/women (especially) can still be too concerned about being seen as over-reacting or being impolite if we cut out , but no -- we gotta go with our gut, from the earliest indicator something feels "off." Yes, maybe there have been times I've looked positively skittish. Oh well! My motto: If in doubt, get OUT.

 

[llk0924]

meh, as a college student it was not far fetched for me to stop at the ATM before or in the middle of - a night out. Many bars and clubs have cover charges that you have to pay in cash.

Do we know that she went into the store to use the ATM? I thought I read that she made a purchase. I do know they have her making a withdraw at some point - but was this video time stamped at the same time?

If it is true that she was seen at either Sky Bar or Southeastern that night, there is an ATM located directly next to both of those bars. It's an external ATM that is on the sidewalk just down from these bars. Looking at the events going on last week, it appears Southeasten had a DJ the evening she went missing. I grew up in Alabama and went to Auburn for grad school, it's been awhile but I feel like Wednesday was always a night to go out for drink specials and if there was an special event, I remember having to pay a cover sometimes. Perhaps she was meeting someone at Southeastern?

 

[dotr]

‘Hopeful, but very concerned’ in the search for Aniah Blanchard
Updated October 29 at 5:04 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC/WSFA) - Auburn police said Tuesday they are “hopeful, but very concerned” about missing 19-year-old Homewood teen Aniah Blanchard.

Officers said they are investigating foul play as an option in Aniah’s disappearance Wednesday, Oct. 23, but they are not saying that’s what happened.

Officers would also not say how Aniah met a man her mother said she was going to see.