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

[EllaMae]

Speaking of accomplices....my nieces were telling me some scary Tinder stories their friends told them. My nieces say they never use it, and I hope not, lol.
But they told me 2 scary incidents their roommates had, involving '2nd' men appearing. In both cases, the girls had met 'cute' guys on Tinder, agreed to meet them for dinner. And after a nice, fun dinner with a polite guy, they agree to go for drinks. When they get to the bar, suddenly, out of the blue, a 'friend' of the date's appears, and suddenly you have TWO men, sitting with you, leering at you.

In both cases they said it was a sudden change that felt threatening and vulnerable. And it seemed set up. One friend had called an Uber, and the 2 guys tried to talk their way into the ride with her. She kept telling the driver she didnt want them to come along and they eventually walked away.

In the other incident, the friend called her roommates, and they came and picked her up. But the 2 guys were trying hard to get her to go with them to eat breakfast and she knew it was a trap/

I do think it's possible she expected to meet up with one 'nice guy' and then at some point his friend joined them. A woman is vulnerable with one strange man, but is doubly so with two of them. JMO

I had that thought earlier today.....an accomplice. So terrifying to think of all the possibilities of what could've happened to this young woman.

 

[zencompass]

UFC heavyweight fighter Walt Harris asks for help finding his missing 19-year-old stepdaughter | Daily Mail Online

Dear @rainynights,

This is so incredibly heart-breaking to read.

My heart goes out to Aniah's family and friends during this terrible time - waiting, praying and hoping. There is always hope - even if it's hard to see.

May they all hold one another close with love and support.

 

[CuriousBystander]

For those in Auburn area, there’s mention of road work on I-85, does it include concrete barricades? From pictures of damage to right side door panel and wheel fender, the white residue and location could match up to a barricade.

It does indeed include concrete barriers that are placed very very close to the outside lines on the right hand side on the lane traveling south toward Montgomery. They are rebuilding several older bridges that were already too narrow and are now worse until construction is complete. I drove that direction today. If you are local, check out the barriers on the bridge right before mile marker 25 and the Shorter exit. Someone has plowed into the side of that one several times. It would definitely cause damage similar to what we see in the vehicle pictures.

 

[Knox]

So it’s likely this guy she was with that evening is a POI and I think it’s likely they know who this is already. Fingers crossed she’s alive

No mention of meeting a guy that night by either media or LE, only the friend gave us that info. Guess they are going to play this one close to the vest. Family said as much in a FB Post regarding information "leaking and getting out to the media".

Wonder if LE has found any black paint transfers on the route to the apartment?

 

[EllaMae]

No mention of meeting a guy that night by either media or LE, only the friend gave us that info. Guess they are going to play this one close to the vest. Family said as much in a FB Post regarding information "leaking and getting out to the media".

Wonder if LE has found any black paint transfers on the route to the apartment?

Maybe LE has a pretty good idea of who she was with at the time she went missing. They are not releasing any info about that guy, and there is almost always a very good reason for that.

 

[Ltiger4]

I’m struggling with how to word what I want to say succinctly. My thoughts are all over the place. I just can’t figure out how her car gets to Montgomery. In any scenario, a perpetrator would have his own car in Auburn to deal with, right? If the perp is an Auburn person, then why is her car even involved? It would make more sense to kidnap someone in your own car. If he’s from Montgomery, then how did he get to Auburn? Did he drive to meet her at a bar? If so, where is his car? Did he Uber to Auburn? Or is Montgomery just a decoy? Meaning, did something bad happen in Auburn, the perp disposed of her and then moved the car to a random spot to cover his tracks?

 

[CuriousBystander]

I’m struggling with how to word what I want to say succinctly. My thoughts are all over the place. I just can’t figure out how her car gets to Montgomery. In any scenario, a perpetrator would have his own car in Auburn to deal with, right? If the perp is an Auburn person, then why is her car even involved? It would make more sense to kidnap someone in your own car. If he’s from Montgomery, then how did he get to Auburn? Did he drive to meet her at a bar? If so, where is his car? Did he Uber to Auburn? Or is Montgomery just a decoy? Meaning, did something bad happen in Auburn, the perp disposed of her and then moved the car to a random spot to cover his tracks?

Good point. I will say that it is pretty common for a car load of guys to travel to Auburn during football season, attend parties and bars, pair up with a girl and go their separate ways planning to meet back up later or use their date for transportation back to their home, etc.

Most likely the potential crime occurred in Auburn or in Montgomery and probably not in between.

 

[Shboogies]

I’m struggling with how to word what I want to say succinctly. My thoughts are all over the place. I just can’t figure out how her car gets to Montgomery. In any scenario, a perpetrator would have his own car in Auburn to deal with, right? If the perp is an Auburn person, then why is her car even involved? It would make more sense to kidnap someone in your own car. If he’s from Montgomery, then how did he get to Auburn? Did he drive to meet her at a bar? If so, where is his car? Did he Uber to Auburn? Or is Montgomery just a decoy? Meaning, did something bad happen in Auburn, the perp disposed of her and then moved the car to a random spot to cover his tracks?

I unfortunately believe that this has everything to do with the guy she went out with that night. The best friend says she met him on a dating app, another friend said she met him that night. His name was apparently Eric? That's all we know and I'm sure the police know more. With every detail in this case, I do not believe anything good happened to Aniah. I just hope LE has prepared her family for that and that LE/her family are searching in areas that will find her in any given capacity. it is HEART breaking, but I have good faith that if it is the guy she went out with who was involved, it will be pretty easy to connect him. He won't get away from this.

 

[MassGuy]

I unfortunately believe that this has everything to do with the guy she went out with that night. The best friend says she met him on a dating app, another friend said she met him that night. His name was apparently Eric? That's all we know and I'm sure the police know more. With every detail in this case, I do not believe anything good happened to Aniah. I just hope LE has prepared her family for that and that LE/her family are searching in areas that will find her in any given capacity. it is HEART breaking, but I have good faith that if it is the guy she went out with who was involved, it will be pretty easy to connect him. He won't get away from this.

Agreed. We’ve seen this exact same scenario play out before, and it rarely has a happy ending.

The only way I think she’s alive, is if she took off for some reason. There is zero evidence of that occurring, and every reason to believe that’s not the case.

I think a predator met her on a dating app, and whether he planned it or not, things went sideways.

 

[tabitha111]

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!!

 

[diggndeeperstill]

UFC heavyweight fighter Walt Harris asks for help finding his missing 19-year-old stepdaughter | Daily Mail Online

BBM-
Haley-Harris said that when Blanchard dropped her brother off at his home, she told him that she might go out that night, but that he told her not to do it because she was tired and needed to go to work the next day.

Later that night, Haley-Harris said that Blanchard's college roommate chatted with her via Snapchat, asking if she was on her way home. Blanchard apparently told her roommate that she was out with a 'young man' that she had just met.

1. She must not have been a full time student?

2. This is the part I’m curious about.
I’ve always wondered what “chatted with” meant. Snapchat can be a picture, video, or chat only option. The chat could be accomplished by someone else with her phone. I suppose the video that LE have of her vehicle in Auburn is key. Was she driving, was she alone?

Where is the timeline? If Walt says she left Homewood at 8:30, she should be arriving to Auburn around 2 hours later. So brother may or may not be the last person to see her depending on the Snapchat method and if she was seen after. I think odd we haven’t heard from anyone that saw her out where she supposedly was headed.

She could have feasibly met up with someone as early as 10:30 or so depending on brothers drop off location and time spent there. So she either met someone before ATM or after. ATM was 11:20. Phone off at 11:56. Such a short timeline. I’m thinking the meeting place was somewhere before going out (if she went out) because of the quick timeline.

Arriving to bar, meeting the person, getting drink takes a few minutes I’d think. She then had to either agree to leave or become incapacitated and underage in a bar in that short timeframe.

 

[diggndeeperstill]

That is terrifying..,

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.

 

[diggndeeperstill]

I want to scream it from the rooftops for girls to leave these things alone. It’s will be so sad if this is the case, so soon after ML. Predators are completely using these apps. It’s not worth the risk.

Agreed. We’ve seen this exact same scenario play out before, and it rarely has a happy ending.

The only way I think she’s alive, is if she took off for some reason. There is zero evidence of that occurring, and every reason to believe that’s not the case.

I think a predator met her on a dating app, and whether he planned it or not, things went sideways.

 

[katydid23]

I’m struggling with how to word what I want to say succinctly. My thoughts are all over the place. I just can’t figure out how her car gets to Montgomery. In any scenario, a perpetrator would have his own car in Auburn to deal with, right? If the perp is an Auburn person, then why is her car even involved? It would make more sense to kidnap someone in your own car. If he’s from Montgomery, then how did he get to Auburn? Did he drive to meet her at a bar? If so, where is his car? Did he Uber to Auburn? Or is Montgomery just a decoy? Meaning, did something bad happen in Auburn, the perp disposed of her and then moved the car to a random spot to cover his tracks?

A lot of young men don't have their own cars. He may have walked or taken a bus or an Uber to meet up with her. Sometimes a girl will let her date drive her car, because it feels 'better' in a way, to have your date driving you around, instead of you driving him around. If that makes sense...

Lots of 'shady' type guys can pretend to be stable, when meeting a new girl---but they might not be as together as they seem. It is quite possible he set up a date with her and lied about why he didn't have a car with him---its in the shop, he is buying a new one, etc etc

19 yr old girls may tend to overlook a lot of red flags, when meeting a new guy.

Then again, he may have had his car all along. Parked it when he met up with her, and they only took one car to their next location. OR she drove her car to him, and his was parked, but he moved hers after things went sideways, so her car wouldn't lead others back to him?

As mentioned above, he may have had someone following him to pick him up after he dumped the car. However, he might have friends or family near that apartment complex, and parked the car and walked to a friend's.

 

[katydid23]

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!!

 

[sleepysleuth]

I’ve been holding out hope that she wrecked her car and was hiding out because she didn’t want to be in trouble. The longer this goes on though, the less likely that seems.

I know they said that her Life 360 was disabled. I wonder if that would happen if someone tossed her phone out the window and it broke? Does Life 360 report the place where the location was disabled? If that’s the case, I wonder if that area has been thoroughly searched for her phone?

 

[Ltiger4]

I’m local, so I get the football season thing, but this was a Wednesday night. Now that I think about it, Wednesday nights downtown are pretty busy with the church crowds eating out (our oldest goes to a youth function downtown every Wednesday night). Of course, all of that clears out by 9 or so.

Good point. I will say that it is pretty common for a car load of guys to travel to Auburn during football season, attend parties and bars, pair up with a girl and go their separate ways planning to meet back up later or use their date for transportation back to their home, etc.

Most likely the potential crime occurred in Auburn or in Montgomery and probably not in between.

 

[oviedo]

LE has to find the guy she was supposed to meet IMO - without her phone online there doesn’t seem to be much else
JMO

 

[Luckyzmom]

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!!

That's creepy, thanks for sharing it ! Washington seems to attract people seeking to leave their history behind. Spent a couple year up there growing up. Definitely some unforgettable people live there. So glad you got the heck out of that diner !!

 

[HelpingHeart]

Praying for her return.

Were there camera images found from the bars that showed her leaving and heading toward the interstate? And if so, is the direction she was heading, going back to her apartment? I wonder if she was ran off the road and mugged, and tossed somewhere. Or if she wrecked into a barrier and then stopped - and then the person who stopped to help her, was bad? Or she stopped at a gas station after to assess the damages and as harmed then?

Is there a gas station they could look into that is off the nearest exit of where her car was found, or some other exit? It may show who was driving it. Or even intestate cameras.