Found Deceased TN - Eliza "Liza" Fletcher, 34, Abducted while jogging 4:30 am, forced into SUV, Central Ave near Univ of M, personal items found, Memphis 2 Sept 2022

[wary]

I haven't yet seen an official statement directly from police that uses the word "smashed" to describe the phone.

I have seen articles on multiple local Memphis news sites authored by a Jacob Gallant that state: "Police say Fletcher’s phone was found smashed and the phone and her water bottle were found in front of a home on Central Ave." I have also seen other articles refer to the phone as being smashed that each cite as the source, not police, but one of the news sites on which Mr. Gallant's article was published.

If anyone else has seen a statement directly from police that characterizes the phone as "smashed," please link to it.

For now, I don't know whether "smashed" is a word that the police or anyone else who saw the phone actually used or if it's the reporter's word. Nor do I know, if a LEO or witness who saw the phone characterized it as "smashed", truly meant "smashed" over merely "scratched", "cracked", etc..

For example, I've seen plenty of people still using phones with horribly scratched/chipped screens. Could that be the case here? Could Ms. Fletcher have already had a banged up/scratched up screen (it's not all that unlikely given she's a runner and has kids)? If the phone truly is in "smashed" condition, perhaps the vehicle or another vehicle driving by later happened to drive over it. Or perhaps the abductor grabbed it from her and just threw it hard down on the ground/curb?

Many possibilities still open given the typical early-post-incident-fog that clouds reporting and no direct statement from police on the phone's condition.

I agree. ‘Smashed’ could easily be a word that was chosen by one reporter, and then copied by a few dozen others. And we can’t know what it signifies, until we get a detailed description.

Now, if the phone had taken a dozen good blows with a hammer—that would be quite thought-provoking.

On the other hand, my phone screen shattered into a cobweb of pieces from being dropped about 1.5 feet. (I assume it had some invisible stresses and hit at just the right angle.) I could easily visualize that turning into ‘smashed,’ as one person reported what another had seen.

 

[justtrish]

Wow interesting updates with the items taken from the house.

Is it possible those garden scissors were found outside the home and don't belong to the family? If someone knew her route, maybe someone knew where she lived and has been watching her/following her? I really hope this isn't a husband harming his wife. I don't get that feeling at all. Knowing the family has some money and there is possible court ties, it's possible someone is getting back at someone or this is targeted not for her specifically, but to get at someone else? I'd think a ransom would be known by now unless this go so much media attention and the kidnapper didn't expect that and now they are panicked about trying to make a ransom demand.

 

[Thinker Belle]

I could be totally off but I’m starting to really believe this was planned and she was targeted rather than this being a random abduction. JMO

 

[Herat]

DM reports that Memphis has had 100 reported abductions in the last 244 days.

I could understand 100 murders in 244 days, but I think of abductions as being much rarer.

Memphis mom-of-two, 34, is abducted by SUV driver during 4:30am jog

Cops are frantically hunting for a Memphis mom-of-two who was abducted and bundled into an SUV during a 4:30am jog Friday morning.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[otto]

Wow interesting updates with the items taken from the house.

Is it possible those garden scissors were found outside the home and don't belong to the family? If someone knew her route, maybe someone knew where she lived and has been watching her/following her? I really hope this isn't a husband harming his wife. I don't get that feeling at all. Knowing the family has some money and there is possible court ties, it's possible someone is getting back at someone or this is targeted not for her specifically, but to get at someone else? I'd think a ransom would be known by now unless this go so much media attention and the kidnapper didn't expect that and now they are panicked about trying to make a ransom demand.

For comparison ...

Hannah Graham was walking down a busy street when a predator spotted that she was alone and a bit drunk. He crossed the street and followed her, putting his arm around her like he was a friend and offered to buy her a drink. He abducted and murdered her ... after buying her a drink at a club.

Molley Tibbetts was jogging her usual route when a farm employee spotted her. He watched her for a couple of weeks, rumours are he even met her once through the mother of his child. He knew her route and waited for her to run along a cornfield before parking his car, grabbing her, tossing her into the trunk, hitting her in the head, and he killed her within an hour of abduction.

It's not about who she is, in my opinion, but entirely about her apparent vulnerability. Someone who was looking for vulnerability saw her, made a plan, and took her.

Naomi Irion also comes to mind. Her morning route was identical every day, stopping for coffee along the same route as the man that murdered her.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

She's an ultra runner.

Liza Fletcher's Results

ultrasignup.com

Instagram Liza Fletcher (@lizawfletcher) • Instagram photos and videos

Good find! She's a quite fast runner, finished first woman overall in two recent 25k trail races and the 90-100% rankings are impressive (that's how you compare to others of the same gender/age). It would probably annoy her to be called a jogger.

ETA If she was training for an upcoming race, she probably had a variety of routes and distances she was using, ie a training plan with speedwork drills, long runs etc. I doubt it would be the exact same route every time.

 

[minneolo]

My own speculation at this point:
+ Stolen SUV is not the car in question
+ Garden shears are a red herring
+ “Smashed” is an over-statement about the phone’s condition. Though an angry perp could have thrown her phone down on the sidewalk in anger and cracked it quite easily

What I want to know more about:
+ Was she wearing a smartwatch / GPS watch and what datas is available
+ What other camera evidence is there (either of the car’s getaway or perhaps Liza on runs in the last days/weeks, and if any SUVs seemed to be lingering)
+ What can camera clean-up tell us about the abduction (e.g., 1 perp or 2, anything about the age / race / build / etc of the man who abducted Liza)

I’m a creature of habit. I go the same places in my (very walkable) city neighborhood most days, take the same routes, use the same patters. That probably isn’t such a great idea.

 

[CharlestonGal]

She was abducted during her regular jogging route by someone who stole a vehicle between midnight and 3 AM. That suggests pre-meditated abduction.

That suggests that he has seen her in the past couple of weeks, he knows her jogging route, and he might know where she lives. He might have gone to her house unseen and tried to get into the vehicle. Who knows. Checking the car for evidence is probably to rule things out.

Regarding the garden shears, either something on the property was cut, or they were found at the wrong place in the yard.

I missed something somewhere. The vehicle has been identified and it is stolen?

 

[UnapologeticallyAspie]

The Heavy.com article is updated with info about a black SUV stolen between midnight and 3. The owner thinks it's the SUV in the police photos. Maybe...

Eliza 'Liza' Fletcher Abducted: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Eliza Fletcher is a teacher who was abducted in the City of Memphis, Tennessee, while jogging.

heavy.com

"A woman wrote on the Fox 13 television station’s Facebook comment thread on the case that her sister drove a similar vehicle that was stolen between midnight and 3 a.m. on the morning in question. It’s not clear whether it’s the same vehicle, though, although the comment writer believes it was."

View attachment 363556

My third guess was a Mercedes! I just didn’t post it on here.

 

[Stunned]

I missed something somewhere. The vehicle has been identified and it is stolen?

The stolen vehicle has not been identified as the vehicle in question.

 

[caradana]

She is an incredible runner. Is there an equivalent to what Strava is to biking for running? Runkeeper, the Under Armour apps maybe? (was her location broadcast?)

Hard to rationally fathom this as random; there were far easier places to find, much less grab, far more pliant women at 4:30 AM (Beale is less than three miles west). Is this case similar to Eve Carson? (very possible). Or is this case similar to Sherri Papini? (hopefully less possible). Fearful case.

 

[otto]

Good find! She's a quite fast runner, finished first woman overall in two recent 25k trail races and the 90-100% rankings are impressive (that's how you compare to others of the same gender/age). It would probably annoy her to be called a jogger.

ETA If she was training for an upcoming race, she probably had a variety of routes and distances she was using, ie a training plan with speedwork drills, long runs etc. I doubt it would be the same route every time.

It's possible that she wasn't too worried about meeting a bad person during her early morning run ... because she can read the environment, and she can out-run most.

What she wasn't prepared for was someone stepping in front of her in the 4:20 AM light, grabbing her and carrying her to his obscured vehicle. Sunrise was at 6:35 AM.

Sunrise and sunset times in Memphis, September 2024

Calculations of sunrise and sunset in Memphis – Tennessee – USA for September 2024. Generic astronomy calculator to calculate times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset for many cities, with daylight saving time and time zones taken in account.

www.timeanddate.com

Maybe she was carried away after losing her water bottle and her phone in front of a house? That means she was beside the Church, where there are houses on that street. She was on the South side of the street.

"Her description is 5 foot, 6 inches tall, 137 pounds with brown hair and green eyes."

 

[cshea99]

Anyone from Memphis - from this location, what is thequickest

My own speculation at this point:
+ Stolen SUV is not the car in question
+ Garden shears are a red herring
+ “Smashed” is an over-statement about the phone’s condition. Though an angry perp could have thrown her phone down on the sidewalk in anger and cracked it quite easily

What I want to know more about:
+ Was she wearing a smartwatch / GPS watch and what datas is available
+ What other camera evidence is there (either of the car’s getaway or perhaps Liza on runs in the last days/weeks, and if any SUVs seemed to be lingering)
+ What can camera clean-up tell us about the abduction (e.g., 1 perp or 2, anything about the age / race / build / etc of the man who abducted Liza)

I’m a creature of habit. I go the same places in my (very walkable) city neighborhood most days, take the same routes, use the same patters. That probably isn’t such a great idea.

Garmin watch

 

[MountainGal33]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565867465158033410

Those are yellow evidence markers. And they are used to mark evidence at a crime scene. Am I right?

So this is troubling.

 

[MassGuy]

The news photographer at the house believes the vehicle that was towed was in fact Liza's.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565861393508847616

 

[Herat]

It's possible that she wasn't too worried about meeting a bad person during her early morning run ... because she can read the environment, and she can out-run most.

What she wasn't prepared for was someone stepping in front of her in the 4:20 AM light, grabbing her and carrying her to his obscured vehicle. Sunrise was at 6:35 AM.

Sunrise and sunset times in Memphis, September 2024

Calculations of sunrise and sunset in Memphis – Tennessee – USA for September 2024. Generic astronomy calculator to calculate times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset for many cities, with daylight saving time and time zones taken in account.

www.timeanddate.com

Maybe she was carried away after losing her water bottle and her phone in front of a house? That means she was beside the Church, where there are houses on that street. She was on the South side of the street.

"Her description is 5 foot, 6 inches tall, 137 pounds with brown hair and green eyes."

A check of the sunrise records for Memphis note that it's nighttime dark up to 5 am and Astronomical twilight doesn't start until 5:05, so there wouldn't yet be perceptible light in the sky when she was abducted.

Sunrise and Sunset for Memphis, TN

www.almanac.com

Sunrise and sunset times in Memphis

Calculations of sunrise and sunset in Memphis – Tennessee – USA for September 2024. Generic astronomy calculator to calculate times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset for many cities, with daylight saving time and time zones taken in account.

www.timeanddate.com

 

[otto]

I missed something somewhere. The vehicle has been identified and it is stolen?

I'll look for the link - I saw something upthread

 

[gliving]

Garmin watch

It has to be paired with a phone for real time data. Her phone is not with her. Although it appears her contacts could know her running location until she was abducted.

Garmin epix™ | Premium Outdoor Smartwatch

epix is a premium smartwatch designed for the active lifestyle. Featuring a stunning AMOLED display, 24/7 Health & Wellness features & much more.

www.garmin.com

SAFETY AND TRACKING FEATURES​

When your watch and phone are paired, your live location can be sent to your contacts manually or — during select outdoor activities — automatically with built-in incident detection5.

ETA I don't know if EF had a Garmin watch.

 

[MassGuy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565877472327094275

 

[Mariposa]

All indications are the report of a male forcing her into a vehicle is based on camera footage, correct? Not eyewitnesses? I wonder if more video footage may be released by the police shortly, or if it is of low quality so no one would be able to say “hey that guy looks/walks familiar”.