Memphis police are searching for a school teacher they say was abducted while she was out on a jog Friday morning.
Eliza "Liza" Fletcher, 34, was jogging around 4:30 a.m. when an unidentified person approached her, police said. She was forced into a mid-sized dark SUV and taken from the scene, police said, adding that they do not have any idea the direction the vehicle was traveling.
"When we arrived on the scene we were handling possibly a missing person," Memphis Police Major Karen Rudolph told a news conference. "After further investigating we found video that did show a black SUV pull into the area across the street here where the victim was taken."
Photos released by police show Fletcher running in the neighborhood near the University of Memphis. She was last seen wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts, the police said in an alert.
Fletcher is White, 5'6," with brown hair and green eyes, police said. She weighs 137 pounds.
The teacher's damaged phone was found near the scene where she is believed to have been abducted, CrimeStoppers Executive Director Buddy Chapman said, according to a news release obtained by .
Now, the family of the mother of two is offering a US$50,000 reward through CrimeStoppers for information that would lead to an arrest in the case, WHBQ reported.
"We look forward to Eliza's safe return and hope that this award will help police capture those who committed this crime," her family said in a statement shared by Chapman.
In a post on Twitter, said Fletcher is a junior kindergarten teacher.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigationthat it is is also assisting Memphis police in the investigation into Fletcher's disappearance.
