The granddaughter of Joseph Orgill III, who inherited and ran a hardware company that now claims over $3 billion in annual sales, has been abducted by unknown assailants. The family has offered a $50,000 reward for her safe return.
Eliza “Liza” Fletcher is a 34-year-old pre-kindergarten teacher and the mother of two children. She also stands to inherit the Orgill fortune, with The Daily Beast calling her the heir to the company. However, while the company is privately held, it has been run by a professional management team since 1980 and while it was reported at the time that the Orgill family remained the largest stockholder in the company, its ownership structure today is unclear.
Fletcher was last seen jogging near the University of Memphis around 4:20 am. Police say she was grabbed by a male assailant and after a brief struggle, was forced into a Dark SUV, later identified as a GMC Terrain. Her water bottle and smashed phone were found near the scene. She was reported missing at 7:45 am on Friday.
Police say they found a vehicle of interest in the case and detained the man who was driving it but declined to provide any more details. The police also searched Fletcher’s home on Friday but did not provide details on what they took or why. They also towed the family’s Jeep Grand Wagoneer, also for an unknown reason.
Police were spotted searching the Old Forest State Natural Area of Overton Park, roughly three miles from where police say Fletcher was abducted, again the police declined to provide more details to reporters.
Fletcher is 5’6” tall, 137 pounds with brown hair. She was wearing purple shorts and a pink sports bra when she was abducted.
“She and her husband Ritchie are both very active and great leaders in our congregation,” George Robertson, the pastor of the Fletcher’s church, told the Commercial Appeal. “We also grieve the abduction that occurred a couple of days ago near Wolfchase. We grieve all of this kind of violence and evil in our city. It just makes us grieve. We grieve for ourselves, we grieve for the Fletchers and we also grieve for our city. Our whole city is hurting.”
At least 100 kidnappings have taken place in the Memphis area in 2022, according to public safety data.