Image Credit: Meredith DeJarnatte Guess / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
One year after Memphis teacher and mother Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped and murdered, hundreds of individuals showed up to finish the 8.2 mile run she had started that day.
Fletcher was an avid runner who had gone out in the early morning hours to run an 8.2 mile course from the corner of Central Avenue and Belvedere Boulevard. Runners met at this location at 4:20 a.m. on Friday morning, the time when Fletcher went missing.
The course led runners down Central Avenue to Zach Curlin Street, near the University of Memphis campus. This is the area in which Fletcher was taken. Runners then returned to her starting location.
Memphis police were on hand to monitor the run as participants left signs and lit candles along the route as a memorial to Fletcher.
The run was organized by Charlie Hayden, who noted the importance of all of those who showed up.
“There’s meaning in the choices we make, and for those that chose to show up here today, I think that’s a pretty powerful message,” Hayden said.
On Thursday, before the run, the University of Memphis issued a statement announcing the first phase of a new security plan, which includes adding streetlights and increasing police officer presence near the campus.
The plan, costing almost $5 million, will also include additional fencing around the perimeter of campus and more parking lot access controls, 24/7 camera monitoring, and an emergency notification system. The funding comes from an allocation from the Tennessee General Assembly.
“Our Memphis community is facing a painful anniversary as we honor the life of Eliza Fletcher this week,” said University President Dr. Bill Hardgrave. “As Memphians gather to ‘Finish Eliza’s Run,’ we are committed to working together to ensure our campus and surrounding areas contribute to a safer Memphis.”
Fletcher went missing on the morning of September 2, 2022. Her body was discovered three days later. Accused kidnapper and murderer Cleotha Henderson is in jail awaiting trial.
One Response
Instead of running wouldn’t it have been better for these athletic hundreds to spend their time demanding that specimen like Cleotha Henderson who “has a violent past filled with charges of rape, assault, and kidnapping” be locked up after the second violent act until he was too old to commit any more “violent acts” instead of being out and about looking for the opportunity to commit kidnapping and murder?