JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Local runners on Sunday honored the life of a Tennessee teacher who was abducted and killed while on an early morning run.
A group called Moms on the Run was out Sunday morning. About 50 people partook in the mile-long run. They said they were finishing “Eliza’s run.”
They started outside of the Duval County Public Schools building, with pink balloons stationed in the area. The runners were all wearing pink shirts and purple shorts, which is the outfit Eliza Fletcher wore.
Fletcher was out for her typical morning run last Friday in Memphis around 4:30 a.m. when she was abducted and forced into a sport utility vehicle. She was found dead three days later about eight miles away from where she was abducted. The man accused of kidnapping and killing her is Cleotha Abston.
The runners paying tribute to Fletcher, who was also a kindergarten teacher, say this never needed to happen but want to highlight some of the dangers they say they face while running every day.
“As a mom of kids and a grandmother, I relate to the family. As runners, we all relate to her. She wanted to do this because it was a part of her passion, things that she believed in, and for that to be taken away is very emotional for me,” said K.C. Padget, with Moms on the Run. “she should have been able to finish her run, so we are here to finish it for her.”
Fletcher was laid to rest Saturday.
The man accused of killing her is facing charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.