This may be the very tragic end to the month-long hunt for UFC fighter Walt Harris’ stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard. The 19-year-old went missing on October 23 in Alabama, after appearing to be abducted outside of a Chevron store by a suspect who was on bond for an unrelated attempted murder and kidnapping.
CBS News reported earlier today that female human remains have been discovered in Macon County, Alabama.
“I can confirm that human remains have been found and we have good reason to suspect they are that of Aniah Blanchard,” local District Attorney Brandon Hughes told News 3.
The body was found not far from New Hope Baptist Church, just off County Road 2, reports explain.
The devastating discovery comes just days after breaks in the frustrating case finally seemed to be yielding results. As previously reported by Jiu-Jitsu Times, a 35-year-old suspect was apprehended last week and charged with kidnapping in relation to the case. That individual, Antwain “Squirmy” Fisher, joined number one suspect Ibraheem Yazeed, 30, already in custody after his arrest on November 7 in Florida.
Yazeed was brought in by law enforcement after a tipster told police they saw the young man force Blanchard into her SUV against her will shortly before her family reported her missing. Her vehicle was later found outside an apartment complex, with what authorities are referring to as “a life threatening amount of Blanchard’s blood” inside. Male DNA was also recovered from the vehicle, though it has not yet been IDed positively as Yazeed’s. Video footage from inside the Chevron put Yazeed in the same place at the same time as Blanchard, allegedly watching her over his shoulder as she shopped.
Test results confirming whether the remains are indeed Blanchard are pending.
Her family has reportedly been informed of the discovery.
