Cops believe body found in Macon, Alabama belongs to Aniah Blanchard, 19, daughter of UFC heavyweight fighter who vanished last month – Third suspect is arrested in the case
Skeletal human remains believed to be those of Aniah Blanchard were found in Macon County, Alabama, Monday – a month after she vanished after visiting convenience store
Lee County DA says he has ‘good reason’ to suspect the victim is Blanchard, the missing stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight fighter Walt Harris
Family of the 19-year-old Blanchard already have been notified of the find
Police on Monday arrested a third suspect, David Johnson Jr on charges of hindering prosecution
Antwain Shamar Fisher, 35, was arrested in connection with the case Friday, charged with first-degree kidnapping and is being held without bond
Police say Fisher helped another suspect, Ibraheem Yazeed, by disposing of evidence and driving him around
Yazeed, 30, was arrested on Nov 7 in Florida and charged with kidnapping Aniah Blanchard who was last seen at a gas station convenience store in Auburn on Oct 23
A witness said he saw Yazeed forcing Blanchard into her car and kidnapping her
Fisher’s criminal record includes a 2004 felony murder conviction, Yazeed similarly has a past of violent crimes
A body believed to be missing 19-year-old college student, Aniah Blanchard [photo], was found this morning in Macon County, Alabama
The body was found on Monday in Macon County, more than a month after Blanchard was last seen alive at a convenience store in Auburn.
‘I can confirm that human remains have been found and we have good reason to suspect they are that of Aniah Blanchard,’ said District Attorney Brandon Hughes to News 3.
Just hours later, law enforcement officials announced the arrest of a third suspect in connection to the case, identified as David Johnson Jr.Auburn Police released the following statement late Monday afternoon: ‘During the course of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Aniah Blanchard, investigators obtained information regarding the possible location of a body.
On November 25, 2019, at approximately 10:45 a.m., Auburn Police, along with members of the Task Force, Lee County DA’s Office, U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, ALEA and Montgomery County Sheriff Office, responded to a wooded area in the 38,000 block of County Road 2 in Shorter, Alabama.
After a brief search by Investigators they located what appeared to be human remains several feet into the woodline. A complete investigation is underway by ALEA and Auburn Police to determine the identity and how the victim came to be at that location.
The examination will explore if the remains are those of Aniah Blanchard who went missing on October 24, 2019.’
Blanchard’s family has been notified of the grim discovery, but the case remains under investigation by the Auburn Police Division.
![Antwain Shamar Fisher, [left], and Ibraheem Yazeed [right] 1.JPG](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Antwain-Shamar-Fisher-left-and-Ibraheem-Yazeed-right-1.jpg?resize=620%2C442&ssl=1)
Antwain Shamar Fisher, [left], is accused of hiding evidence and driving the first suspect, Ibraheem Yazeed [right], around at the time of 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard’s disappearance
The skeletal remains were located off Highway 80 in Shorter, Alabama, located halfway between Auburn, where Blanchard was last seen alive, and Montgomery, where her damaged and bloodied SUV was found.
According to a statement from Auburn Police, officers acting on a tip arrived at a wooded area in the 38000 block of County Road 2 at around 10.45am.
‘After a brief search by Investigators they located what appeared to be human remains several feet into the woodline,’ the press release stated.
In a related development, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes confirmed on Monday afternoon that suspect David Johnson Jr, from Montgomery, has been charged with hindering prosecution for his alleged role in Blanchard’s disappearance, reported Montgomery Advertiser.
Earlier today, a second suspect arrested last week in Blanchard’s case has been accused of disposing of evidence.
Aniah Blanchard was last seen at a gas station convenience store the night of Oct 23. She is seen here on the store’s surveillance video
Pearly in the investigation, police released surveillance video stills of Ibraheem Yazeed, [L-R], who was at the convenience at the same time as Blanchard on Oct 23
Two days later on October 25 the teen’s black Honda CR-V was found abandoned and damaged at Park Place Apartments in Montgomery.
Police said Blanchard’s blood was found inside her SUV and it appeared she had suffered a life-threatening injury.
After authorities released CCTV footage of Blanchard’s last known movement and made a public appeal in helping to identify a person of interest seen on surveillance video inside the same Auburn convenience store on the night of October 23.
Within a day Ibraheem Yazeed, 30, was arrested on kidnapping charges in Escambia County, Florida.
A second suspect, Antwain ‘Squirmy’ Fisher, was arrested November 22, on kidnapping charges for allegedly helping Yazeed by getting rid of evidence and driving him.
Fisher, 35, of Montgomery, Alabama, who has a murder conviction stemming from an unrelated case, was taken into custody on Friday on first-degree kidnapping charges in Blanchard’s disappearance last month.
In an arrest warrant filed with the court Monday, police said Fisher helped Yazeed by disposing of unspecified evidence and chauffeuring him around.
Fisher was denied bond because of his lengthy criminal past, which includes a felony murder conviction.
He is due back in court on December 18.
Blanchard was last seen on October 23 in Auburn. Her stepfather is UFC fighter Walt Harris of metro Birmingham. She was last seen on Oct 23 in Auburn. Her car was found in Montgomery, Alabama, two days after she vanished. Authorities said Blanchard’s blood and male DNA was found in the car. There has been no news of the missing college student until Monday
He was arrested on November 7 after authorities received a tip that he had been spotted near Interstate 10 in Escambia County, Florida.
Yazeed’s alleged accomplice, Fisher, was charged with capital murder during first-degree robbery in 2004, reported Opelika-Auburn News.
Two years later, Fisher pled guilty to felony murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, of which 17 were suspended, followed by three years of probation.
In arguing against setting a bond for the suspect on Monday, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes told the judge that Fisher helped Yazeed leave Alabama following Blanchard’s disappearance.
Fisher’s attorney countered by pointing out that the 35-year-old is a married father of four who remained in Montgomery and was arrested at home.
In an arrest warrant filed Monday, police said Antwain Shamar Fisher [photo], helped Ibraheem Yazeed by disposing of unspecified evidence and chauffeuring him around.
Career criminal Ibraheem Yazeed was arrested in Florida [left] on Nov 7 and returned to Alabama. He is also seen in a mugshot in unrelated incident’s mugshot [right]
Surveillance video footage from the night she went missing showed Blanchard at a convenience store in Auburn at the same time as Yazeed.
A witness then told police that he saw Yazeed forcing Blanchard into her own car – a black 2017 Honda CRV – and kidnapping her.
Blanchard’s SUV was found abandoned more than 50 miles away at an apartment complex in Montgomery two days after she went missing.
Pictures released by authorities show damage to the right front side of the car, as well as what appears to be scrape marks along the front passenger side door. The left side of the car appears to be undamaged.
Auburn police Detective Josh Mixon said Blanchard´s blood was found in the car, and it appeared she had suffered a life-threatening injury.
Blanchard is the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris seen in [photo, left in black] with her. Harris issued a plea on social media asking people to help find his daughter when she went missing
![Aniah Blanchard [right) and her mother, Angela Harris [left] 1](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Aniah-Blanchard-right-and-her-mother-Angela-Harris-left-1.jpg?resize=620%2C583&ssl=1)
The missing teen, Aniah Blanchard, is seen [right], with her mother, Angela Harris
Blanchard’s stepfather Walt Harris and her mother, Angela Harris appeared on Dr. Phil in an effort to find their daughter who is still missing. The family has been notified of the finding, Monday, of remains likely to be hers
Yazeed wearing white] was arrested and charged Wednesday with Blanchard’s kidnapping after a witness said he was seen forcing Blanchard into her car and driving away
Mixon said the witness, who was staying at a hotel near the convenience store, didn’t immediately tell police what he saw after his girlfriend told him not to get involved. He said the witness later cried over his delay in talking to police.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, told a Lee County judge that male DNA was found in Blanchard’s car, and the judge ordered Yazeed to submit a DNA sample.
Lee County District Judge Russell Bush denied bond for Yazeed, who also is charged with kidnapping, and said the case against Yazeed can proceed to a grand jury.
He denied a defense request to have prosecutors disclose the identity of the witness whose testimony is the main evidence linking Yazeed to the girl’s disappearance.
Prosecutors said they wanted to keep his identity closely guarded for his safety.
Police said Ibraheem Yazeed seen [photo] in court on Nov 8, was caught on surveillance video looking over at Blanchard before he allegedly kidnapped her. Earlier this month, police charged 29-year-old Yazeed with kidnapping
Yazeed, at the time of Blanchard’s disappearance, was free on a $295,000 bond on charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, robbery and possession of marijuana in connection to the beating of two men in a Montgomery hotel in January.
His criminal record stretched to 2011, when he was charged with robbery and attempted murder the year after.
Those charges were ultimately dismissed at separate grand juries, according to court records.
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