Video shows missing college student Aniah Blanchard at store
AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - While the Auburn Police Department initially said it didn’t have reason to suspect foul play in the disappearance of a 19-year-old woman Wednesday, they’re now sounding increasingly concerned.
“We are concerned about her safety and well-being,” said Auburn Police Captain Lorenza Dorsey on Monday, the same day the police department released a short, 3-second video clip showing the last time Aniah Haley Blanchard was seen.
Blanchard can be seen in security video at a convenience store on South College Street in Auburn on Wednesday. It was recorded just before her vehicle was seen traveling southbound on South College Street.
Friday night, police found Blanchard’s 2017 Honda CR-V at a Montgomery apartment complex on Atlanta Highway after getting a report from a citizen who saw the vehicle.
The vehicle had been damaged on the front passenger side sometime between Wednesday night, when Blanchard was last seen, and Friday.
Earlier Friday, Auburn Police Chief Paul Register released a statement saying Blanchard’s vehicle was seen in the early morning hours of Thursday around 12:30 a.m. in the area of South College Street and Interstate 85 in Auburn.
Register asked anyone with information about her vehicle in that location during that time, which he called a “critical time period,” to contact police.
Captain Dorsey said the department hasn’t ruled out any particular area in their search for Blanchard. “Certainly with the recovery of the vehicle in Montgomery we are forcing on the routes between the two locations,” Dorsey said.
A missing person’s report was filed with the Auburn Police Department Thursday. She reportedly last communicated with a friend on Wednesday just before midnight.
Blanchard is described as light in complexion, 5’6”, 125 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. Blanchard was last seen wearing a black dress and tan boots. She is a native of Homewood and a student at Southern Union State Community College.
Her stepfather, Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Walt Harris, has pleaded with his social medial followers to help find his loved one.
A joint investigation with the Auburn Police Department is being conducted by the Montgomery Police Department, FBI, U.S. Marshal Service, the Department of Homeland Security, the Lee County District Attorney’s Office, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Alabama Fusion Center and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Auburn Police Division Detective Section at 334-501-3140, the anonymous tip line at 334-246-1391 or the 24-hour non-emergency number at 334-501-3100.
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