Memphis Police have said that a body found in a three-day exhaustive search for heiress Eliza Fletcher, who was allegedly kidnapped while jogging, has been identified as the missing woman.

Confirmation comes from Tennessee authorities after a man, Cleotha Abston, 38, was charged on Saturday as a suspect of Fletcher’s kidnapping and for tampering with evidence after his DNA was detected on a pair of Champion slide sandals at the place of her disappearance.

The 34-year-old heiress and teacher disappeared around 4.20am while jogging around the University of Memphis on Friday morning, when a person is thought to have forced her into a dark sport-utility vehicle, US police said.

A vehicle thought to be used for the alleged kidnapping has been linked to a person in a property where the suspect, Abston, was staying.

Fletcher, who is the granddaughter of the late businessman and philanthropist Joseph Orgill III, was thought to have been seriously injured during the incident, police previously said, based on surveillance footage.

The body was found on Monday after a series of searches for the missing woman, police said.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Memphis Police said: “The deceased victim that was located yesterday… has been identified as 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher.”

Abston is now facing charges of first degree murder and first degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping.

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