UFC star’s missing stepdaughter suffered “life-threatening injury”

November 11, 2019

Blood evidence in the car belonging to UFC heavyweight Walt Harris’ missing stepdaughter shows she suffered “a life-threatening injury,” police records show. An Auburn, Alabama, police charging document released after the arrest of Ibraheem Yazeed on Friday says a state lab determined the evidence matched Aniah Blanchard, who was reported missing on Oct. 24, news outlets reported.

The 19-year-old was last seen at a convenience store in Auburn while suspect Ibraheem Yazeed was there. The charging document says a witness identified the 29-year-old Yazeed as the man he saw force Blanchard into a car. It’s unclear if that was her car, which was later found abandoned.

Yazeed was arrested Friday in Florida and charged with first-degree kidnapping. He waived his extradition hearing that same day.

In an email sent to CBS affiliate WIAT Sunday night, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes said there has been a gag order put in place, prohibiting him and the legal team for Yazeed from speaking on the details of the case.

Blanchard has yet to be found.

Searchers looking for Blanchard include the mother of Natalee Holloway, an Alabama teenager who disappeared on a graduation trip to Aruba in 2005. Her mother, Beth Holloway, is working on the Blanchard case with Texas EquuSearch, a mounted search and recovery team, the group posted on its Facebook page .

Auburn Police Chief Paul Register said it’s not clear if Blanchard and Yazeed knew each other, though authorities don’t have any reason to believe they did. And he said authorities believe Yazeed didn’t act alone.

“We do think there’s a likelihood someone else is involved in this case and we hope to bring that person to justice as well,” he said.