UFC heavyweight fighter Walt Harris made a public appeal asking for help finding his 19-year-old stepdaughter who went missing in Alabama Wednesday night.
Harris’ stepdaughter, Aniah Haley Blanchard, 19, of Homewood, Alabama, was reported missing Thursday by her family. The last time she was heard from was Wednesday, around midnight, when she contacted a friend, according to ABC News.
She was said to have been seen last while driving her black 2017 Honda CRV.
Aniah Haley Blanchard, 19, was reported missing Thursday. She was last heard from on Wednesday night, when she sent a Snapchat message to her college roommate
Blanchard’s stepfather, UFC heavyweight fighter Walt Harris turned to his social media in an effort to help drum up information about either her or her car’s whereabouts
Harris posted these pictures of Blanchard on Facebook Thursday, asking for help finding her
As part of the efforts to find her, Harris used his Instagram and Twitter accounts to ask that people contact him or call Alabama’s Auburn Police Department if they have any information about Blanchard’s whereabouts or had seen her car.
Blanchard’s car was found Friday at an apartment complex in Montgomery, Alabama, after being reported to police by a citizen at about 6.15pm. It’s unclear what prompted the citizen to report the car’s location.
Police said that the car had sustained damage between the time that it was last seen in Auburn, Alabama, and when it was found about 50 miles away in Montgomery.
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.
Blanchard’s mother, Angela Haley-Harris, told WSFA that Blanchard had driven from Auburn with her brother to North Alabama to attend a funeral with Haley-Harris Wednesday morning.
Blanchard’s debit card was last used Wednesday night at 11.20pm and her cell phone was said to have gone ‘dark’ after 11.57pm that night
The last time Blanchard (pictured) was heard from, she supposedly told her roommate that she was out and with a young man that she had just met
Authorities confirmed that Blanchard’s car was found Friday night in a parking lot about 50 miles away from where she was last seen. Pictures showed damage to the front side of the car
Blanchard’s black 2017 Honda CRV was reported to police by a citizen Friday evening
Blanchard’s car was said to have been found parked at this Montgomery apartment complex
On their way home, Blanchard and her brother stopped in Homewood at about 8.30pm to see Harris, before returning to Auburn.
Haley-Harris said that when Blanchard dropped her brother off at his home, she told him that she might go out that night, but that he told her not to do it because she was tired and needed to go to work the next day.
Later that night, Haley-Harris said that Blanchard’s college roommate chatted with her via Snapchat, asking if she was on her way home. Blanchard apparently told her roommate that she was out with a ‘young man’ that she had just met.
Blanchard did not reveal how she met him or where she met him.
That was said to be the last time that Blanchard was heard from before she disappeared.
Haley-Harris said that Blanchard’s debit card was used that night at 11.20pm in Auburn and that her cell phone ‘went dark’ after 11.57pm.
Blanchard’s parents, including her mother, Angela Haley-Harris (in grey), and Harris (right)
Prior to her disappearance, Blanchard (in orange) had driven her brother to a funeral in North Alabama, then stopped at her parents’ home to see Harris (pictured) before going to Auburn
Harris (pictured in May) and Blanchard’s relatives have been out searching for the missing girl
Police were said to have figured out where Blanchard’s phone had last pinged off a cell tower and been searching the area.
Although police said that there were no signs of foul play involved with Blanchard’s going missing, Haley-Harris said that it was unlike her daughter not to get in contact with her parents or return home.
She did not show up for work Thursday, either.
Blanchard is described as a light-complexioned black female, who is 5 feet 6-inches tall and weighs bout 125 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a black dress and tan duck boots with black stockings.
Anyone with information about Blanchard’s disappearance or the collision that damaged her car is asked to call police at 334-501-3140 or the anonymous tip line at 334-246-1391.
Harris posted a video on Instagram Saturday, in which the family noted that they have not set up a GoFundMe page for donations, telling people interested in donating money to their search not do so via GoFundMe.
Instead, the family said that it had created a PayPal account under the email address: FindAniahBlanchard@gmail.com