Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Remains Of UFC Fighter's Stepdaughter Aniah Blanchard Believed To Be Found
District Attorney Brandon Hughes announced he had "good reason" to believe the remains belong to Aniah Blanchard, hours after announcing the arrest of Antwain Fisher in her disappearance.
Authorities discovered human remains they believe belong to missing college student Aniah Blanchard off a rural Alabama road on Monday.
Following a tip, law enforcement descended onto County Road 2 in Shorter, Alabama, where they discovered human remains some feet into the woodline, according to WSFA12 News.
Auburn Police Division investigators are still working to positively identify the victim, but a local district attorney said Monday that he was confident the remains belong to Blanchard, the 19-year-old stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight fighter Walt Harris, the Associated Press reported.
“I can confirm that human remains have been found in Macon County on County Road 2 and we have good reason to believe they are that of Aniah Blanchard,” Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes told AP.
The news came on the heels of a second arrest in the disappearance of Blanchard, a student at Southern Union State Community College in Opelika.
Antwain “Squirmy” Fisher, 35, was charged by Auburn Police Department with kidnapping, according to AL.com.
He allegedly helped dispose of evidence and transported 29-year-old Ibraheem Yazeed, who was first arrested and charged with kidnapping in the case, the publication reported, citing court records.
Police said a witness reported seeing Yazeed force Blanchard into a vehicle outside an Auburn convenience store around 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 23.
Investigators at the time said blood was found in the passenger side of her abandoned vehicle two days after she disappeared that suggests “someone suffered a life-threatening injury,” according to the charges filed against Yazeed. He was ordered by a judge on Nov. 20 to submit to a DNA test.
Authorities said at the time that there may well be more arrests to come in Blanchard's disappearance.
“That’s part of the investigation,” Auburn Police Capt. Lorenza Dorsey told WSFA. “We do not think that [Yazeed] acted alone. So we are continuing to look into that and explore that angle of the investigation.”
Yazeed and Fisher both remain in the Lee County Jail without bond, according to WSFA.
