A man wanted in the disappearance of UFC fighter Walt Harris’ stepdaughter has been apprehended in Florida, but the whereabouts of the woman he’s accused of abducting remained a mystery Friday.
Ibraheem Yazeed was arrested and booked into the Escambia County Jail early Friday. Jail records show he’s being held as a fugitive after being charged in Alabama with first-degree kidnapping in the disappearance of 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard. She was last seen at a gas station in Auburn, Alabama, on Oct. 23.
Blanchard, a student at Southern Union State Community College, was reported missing the next day. Her car was later found abandoned in Montgomery, more than 50 miles (90 kilometers) away. Police said the car was damaged and contained evidence that Blanchard had been harmed.
“I am prayerful that the Lord touches this young man’s heart so he will be honest and truthful and tell the authorities where our daughter is located,” Blanchard’s stepmother, Yashiba Blanchard, told Al.com . “I feel as if the Lord has heard our cries and the community’s cries for help with finding our daughter.”
Yazeed, 29, was already known to authorities: He was freed from an Alabama jail in February after prosecutors said he beat a man unconscious and “near death” in a vicious robbery, court records show. He faces attempted murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery in that earlier case.