The parents of missing Alabama teen Aniah Blanchard believe someone who knew their daughter helped plan her kidnapping, they told television's "Dr. Phil."
Mom Angela Harris and stepdad UFC heavyweight Walt Harris made an appearance on the popular talk show that broadcast Thursday. In it, they said they don't believe Blanchard's abduction was a random act. The 19-year-old college student vanished from an Auburn gas station on Oct. 23.
"It was a setup, it was someone who knew Aniah, and someone who knew her well," Harris told Dr. Phil McGraw.
The couple have pleaded for help from the public in finding the missing young woman.
Harris also said authorities are investigating a lead that a friend of Blanchard's may have been involved in her disappearance. Harris says she believes someone who knows suspect Ibraheem Yazeed, 29, also knows her daughter.
Yazeed, who was seen on surveillance tape inside the convenience store at the same time Blanchard was there, was arrested last week and charged with kidnapping, authorities said. Blanchard's heavily damaged car was discovered three days after she disappeared. The Honda CR-V was found abandoned at an apartment complex in Montgomery, about 55 miles from where Blanchard vanished.
A probable cause affidavit revealed a significant amount of blood was found on the passenger seat of Blanchard's wrecked car and it was "indicative of someone suffering a life-threatening injury."
Yazeed was arrested in Florida and booked into Escambia County Jail. He was quickly extradited to Alabama. He is being held without bail and a judge has issued a gag order in the case.
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