Fighting for Aniah | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] when your sister annaya dropped you off that evening she did indicate that she
would give you a call when she got home correct yes sure she did and [Music] pure
hell just the worst feeling ever to not know where your child [Music] is I mean we were doing everything we
could as parents in that moment to try to find her 19-year-old anniah Haley Blancher disappeared last week annia
Blanchard was reported missing 11 days ago there has been no trace of her Blanchard is the stepdaughter of UFC
fighter Walt Harris Walt Harris when she was missing fighting was the furest thing
from my mind at that [Music] point we just want our daughter home we want her family
if you have any information please please come forward I was almost a shell myself you know honestly I didn't even
know if I'd fight again but she always was the one that was like don't stop that's it keep
pushing you know keep pushing keep pushing I know it's hard everything for me moving forward is
about making her proud I'm going always fight for my baby [Music] girl she was a very happy girl that
loved life very loving and giving she always put others before herself people could just really tell
like that she had something about her that was special there is nothing in my mind
other than finding an [Music] ey you don't sleep you don't eat you're constantly thinking about where she is
what has happened and it does not go away we were just trying to keep each other say so we
could keep moving forward so it was a constant go go go we're not stopping J I love you and the mommy is
not going to give up till I find you we're going to bring you home an you're coming home so don't worry
[Music] [Music] I had an ey on my birthday June 22nd that was just going to be something so
special in life for she and I to share the same birthday happy birthday to you [Laughter]
her laugh infectious her spirit irrepressible Ania Blanchard was just 19 when she
vanished her vibrant presence replaced by the terrifying Silence of her absence annah's mother Angela Harris she
just embraced people she just loved people she would walk in and no matter how you felt how down you were she could
pick you up annah's stepfather UFC heavyweight Walt Harris was a rising star ranked ninth in
the world in the fall of [Music] 2019 he says annaya constantly inspired him you know after wins we celebrate if
it's a loss she'd always pick me up and she was always that rock that voice that
kept me going annah grew up in Homewood Alabama near Birmingham number 22an it's practically local folklore
that after every school softball game annia invited the opposing team to join hers on the pitcher mound to share high
fives and the Lord's Prayer and even if we lost the other team lost no matter what no hard feelings I think that was
her whole thing this is a way to connect people longtime friend Hannah Crocker met annia in the sixth
grade she was one of those people that just wanted to make sure that hey you're doing okay if not let me help you out
did folks ever think you two might be boyfriend and girlfriend all the time is this your girlfriend I'm like no this is
my sister they were nearly Inseparable say aniah's older brother Elijah Blanchard we grew up you know 17 months
apart we were always together and she even followed me to college Elijah headed off to Auburn University in 2017
anniah enrolled at nearby Southern Union State Community College a year later finding an apartment just minutes from
her brother I would call her every morning um sorry it gets kind of rough sometimes
uh October 23rd 2019 annah Elijah and their mom Angela attended the funeral of a family friend
in Northern Alabama immediately after the service the siblings had to leave both had to
work the next morning back in Auburn 18 185 miles away she looked over at me she
said hey Mom we really need to leave now because it's getting late I said yeah you're right it's it's 7:00 you got a
4-Hour drive and then she hugged me and I kissed her on my cheek and I told her I loved her
driving right past Birmingham annah and Elijah made a pit stop at home to see their stepfather
Walt he was training for his next fight one go I didn't never call them step kids
they were my children it's just the way I saw it you know I loved them like my own the children's biological father
Elijah Blanchard senior a local pastor and businessman remained a close presence in their lives he and Angela
divorced in 2004 soon she started dating Walt Harris and then he met anniah and Elijah Jr for the first time you came
into her life around age3 tell us about how that bonding process went I think it
started day one man we did everything together [Music] it was beautiful for me to watch their
bond grow over the years they loved me like they knew me their whole lives we just felt like a little family Walt and
Angela made it official getting married in January 2010 they eventually had two children of their own ASA and Aya he was
with them more than I was because I worked a lot Angela a pediatric emergency room nurse worked nights at a
Birmingham hospital so it was anayia who helped Walt with the younger children it
was me and the I she helped me basically raise her little brother and sister coming from a strong Christian
background I wanted to be a good influence in their lives the kids certainly look up to their dad at
65250 pounds Walt Harris has been a towering presence in their lives WT the big tick and in the bruising octagon cage of
the Ultimate Fighting Championship the UFC man everything he throws is hard Win Lose or Draw Walt's family has
always been in his Corner my family's always been the reason why I fight and they've always been the reason why I get
back up in anah she was the main catalyst for that after the funeral annaya and Elijah's visit with Walt was all too
short a brief talk a long hug and they were back on the road to Auburn still about 2 hours away when they left Walt
says he was left with a growing sense of regret I struggle with it every day um I should have just told him to stay
cuz I felt like she was tired I remember she said uh no I'm find that out I'll be
fine man I hugged her and I told her I love her and that was it they made the dve without incident
arriving in Auburn around 11:00 p.m. anayia dropped off Elijah at his apartment so I just said L be careful
and just make sure you get home [Music] safe so at 11:09 p.m. I texted her and said are you close to being home she
responded right back yeah annia's college roommate Sarah O'Brien she always let me know where she was at and
when she would be home we actually shared each other's location on our iPhone that's because Sarah says annia
had a deep rooted fear since the day I met annia She always told me that that was her biggest fear to be kidnapped or
murdered like as soon as she walked in she would check every room she would tell me multiple times like she had
nightmares about it happening to her you don't she really never went anywhere by
herself at night but that night after dropping off her brother she was alone with just 3 miles
to go that's how far away she and Sarah lived from Elijah 3 miles normally a 10-minute
drive but nearly 30 minutes later annia had not come home Sarah texted again did
you go out without me about a minute later came the reply I'm smoking a blunt lol it was the word
blunt Sarah says that stopped her she had never heard annia use it I said who are you smoking with Eric I say who is
that I just met him and I responded with where it was 11:43 p.m. there would not
be another response Sarah check cheed her cell phone one last time for annia's location she appeared to be at a nearby
apartment complex where lots of students lived Sarah went to bed she says thinking annaya was hanging out with
friends [Music] the next morning October 24th Angela Harris took her children to school and
reached out to annah to talk it was their early morning ritual we facetimed every morning that was kind of our thing
like good morning what are you doing what do you got to plan for the day so when I called her at 8:00 a.m. and she
didn't answer the FaceTime I thought okay well you know she's busy so I'll give her a little bit longer Sarah was
eager to hear about Eric the mystery man annah met the night before she went straight to annah's
bedroom and she wasn't there she would always come home she wouldn't spend the night with anyone she
just met Sarah glanced at her cell phone looking for annah's latest location but
there was none annia's phone had gone dark when did concern turn to worry for you Sarah
when I called her the lady that she babysat for and she hadn't shown up that morning
because she never misses a day to babysit those kids she loved them she was like a mother to my
[Music] kids kinaa Thomas the working mother who depended on anayia said she was the most
reliable Nanny she ever had amazing I I don't know how else to explain it like every good quality that you want in a
person she had like every everything she never once never once didn't show up to take care of those
kids and that's when I hopped in the car to look for a niest car the longer I drove the more worried I got I didn't
see any trace of her at all Sarah decided to get annah's brother and take a second
look her roommate calls me and tells me that anai never even came home last night and now he's
missing and then I told him what she said about Eric and that she was with him and he was like no she didn't didn't
tell me anything about that my heart kind of just sank and this was completely out of her
character this isn't annia Ania wouldn't have run away immediately I was call my parents
and was like ania's missing and he says mom we can't find anayia and I said son what
are you talking about you can't find her like he said no Mom I'm I'm in her apartment and we can't find an
immediately alarmed and Angela and Walt took off for ania's apartment two excruciating hours away we
just got in his truck and just flew to Auburn all types of things are going through our head what's happened what's
going on in pure hell well how did you process all of this when you found out that your daughter was missing that
drive to Auburn was um the hardest the hardest thing I've ever been through in my life because I
knew something wasn't right Elijah decided to check with Karina Thomas again maybe annia showed up I wasn't
worried until um until her brother messaged me hey I'm an's brother I was wondering if you heard from my sister
today no I haven't I called her a bunch of times this morning and she missed picking up the kids this morning yes I'm
at her apartment right now we have been looking everywhere for her and can't find
her and annaya never left her dog blue alone overnight that was her baby we just knew when we got to her apartment
that wait there there's something really bad wrong here word quickly spread to annah's friends and I was like what I
was just talking to her last night what are you talking about I mean I live 3 hours away from her I was like I don't
know where she is Hannah Crocker dropped everything and headed to annia's apartment once it was 2 hours I was like
that's not an ni in my heart I was like she's a female something happened yeah alurn is a college
town and it's a very safe place former Lee County district attorney Brandon Hughes this from the
very beginning just felt differently you know based on the information we had it
just didn't feel like this was a college student who decided to leave and blow off some steam that just wasn't her
personality that's just not something she would have done Anni disappearance was breaking news right now the search
continues for a missing 19-year-old they're looking for a Nia Blancher if you have any information on where she is
call Auburn police if you have any leads on where our daughter is and N Blanchard
please please please go to the authorities tell someone she was last seen in a black Honda CRV 2017 please if
you know anything we have to have her back we have to have her back October 25th with Anaya gone for 2 days
her Honda was spotted in an apartment complex in mtgy Alabama 55 miles from Auburn and it was badly
damaged worse still there was no sign of anayia karinaa Thomas had to break the news to her children and they said
anayia is missing and and then they cried and then they came up with their own plan to help find her they got their
tablets hey Google how many houses are in Montgomery and I was like why are you looking that up and he said cuz we got
to go see how many houses we have to go look for her at they they just wanted to
find her but nothing anyone did led to ananiah sighing then a few days after she disappeared
police discovered that after annia dropped off her brother she stopped at this gas station just 2 minutes from her
home it's a uh Chevron gas station on College Street Nia entered the Chevron gas
station approximately 11:21 in the evening on the night of October 23rd and she stayed there approximately a minute
and a half to two minutes before she left annaya bought a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips and a drink that was
her thing every night even at home growing up she would snack right before bed we needed to know if anybody saw
anything what was she doing did she leave with anybody investigators zeroed in on the Chevron
gas station where annia was last seen on video before she disappeared they were looking for any
leavs to where she might [Music] be the community of Homewood where she grew up prayed for a night his safe
[Music] return ribbons and bows in Anaya's favorite color appeared everywhere it has rocked us to our core
it's one of ours come home anayia and when they weren't praying for her they were out trying to find her
pretty quickly people came together and like hey let's do searches here let's do
searches there we would go in the woods we would go behind people's houses we would go in
Alleyways we drove my truck in Backwoods we were all in people's yards we must have canvased from Auburn to Tusk just
me and her within the first two or three days the investigation quickly expanded
across several counties especially after annah's car was found 55 miles away in Montgomery you have to imagine we there
were just massive areas that we had to search there were dozens of agencies state agencies County agencies local
agencies federal agencies huge task force and reward money poured in UFC president Dana White and light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones each contributed $25,000 it's a pain it's a anxiety and
it's just so many emotions you're trying to hold hope that something positive is going to come out
of it but as the days go on you your Hope just starts to dwindling dwindling now missing eight days hope
was dealt a major blow tonight police in Auburn Alabama say there's evidence that
a missing college student is a victim a foul play evidence you know from within her vehicle is the reason that we are
aware that you know she was harmed and we do consider this a a case where there's fou play
involved police would not say what they found but annah's biological father Elijah Blanchard Senor was not ready to
give up that was hard for us I'm a man of faith and regardless of what the police say I still have hope that my
annia is out there waiting on her father to get her annah's disappearance was taking
more than an emotional toll on Walt [Music] Harris he immediately canceled his upcoming fight anniah was the only thing
on everyone's mind I wasn't able to focus at all it was chaos so that was [Music]
sadness I just wanted to be there for my family it's like a dark abyss you're fighting that
off then after 14 days the police announced they wanted this man he was was seen at the gas station store at the
same time Ania was there an eyewitness said he thought he saw him Force annia into her car before
they drove off together this is a person of interest anyone who sees him is asked to call
911 someone did and the man the police were looking for was not named Eric he was Ibrahim yazid a 30-year-old from
Montgomery and he had a lengthy arrest record he should be considered dangerous and would be potentially armed police
said yazid was charged earlier that year with kidnapping robbing and nearly beating a 77y old man to
death he was also accused of robbing and beating a second man despite the serious
charges he was free on Bond and had been staying in a hotel near the Chevron gas
station how is this person free to walk into a gas station how is he just minutes down the road from me how is he
in the same gas station as my best friend but he was and that was at 11:22 p.m. annah's car was next seen a few
minutes later at another nearby gas station where yazid bought a small cigar it would be a little more than an
hour before a license plate reader picked up annias Honda near the entrance to I 85 heading south towards
Montgomery annah's parents clung to Hope and they had faith that their daughter would be found alive they even prayed
for yazid you can stop now you can you can change this you can let her go God will forgive
[Music] you police captured yazid the following day hiding in the woods 145 miles away
in another state police say he did not surrender peacefully 30-year-old Ibrahim yazid was
arrested overnight in Florida on the charge of kidnapping in the first degree yazid appeared in the Florida Court the
next day with a swollen left eye and court documents Finally Revealed what police found in the car it was blood and
a lot of it court documents today say blood that was discovered in Ania Blanchard's car was quote indicative of
someone suffering a life-threatening injury yazid waved extradition to Lee County Alabama where Angela and Walt
Harris would be waiting Hing to find out where their daughter [Applause] was do you think someone accused of
kidnapping should be allowed out on bond chat now on Facebook and [Music] X the harrises were committed to facing
yazid whenever he appeared in court and each time felt like the first time as a father as a guy I'm imagining
as well what might have been coursing through your veins then you see him Mr yazid looking
back at you guys anger I remember shaking I wanted to climb across the the barricade it made me really angry cuz he
was just kind of smug like you you you're tough I'm tough too you know like he was challenging me
almost it took all of Walt's training in the ring and Angela's Steady Hand to keep him from ripping into yazid she
grabbed me and she said just breathe and I just started trying to hear her voice
because I could not I wouldn't take my eyes off of them like okay who's going to look away first type of deal Angela
how did you stay composed post I wanted him to know that I'm representing my daughter and that I'm not going anywhere
we're right here and we're going to fight this all the way through yazid maintained his innocence and the burden
to find anayah mounted everybody was on edge because there's a lot of pressure there's
pressure to find this little girl Angela and Walt Harris publicized their daughter's disappearance on Dr
Phil I love you baby girl um we're looking for you um we're doing everything that we can and we're
going to get you I promise and they're on television you're doing everything you can but up to this point it hasn't
been enough by then the da Angela and Walt had grown close if you want to call up get
frustrated and yell at me for an hour cry with me for an hour I'm there and that's what we were
doing a month after anayia went missing the da had news authorities now believed
that this man Antoine fiser who once served time for murder helped yazid dispose of
evidence he was charged with kidnapping he soon cooperated providing a road map to
anayia and I remains were located in mon County Alabama which is between Auburn and
Montgomery obviously we didn't know to a 100% certainty that that's who it was you know there were several items of
clothing out there I saw a boot I took a photograph of it Hughes asked the harrises to meet at the DA's
office and they don't know why they're there I showed the harrises the photograph
the sell boots like this one were a gift from Walt when the family visited New York City Walt looked at the
phone he just dropped it on the table and said y'all excuse me my wife had come up there and she was
came up the back stairwell she said she saw a Walt just punching the wall I me this is a
concrete wall he's screaming and just punching this wall that's hard talk about a parent worst nightmare
when her body was found immediately I just wanted to actually know if I could see my child I
just want to see her um you know we were told no I just didn't want to go on anymore Walt
broken confused angry um I just wanted to know why and what happened Hughes and the police returned
to the woods to search for more evidence just literally crawling on hands and knees looking for evidence
looking for anything that we could find and what they found helped the harrises finally learn what happened to their
beloved anay how would you react if you came face to face with your loved one suspected killer take an in-depth look
at the case at 48 hours.com a blood soaked passenger seat a bullet hole in the door the evidence tells a story of what
happened to anayia that night investigators aren't certain how yazid ended up inside the car with annah did
he ask for a ride did he force her but the damage outside suggests there was a struggle at some point as the car was
moving investigators say yazid shot an as she tried to escape and I Blanchard was killed in a
manner of homicide cause of death was a gunshot wound was your faith shaken rocked to have our Angel taken
like that I didn't know why God would allow it but Walt ultimately found comfort in his faith it brought me back
it helped me understand that God didn't do this and on December 2nd 2019 then district attorney Hughes
announced the person responsible was Ibrahim yazid he was now being charged with capital
murder we also be seeking the death penalty two days later the harrises were in court when yazid fought back I got
right too but they don't have no video no audio of me shooting anyone that's why I'm trying to see how y'all want buy
me over on heay but y'all ain't presenting no evidence yazid seemed pleased when he
was done the attitude the smirks the the looks wow but maybe the most damning evidence
against yuzed comes from Antoine fiser remember he was facing charges of helping yazid those charges were dropped
Fisher told police that just hours after anayah disappeared yazid showed up in Montgomery looking for
help and he was driving what looked like annah's black Honda fiser said he followed yazid to an
apartment complex the same complex where police would find Anaya's Honda yazid then got into the truck Fisher was
driving says lead Detective Josh Mixon they ended up behind a church near a cemetery and when he looked in the
rearview mirror he saw yazid dragging something wrapped in a comforter it appeared to be two legs he dragg it in
the woods come back got in the vehicle and he said tell me that's not a body fiser says yazid told him he shot a girl
quote when she went for the gun wow it's Indescribable how someone could actually
do those things to my beautiful daughter and I'm so traumatizing to think about what she went through and hearing it in
grave detail it was painful and then the harrises would learn that yazid in addition to being
charged with nearly beating an elderly man to death was also being charged with shooting two other people the year
before he's accused of killing annaya what would you like to see happen Justice definitely Justice I want
Justice for my daughter but justice has been delayed the pandemic has slowed all
of yaz's criminal cases and his lawyer declined to be interviewed Walt who had considered
ending his career found inspiration when annaya came to him in a dream she was sitting in our living room and and there
was just a beam of light on her and she had her arms out and I hugged her and she said keep going and I just woke up
like with a renewed Vigor I felt fresh one two three keep pushing four inspired by annah Walt Harris bravely returned to
the ring incredibly a fight was scheduled for October 24th the anniversary of annah's murder
when he first told me I said are you sure he said I'm sure and so I knew how important that this was to him and how
important that this would be to her to annia and that she would want him to do it Walt flew to Abu Dhabi and spent two
weeks in quarantine training in a hotel we love you na Angela meanwhile remained home caring for their family I
miss her so bad and holding a vigil the night before Walt's fight marking the anniversary for the last time they saw
annia alive your daddy the following day the harrises were on the edge of their seats to watch
Walt fight Halfway Around the [Applause] [Music] [Applause] World perhaps Harris playing POS him a
little bit wal started out strong as Harris attacks the body and now goes up top but
in an instant the fight was over Walt's actually grabbing his stomach in retrospect Walt told us he
needed more mental strength he returned home and a few days later he released all that pent up emotion he just broke
down and fell out in the floor [Music] crying and through all of her pain Angela found her new calling she started
a nonprofit annah's heart to teach safety and help search for missing people I've done group sessions for
education I just did one with some sophomores from an High School a group of like 20 girls teaching them about
education and safety it was amazing this is a a must we have to have this law it
and she's campaigning for annah's law a bill which if enacted allows judges to deny bond to Serious violent offenders
you have people committing multiple violent crimes and they just get out on bond it's it's just not
okay I know one thing that I will not stop fighting for her around Christmas 2019 nearly 2,000
people came together to cele Cate annah's life that beautiful smile she had could just light up a
room anayia was light when you looked at her in her eyes the way the way she made
you feel she just made you feel like you was okay we will miss you we are so happy
you were our [Applause] Ania has the my best friend since I met her in sixth grade she left me
with the best memories ever of course she was a leader she would put people first even when she was sad or
needed anything I love you anayia you are truly My Sunshine on rainy days all this stuff is true she was
really truly a special human being December 21st 2019 be forever known as a night Haley
Blanchard day in the city of H [Applause] [Music]

College student Aniah Blanchard had a deep fear of being kidnapped. When she disappears, UFC fighter Walt Harris battles for justice for his stepdaughter. CBS News special correspondent James Brown reports for "48 Hours." Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

Editor's Note: On March 19, 2026, a jury found Ibraheem Yazeed guilty of felony murder and murder in the death of Aniah Blanchard. Yazeed was not found guilty of capital murder and no longer faces the death penalty.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode details Aniah Blanchard's disappearance, the search efforts, and the family's emotional journey following her tragic fate.

Key points

The Disappearance of Aniah Blanchard. Aniah Blanchard, a 19-year-old, vanished after dropping off her brother. Her family and community are desperate for answers.
A Father's Regret. Walt Harris reflects on his last moments with Aniah, filled with regret.
Community Support. The community of Homewood rallied together, praying and searching for Aniah.
Hope Amidst Despair. Despite the evidence of foul play, Aniah's father holds onto hope for her safe return.
The Fight for Justice. Walt Harris fights back against the pain of losing his daughter Anayah by stepping into the ring.
A Mother's Mission. Angela Harris starts a nonprofit to teach safety and search for missing people.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I know it's hard, everything for me moving forward is about making her proud.

A father's determination to honor his daughter.

1:50WatchJul 9, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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