Aniah Blanchard Update: Remains Confirmed To Be Of UFC Star's Missing Step-Daughter

Human remains that were found in a wooded area in Alabama this week have been positively identified as those of Aniah Blanchard, the step-daughter of UFC heavyweight Walt Harris, authorities said.

Blanchard, 19, had gone missing on Oct. 23. She was last seen on surveillance footage in an Auburn convenience store on the night she went missing.

The case will now proceed as a homicide investigation, a statement released by the Auburn police department said. According to Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes, upgraded charges are possible once the cause and manner of death are confirmed after medical examination.

Blanchard’s remains were found by the Auburn police in a wooded area in Macon County, southwest of Lee County.

Two suspects, Ibraheem Yazeed, 29, and Antwain Shamar Fisher, 35, were arrested in connection to Blanchard’s disappearance after her vehicle was found abandoned with her own blood inside in Montgomery. A witness at the convenience store had seen Yazeed forcing Blanchard into her car against her will. The blood in the car was “indicative of someone suffering a life-threatening injury,” officials stated in the affidavit.

Both Yazeed and Fisher have been charged with first-degree kidnapping and are being held in Lee County jail. A third suspect, David Lee Johnson Sr., 63, has been charged with hindering prosecution.

The step-daughter of the UFC star studied at the Southern Union State Community College, which has multiple campuses in East Alabama.

Auburn Police Chief Paul Register said that her family was heartbroken, but they can now begin to deal with the situation and move forward.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said that she was heartbroken for Blanchard’s family.

“Like Alabamians across our state, I was praying for a much different outcome. I will be keeping them in my prayers and ask the people of Alabama to continue to do so as well,” Ivey said in her statement.

Blanchard’s college tweeted a message saying their worlds seemed dimmer and their hearts heavier on hearing the news about Aniah.