A West Virginia woman was last seen more than three weeks ago leaving a local bar with an older man – and police now say he is a person of interest in her mysterious disappearance.
Gretchen Fleming, 28, was last spotted in the early morning hours of Dec. 4 at My Way Lounge in Parkersburg walking out the door with an unnamed male.
"He is a person of interest in this investigation," Parkersburg Police Lt. James Stalnaker told Fox News Digital. "We know she left with him. We believe that she traveled back to his residence with him. He’s given inconsistent statements."
Stalnaker said police are not releasing the man's name because he has not been charged with a crime. "Through his own admission, she was at one point in his vehicle, but he's claiming she didn't make it to his house," he said. "There is no indication they knew each other prior to this night."
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Fleming, who does not own a car, arrived at the bar with another person, according to police.
Stalnaker also noted that she left behind her purse containing her phone, debit and credit cards but never returned to retrieve it.
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Surveillance footage from My Way Lounge shows Fleming and the man leave the bar and head toward his car – but the cameras do not capture the pair climb into the vehicle because of where it was parked, Stalnaker added.
Additional surveillance footage that police pieced together from various cameras show the man's car travel toward his home about two miles from the bar. Police have executed search warrants on his house, his car and electronic devices.
Police are waiting on the results of forensic testing and additional search warrants, including for phone record.
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"At this point, we're not getting anything from the person interest," he added.
Fleming's family are expected to provide her dental records to police this week.
"It’s important that we have those items in the unfortunate circumstance she is located deceased," Stalnaker said.
Fleming, who lives with her grandmother in Vienna, West Virginia, wasn't reported missing by her family until Dec. 12.
"It's pretty much consumed us here in the last couple of weeks," Stalnaker told Fox News Digital of the alarming disappearance in the small town of about 35,000. Police have been working around the clock to solve the case, he said.
A vigil organized by friends and family was held Dec. 19 and attracted more than 150 people.
Weeks before Fleming vanished, she started a job at H&M at Grand Central Mall.
Her longtime friend Jake Grim described her as an independent spirit in an interview with NBC.
"Gretchen didn't dress anything like everybody else. She's always made a statement," he said. "She's so creative. Music is a big part of who she is. She's done all these different things. She's traveled, she's very well spoken, she used to be a writer and still does write."
NBC spoke to Fleming's father Dec. 23 – the day before her 28th birthday. "We love her. Something happened to her. I don't know what to say," David Fleming told the news outlet. "She's an amazing little girl. I just want her home."
Anyone with information is urged to contact lead Detective James Zimmerman at 304-424-1072 or the Police Department at 304-424-8444. Police are particularly interested in speaking with anyone who communicated with Fleming on the evening of Dec. 3 to the early morning hours of Dec. 4.
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