This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/police-search-for-man-last-seen-talking-to-missing-university-of-virginia-sophomore/2014/09/18/29662674-3f42-11e4-9587-5dafd96295f0_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Police search for man last seen talking to missing University of Virginia sophomore Police search for man last seen talking to missing University of Virginia sophomore
(about 4 hours later)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Police have released a description of an unidentified man who a witness said was speaking with a University of Virginia student who disappeared from Charlottesville in the early morning hours of Saturday. CHARLOTTESVILLE — Police continued to search this college town for a fifth day Thursday, looking for any sign of the 18-year-old student who disappeared while walking alone after drinking with friends last weekend. Seeking the public’s help, authorities released a description of a man who a witness said approached the student in an off-campus pedestrian mall.
The witness told police that he saw Hannah Graham, 18, chatting with the man as she walked downtown hours before she was reported missing, said Capt. Gary Pleasants of the Charlottesville Police Department. The man, who police say is a “person of interest” in the case, reportedly walked with Graham for as long as two blocks in an open-air, off-campus mall in Charlottesville at about 1 a.m. to 1:15 a.m. The unidentified man reportedly spoke with Hannah Graham shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday and put his arm around her as she walked along the Downtown Mall on East Main Street, a row of stores east of the University of Virginia’s main campus. Police want to speak with the man and consider him a “person of interest” but as yet have given no indication that he is directly connected to Graham’s disappearance.
Police said the witness described the man as a black male, 5-foot-10 to 5-foot-11, 250 to 285 pounds, with a close-shaved head, goatee and a slight “beer belly.” He is described as being in his late 20s to early 30s and was wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt, police said. Graham, a U-Va. sophomore who graduated from West Potomac High School in Fairfax County, was seen on surveillance videos at several locations on a mile-long route through Charlottesville on Saturday. She walked by an Irish pub, was seen hurrying past a Shell station, and then ultimately walked by downtown businesses as she headed east.
The description came after police released surveillance footage showing a man following Graham along East Main Street, and the witness came forward to report that he was the man seen in some of the footage. The witness told authorities Graham was walking alone shortly after 1 a.m. and looked like she was in distress, so he began following Graham until another man approached her. In one of the videos, from an Italian restaurant, a man is seen walking ahead of Graham. He pulls into a recessed store doorway, waits for Graham to pass, and then starts following her. Just minutes later, Graham is seen on a jewelry store’s video walking east with the same man a few steps behind her. That is so far the last video evidence of Graham’s whereabouts that police have made public.
“He said the man came up and put his arm around her and they were interacting,” Pleasants said, describing the witness’s account. “He said it looked like someone she knew, so he walked away.” After police released the surveillance footage, the witness came forward to report that he was the man seen following Graham in downtown Charlottesville. The witness, who lives in Charlottesville, told authorities that Graham was walking alone shortly after 1 a.m. and looked as if she was in distress. He said he began following her until another man approached her and began chatting with her.
Graham, who went to West Potomac High School in Fairfax County, was reported missing Sunday after friends said they had not heard from her since midnight. “He said the man came up and put his arm around her and they were interacting,” said Charlottesville Police Capt. Gary Pleasants, describing the witness’s account. “He said it looked like someone she knew, so he walked away.”
Pleasants said the surveillance videos released by police do not show the unidentified man. He said the witness contacted police through a hotline, where police received 100 tips. He did not release the name of the witness, who he said played phone tag with investigators before voluntarily coming to the police department around 10 p.m. Wednesday. Police said the witness described the man as black, 5-foot-10 to 5-foot-11, 250 to 285 pounds, with a close-shaved head, goatee and a slight “beer belly.” He was described as being in his late 20s to early 30s and was wearing black jeans and a white T-shirt, police said.
Police shared other surveillance videos of Graham walking in downtown Charlottesville after drinking and socializing with friends Friday night into Saturday. The unidentified man walked at least a few blocks with Graham shortly after 1 a.m., police said. Graham last texted friends at 1:06 a.m. — likely moments after she was last on video — to say that she was lost, according to police.
Pleasants said at first investigators thought one of the surveillance videos showed Graham walking with a woman. But after questioning the witness and reexamining the footage, he said, authorities believe what they thought was another woman was actually images of Graham’s hair and figure reflected in nearby store windows. Graham was reported missing Sunday after friends said they had not heard from her since midnight.
The disappearance of Graham, a sophomore at U-Va., has perplexed her friends and family. Pleasants said the surveillance videos released by police do not show the unidentified man. He said the witness contacted police through a hotline, on which police had received 100 tips. He did not release the name of the witness, who he said played phone tag with investigators before voluntarily coming to the police department around 10 p.m. Wednesday.
In other surveillance videos, Graham is seen walking near a busy outdoor seating area at McGrady’s Irish Pub in Charlottesville, east of the main U-Va. campus. Another video shows her running before slowing to a walk near a Shell gas station four blocks from McGrady’s. Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo said he did not think Graham was being followed in that footage. The U-Va. community was rallying around the search Thursday, clinging to hope that Graham might be found alive. Students planned a vigil at the U-Va. amphitheater on campus at 9 p.m. Thursday.
After the gas station, authorities said there is surveillance video of Graham at an outdoor mall, where the witness told police he saw her with the unknown man. Graham’s case cast a pall over the Downtown Mall, a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare lined with an eclectic collection of coffee shops, family-owned restaurants and upscale bars with outdoor patios. Known as the beating heart of the historic town, the area is considered one of the safest places for college students to gather. On the surveillance videos, several people pass through the frames on the brightly lit concourse.
Longo said Graham had been drinking alcohol with her friends Friday night. She ate dinner with them, and the group made plans to meet up again later. Dave Taylor, owner of the Read it Again Sam book shop, said that Charlottesville police had not come to his business seeking camera footage as of late Thursday. His storefront is one of the last places Graham is seen walking, captured by an exterior camera at Sal’s Caffe Italia across the street.
Police said Graham left and that was the last time her friends saw her. Her last text message to friends was after 1 a.m., authorities said, saying she was lost in an unfamiliar place. Taylor said that members of the community had pushed the city council to install more cameras in town. The mall is equipped with powerful outdoor WiFi stations but not an abundance of security cameras.
Police also announced that rewards totalling $50,000 are now being offered for information leading to the cause of her disappearance. Police urge anyone with information about Graham to contact a tip line at (434) 295-3851. As soon as Frieda Tuel heard that Graham was last seen heading east through the downtown mall, Tuel immediately began searching through surveillance footage at her family’s jewelry store.
Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report. “We need to be proactive,” Tuel said. “We need to get back to helping each other.”
Not long after scrolling through her footage, Tuel found the last-known grainy images of Graham, walking past the store.
“We heard that we’re the last ones to see her on camera,” Tuel said. “It’s emotional. It’s sad and happy at the same time. Happy that you can see her alive. Sad because we haven’t found her.”
Police continued their search Thursday in an expanding area by the mall and down toward a nearby river and train tracks. Members of the U-Va. community were planning to conduct a massive volunteer search on Saturday, more than a week after Graham was last seen.
Graham’s disappearance has perplexed her friends and family, who described her as a conscientious student who was in regular contact. She was an accomplished jazz saxophonist in high school and was on the U-Va. ski team.
On Friday night, Graham was doing what many college students across the country do on the weekend: She ate dinner with friends and drank alcohol. After dinner, the group made plans to meet up again later. It is unclear why Graham was walking by herself or where she intended to go.
St. Martin reported from Washington. Julie Zauzmer in Washington contributed to this report.