Arrest warrant issued in disappearance of Virginia student

A Virginia man has been charged with abduction in connection with the disappearance of a University of Virginia student who went missing more than a week ago, authorities said.

Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo told reporters Tuesday night that detectives had obtained an arrest warrant for Jesse LeRoy Matthew Jr., 32, who has been charged with abduction with intent to defile in connection with the Sept. 13 disappearance of Hannah Graham.

Matthew was previously identified as a person of interest in Graham’s disappearance, and has associates and relatives in New York, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, police said.

Graham was last heard from about 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 13, when she sent a text message to a friend, campus officials have said. She had been at a bar in Charlottesville the night she disappeared, and police have released surveillance videos that show her running and stumbling.

Matthew has also been charged with two counts of reckless driving. Longo previously told reporters that the medical technician was the last person seen with Graham, according to the Associated Press.

John and Susan Graham, Hannah’s parents, issued a statement this week thanking volunteers for their help. They described her disappearance as their “worst nightmare.”

“The reason that Hannah has such marvelous support is that it is every parent’s worst nightmare. I am certain that everybody in the room and watching who is a parent knows that what happened to Hannah could happen to their child,” the statement read. “We need to find out what happened to Hannah and make sure that it doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

Longo told reporters Tuesday that the search for Graham was continuing, and declined to answer additional questions.

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