Suspect charged in case of missing UVa student

Longo also said state and federal authorities have joined the search for Matthew.

Matthew, 32, of Albemarle County, was spotted by eyewitnesses walking with the 18-year-old student out of a bar on the Downtown Mall the morning she disappeared, Sept. 13.

'We need to be very sensitive about the information we share,' Longo said.

Longo also noted at the news conference that as the search for Matthew continues, the search for Graham will not stop.

'We absolutely are continuing our search for Hannah, even as we speak,' Longo said.

The results of the forensic analyses of Matthew's vehicle and Hessian Hills apartment were expected to be released sometime after Tuesday evening, though they might not come back for several days, according to Capt. Gary Pleasants. It is unclear whether police had received those results before charging Matthew with abduction.

Pleasants said Tuesday that officers took several items of clothing during their second search of Matthew's apartment, but he would not give details or elaborate on the search.

Matthew has been employed at the University of Virginia Medical Center since Aug. 12, 2012, as a patient technician in the operating room, university spokesman McGregor McCance said.

Online court records show Matthew was convicted of trespassing in 2010 but provide no details about the incident. Details also were unavailable for two other charges of assault and attempted grand larceny relating to a 2009 incident that were not prosecuted. Matthew also has several traffic infractions, records show.

Matthew had a taxi permit from 2007 through 2010, according to Pam Goheen with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Police describe Matthew as a 6-foot-2, 270-pound man who was last seen driving his sister's 1997 light blue Nissan Sentra. Authorities believe Matthew has contacts in Virginia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington.

Matthew has been sought by police since Saturday, shortly after he left the Charlottesville police station, where he had gone to ask to speak with a lawyer, authorities said.

Pleasants said that Matthew spoke with a lawyer for roughly an hour and left the station on Saturday, returning to the home of his grandmother.

Shortly after, federal authorities, who had been monitoring Matthew's movements, saw him enter his sister's vehicle with his mother and drive off at a high rate of speed, driving in a manner authorities said was so 'erratic' and 'reckless' that they were unable to follow him without endangering themselves and the public.

The incident initially resulted in arrest warrants for Matthew, charging him with two counts of reckless driving. He hasn't been seen since.

According to police, Graham met friends at a restaurant for dinner on Sept. 12 before stopping by two off-campus parties. The sophomore from Northern Virginia left the second party alone, police said, and sent a text message to a friend saying she was lost.

Surveillance videos showed her walking, and at some points running, past a pub and a service station and then onto the Downtown Mall.

According to family members and police, Graham is an alpine skier and plays the alto saxophone. Organizers of a vigil last week at U.Va. handed out her favorite candy, Starburst. Longo said he learned from visiting with Graham's parents that the West Potomac High School graduate earned straight A's six years in a row.

As the search for Matthew continues, digital billboards displaying Graham's photo and a toll-free tip line will appear throughout Virginia, according to a release from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

In the wake of Graham's disappearance, U.Va. will increase police patrols and safe-ride drivers in response to questions and comments about safety on university grounds. U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan said students should begin using a newly instituted tool for reporting suspicious behavior to university police via smartphones or the Internet.

An app, dubbed 'TipSubmit,' allows students to report anything that 'doesn't feel right' to police, and students can also text tips to 274637 or 'CRIMES.' Students also can submit tips through the university police department's website.

'These steps are a beginning, and we will continue to gather information and examine how we can make our university community feel as safe as possible,' Sullivan wrote in a statement Tuesday. 'Let's help each other stay safe, as we continue our search for Hannah Graham.'