An arrest warrant has been issued for the Virginia man police suspect was the last person to have seen missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham the night she vanished Saturday Sept. 13, Charlottesville police told Reuters.
The current charges against Jesse Leroy Matthew are related to a high-speed chase he led authorities on after leaving a police station on Saturday.
Matthew, 32, showed up at the station after police said on Friday he was being sought as a "person of interest" in Graham's disappearance. When he left the station after a brief interview, police drove after him. The suspect began driving at an "alarming" speed once he realized he was being pursued.
"We engaged him and he fled in a vehicle," Police Chief Tim Longo said at a Sunday press conference.
Matthew is being charged with two counts of reckless driving, Longo said.
Matthew has been identified as the man who was with Graham at an outside mall in downtown Charlottesville early Saturday morning, according to surveillance videos from the area. He entered a bar with the sophomore, purchased drinks, and left in his orange Chrysler coupe, police said.
Though he spoke to police over the weekend, Longo expressed disappointment over the lack of information received.
"I know they talked a little bit and I know they walked right out that door," Longo said. "I hope and pray that we might have the opportunity to talk with Jesse Matthew again."
Graham, said to be a responsible student who received straight As, was reported missing when she did not come home after leaving a party at an off-campus apartment the night of Friday Sept. 12. She texted her friends at around 1:20 a.m. Saturday saying she was lost and has not been seen since.
"Please, please, please, if you have anything, no matter how insignificant you think it may be, call the police tip line," Graham's parents, John and Susan Graham, said in an address to the public on Sunday.
