Police Seek Man Seen On Video With Missing UVA Student

A man believed to be the last person to see missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham before her mysterious disappearance on September 13 is being sought on arrest warrants charging him with reckless driving.

Virginia State Police have issued arrest warrants for 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. on charges of misdemeanor reckless driving, according to Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo. While Matthew is not being charged with any wrongdoing or suspicion of wrongdoing in regards to the Graham’s disappearance, they still want to ask him questions regarding his interactions with her seen in surveillance videos the night she went missing.

Chief Longo was insistent on finding Matthew.

“I believe Jesse Matthew was the last person she was seen with before she disappeared off the face of the Earth, because it’s been a week and we can’t find her. I’ve made no mistake about it. We want to talk with Jesse Matthew. We want to talk with him. We want to talk with him about his interaction with this sweet, young girl we can’t find.”

The reckless driving arrest warrants stem from an incident in which Matthew had stopped by the police station with several family members and asked for a lawyer. Despite being provided with a lawyer, Matthew got in his car and left at a high rate of speed, endangering other motorists in the area. Matthew had been at the police station for about one hour.

Matthew has been employed by the University of Virginia as a patient technician in the University of Virginia Medical Center’s operating room since August 2012.

Police have focused their attention on Graham’s movements the night of September 12 and into the early hours of September 13. During those times, Graham met friends at a restaurant for dinner then attended two off-campus parties, leaving alone after the second party. Surveillance videos show her both walking and running past a pub and a service station, then onto the Downtown Mall.

Chief Longo expressed his determination in a press conference earlier this week.

“Somebody’s gotta know where she is and we want to know what that person or persons are. I don’t want to get tunnel vision just because we have a name, just because we saw her with a particular person.”

Graham’s parents have pleaded to the public at the press conference for anyone to come forward with any information regarding the whereabouts of their daughter.

Over 1,000 volunteers participated in a weekend search for Hannah, according to authorities.

Graham’s disappearance has ignited many of the students’ fear on campus. Most have begun walking in pairs at night and paying closer attention to their surroundings.

University President Teresa A. Sullivan issued a statement Sunday saying the university is determined to help police search for Hannah and return her safely to her family.