Authorities looking for Hannah Graham found human remains on an abandoned property eight miles from where the University of Virginia student was last seen five weeks ago, police said.
Further forensic tests are needed to confirm whether the remains are those of Hannah Graham, Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo told a news conference Saturday. The remains were found on an abandoned property by a search team, Longo said.
Thousands of volunteers had searched for the 18-year-old Graham in the weeks since her disappearance.
Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., 32, has been charged with abduction with intent to defile Graham.
A week after Graham went missing, Longo publicly described Matthew in detail without naming him, saying investigators wanted to talk to the “person of interest” and had searched his apartment because he was the last person to see her.
Matthew then showed up at police headquarters, asked for a lawyer, and then sped away, according to a police account. His exit prompted a warrant for “reckless driving,” a charge that Longo cited as he named the suspect and appealed for information from anyone who saw him with Graham the night she disappeared.
Matthew was arrested a few days later in Texas.
