Charlottesville police have released information about a person of interest in the Hannah Graham disappearance case.
Investigators are trying to find a black male, between 5'10" -5'11", about 250 to 285 pounds, with a closely shaved head and a goatee. He's described as being in his late 20s or early 30s, and wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt.
There is $50,000 dollar reward being offered for information.
In a news release, police said he was seen with the 18-year-old University of Virginia student in the 3-500 blocks of East Main Street on Charlottesville's downtown mall at about 1:15 early Saturday morning.
Meantime, the search continues for missing UVA student Hannah Graham and late last night the Charlottesville Police Department released new information regarding Graham’s disappearance.
In a press release, the department states that in two new surveillance videos, from two separate businesses on East Main Street in Charlottesville, a white male is seen following Graham the night she disappeared.
The man in question however, did go to the police department and reported Graham seemed distressed and that he was concerned for her safety, so he followed her for a short time. He says he saw Graham stop and speak to a black male who put his arm around Graham and the two seemed to know each other and strike up a conversation. That was the last time he saw her before he walked away. The black male is not seen in any of the surveillance videos. While this information is valuable, investigators are seeking more witnesses.
Charlottesville Police have interviewed dozens of people and reviewed security videos showing Hannah Graham passing a popular bar between the university campus and downtown Charlottesville. At a nearby gas station, another camera showed her running, but Police Chief Tim Longo said she stopped, and no one appeared to be chasing her. Police went door to door on the downtown mall, Wednesday, asking to review more surveillance footage after someone reported seeing her there, and Longo is hoping more witnesses will come forward.
“There were people on the mall, and I’m hoping that they’re hearing my words and seeing my frustration, and hearing the pain that this family’s experiencing, and pick up the phone and tell us something, regardless of how insignificant you think it might be.”
He shared a similar plea from Graham’s parents -- a Northern Virginia couple who had spoken with him earlier in the day.
“Hannah is beyond precious to us, and we are truly devastated by her disappearance. It’s totally out of character for us not to have heard from her, and we fear foul play. We are in constant contact with the Charlottesville Police Department and the University of Virginia. We are very grateful for all information already provided, and urge members of the public to continue to call the dedicated tip line with anything at all.”
Longo said the FBI and state police were helping with the investigation, but he felt his department was fully capable of pursuing the case. He declined to comment on the fact that several other women have gone missing from this area over the past few years, and he could not say whether Graham’s disappearance might be linked to the abduction and murder of another college student, Morgan Harrington, more than four years ago.
“Certainly the question has arisen as to the relationship perhaps between these two incidents. It’s certainly a very legitimate question. I will tell you right now my focus is on Hannah Graham. If there comes a time where we believe that there’s a substantive link between those two investigations, we’ll certainly share that with you.”
In the mean time, he asked property owners to inspect their land and buildings, and said volunteers could join the Virginia Department of Emergency Management in searching public areas.
http://youtu.be/ziK66Oi1zig
