CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ― A man authorities believe is the last person seen with a University of Virginia student before she disappeared is being sought on arrest warrants charging him with reckless driving.
But they say they also want to talk to him about the missing teen.
Virginia State Police issued warrants for Jesse Matthew on a charge of misdemeanor reckless driving, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo said at a news conference Sunday. Matthew has not been charged in the disappearance of 18-year-old Hannah Graham, who was last seen early on Sept. 13 in Charlottesville.
Longo said police want to talk to Matthew, who was seen with Graham before she disappeared.
“I believe Jesse Matthew was the last person she was seen with before she vanished off the face of the Earth because it’s been a week and we can’t find her,” Longo said.
“I’ve made no mistake about it. We want to talk to Jesse Matthew. We want to talk to him. We want to talk to him about his interaction with this sweet, young girl we can’t find,” Longo said.
Longo said Matthew had stopped by the Charlottesville Police Department’s station Saturday with several family members and asked for a lawyer. He was provided with a lawyer but left in a vehicle, driving at a high rate of speed that endangered other drivers, according to the police chief. He said Matthew was there for about an hour.
