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Hannah Graham Search: Student Possibly Got in Car With Person of Interest

Hannah Graham, 18, was last heard from just after leaving an off-campus party on Friday night.
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Police searched the car and apartment of a man seen with missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham the night she disappeared, but said Friday they had “no probable cause to arrest him.” The man was seen in surveillance video walking behind Graham the night she went missing, and a witness said he saw the man put his arm around the 18-year-old. The two were also spotted together in a nearby restaurant, and investigators have reason to believe that Graham got into the man’s orange Chrysler before she disappeared, said Detective Sgt. Jim Mooney during a news conference Friday.

Police said earlier Friday they hoped the searches would be a major break in the case, and Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo said during an evening news conference that the searches “advanced” the investigation into Graham’s disappearance. The person of interest was present when investigators arrived at his apartment Friday morning, but police had "no legal basis to detain him,” Longo said. Police are still "interested in talking to him," Longo said.

Longo asked anyone who may have come across Graham on Friday night or early Saturday to come forward with any information. Graham’s parents “want their daughter back,” Longo said. “They want to know what happened to their little girl.”

Virginia's Department of Emergency Management are asking community members to register for a mass search, scheduled for Saturday, for Graham, who was last heard from just after leaving an off-campus party on Friday night.

Image: Charlottesville Police are executing a search warrant on an apartment and vehicle
Charlottesville Police are executing a search warrant on an apartment and vehicle that may be connected to the disappearance of a University of Virginia student, Hannah Graham, 18.Tracy Jarrett

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— Tracy Jarrett and Elisha Fieldstadt