Hannah Graham Missing: Police Find Human Remains During Search For Virginia College Student

Investigators searching for missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham found human remains Saturday about 10 miles from where the 18-year-old was last seen more than a month ago. The remains were discovered on Old Lynchburg Road in Albemarle County, Virginia.

Forensic testing has yet to be conducted to determine if the remains belong to Graham, but Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo “made a very difficult phone call” to Graham’s parents to alert them of the police findings.

"Countless hours, thousands of hours have been spent by law enforcement and volunteers in an effort to find Hannah," Long said during a press conference Saturday. "We think they have proved their worth."

Graham was kidnapped around 1:20 a.m. Sept. 13 after leaving an off-campus party. The suspect, Jesse Matthew Jr., 32, is currently in custody. Matthew is a Charlottesville native and may be linked to a number of other unsolved homicides and disappearances in the area.

"We're putting fresh eyes on it," Lewis Thurston, a police spokesman in Newport News, Virginia, told USA Today Thursday. In 2003, two women disappeared from the area where Matthew was a student at Christopher Newport University. Two universities in Virginia also revealed Matthew was accused of rape during his enrollment in 2002 and 2003, but his accusers didn’t press charges.

Since Graham’s disappearance, a Facebook page dedicated to finding her has garnered more than 42,000 likes. The U.Va. also created a page to help the search, describing Graham as 5-foot-11 with blue eyes, light brown hair and freckles.