Randy Taylor, Alexis Murphy Abduction Suspect, May Be Linked To Samantha Clarke Disappearance, Authorities Say

Authorities in Virginia believe that the man charged with the kidnapping of teenager Alexis Murphy may also be a suspect in the disappearance of a second girl in 2010.

Randy Taylor, 48, was arraigned on Tuesday for the alleged abduction of Murphy, a 17-year-old Virginia teenager last seen on Aug. 3, ABC News reports. In addition, Taylor is suspected of being one of the last people to speak with Samantha Clarke, a 19-year-old woman who went missing in Sept. 2000 and hasn’t been heard from since.

Taylor appeared in Nelson County Juvenile and Domestic Court on Tuesday, but failed to enter a plea regarding Murphy’s abduction, ABC News reports. In a separate statement, Orange County Commonwealth Attorney Diana H. Wheeler explained to state’s interest in examining the potential connection between Taylor and Clarke’s disappearance.

“As Randy Taylor is someone that Samantha spoke with immediately prior to her disappearance, he remains someone we are very interested in learning more about,” Wheeler said in the statement. Wheeler added that authorities in Orange County were coordinating with police in Nelson County to “share whatever information they have to which may be helpful,” ABC News reports.

The 48-year-old Virginia man was arrested on Sunday in connection with Murphy’s abduction, ABC News reports. However, authorities have yet to reveal the evidence that they had obtained against Taylor, and asked any local citizen who had seen Taylor with Murphy before or after her abduction to come forward.

Murphy hasn’t been seen since Aug. 3, when she was spotted at a Lovingston, Va., gas station, ABC News reports. On Monday, her mother, Laura Murphy made an emotional plea for her safe return.

“I want her to come home because today would’ve been her first day of school,” Murphy said at a press conference. “I carried my youngest son to school this morning but I didn’t have my daughter to take.”

Police have never charged or arrested Taylor in connection with Clarke’s apparent abduction, ABC News reports. However, Taylor told The Hook, a Charlottesville, Va., newspaper, that authorities investigated him with such vigor that he lost his house, his job, and custody of his son.

Taylor claims that he only spoke to Clarke in order to warn her to stay away from one of his male acquaintances. “I heard [his girlfriend] saying she wanted to ‘beat [Clarke’s] ass,’” Taylor told The Hook in 2010.