CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Local deputies assisting in the search for missing college student Hannah Graham found human remains on an abandoned property Saturday.
University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham went missing Sept. 13 while walking home past midnight near the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Va. Search crews have since been looking for the missing 18-year-old.
Members of the Chesterfield Sheriff's Department discovered remains on an abandoned property off of Old Lynchburg Road in southern Albemarle County. The remains were sent to Richmond for autopsy.
Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo said during a press conference Saturday forensic tests would be needed to identify the remains, which were indeed human.
"Countless hours, thousands of hours have been spent by literally hundreds of law enforcement and civilian volunteers in an effort to find Hannah," Longo said. "We think perhaps today proved their worth."
In late September, police arrested Jesse Matthew, Jr., 32, with whom Graham was last seen by witnesses and on security footage. He is charged with abduction with intent to defile in connection with Graham's disappearance.
Matthew was also reportedly linked by forensic evidence to the 2009 disappearance and death of 20-year-old Morgan Harrington of Roanoke, Va.
Harrington was a student at Virginia Tech in Roanoke who went missing after attending a Metallica concert in Charlottesville. Her remains were dicovered months later on a nearby farm.
