While Charlottesville Police have received thousands of leads in the case of a missing student, they now have a new responsibility: running the search for the young woman.
The leader of the search for missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham says that after 27 days on the job, he's handing over the reins to Charlottesville officials.
"I need to go home and see my own family. I will tell you the first thing I do when I go home is I'm gonna hug my own daughter and tell her that I love her," said Mark Eggeman, the Search and Rescue Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
At a Friday afternoon press conference under drizzly skies, Eggeman updated reporters on the frustrating labor of scouring an 8-mile ring around Charlottesville."Obviously, as you can see, we are not flying any aircraft today. We still have ATVs, boots on the ground, and I'm confident that we're going to finish the eight-mile ring."
The 18-year-old Graham went missing in the early morning hours of September 13th. Eleven days later, amid a national manhunt, a lifetime Charlottesville area resident, 32-year-old Jesse L. Matthew Jr., was arrested on a beach in Texas and charged with abduction.
Now jailed mere footsteps from the search headquarters at the National Guard Armory, Matthew may have invoked his Constitutional right to remain silent. So police plead for the public to send in tips, and searchers cover ground just to rule it out.
"I just feel terrible that I'm going to walk away at the end of this without a conclusion after almost 30 days, so that's hard to leave. That's hard to walk away from."
Stepping in will be crews from Hampton, Pulaski, and other areas to join Charlottesville police. In conducting a search with no end in sight, Eggeman says hope fuels the hunt.
"We begin the day optimistically, and at the end of the day we may feel a little bit deflated or defeated, but every day we walk out say, 'Tomorrow is gonna be the day; tomorrow is going to be the day.'
Statement from Hannah's parents, John and Sue Graham:
It is now a month since our precious daughter Hannah disappeared.
We would again like to express our thanks to Chief Longo, Mark Eggeman, their teams, and all of the wonderful people who have dedicated so much of their time to help search for Hannah. Words cannot adequately express our gratitude to them, and to the many others who have provided us with support throughout this ordeal.
We truly appreciate the enormous effort that is being made to find Hannah. It is heart-breaking for us that the person or persons who know where Hannah is have not come forward with that information. It is within their power both to end this nightmare for all, and to relieve the searchers of their arduous task.
Again, we would like to urge anyone who has not already searched their property in the city of Charlottesville, or any of the neighboring counties, to please do so today.
Please, please, please help us to bring Hannah home.
Thank you.
John and Sue Graham
