Searchers looking for missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham found human remains at an abandoned property in a rural area on Saturday, five weeks after she was last seen in the university town of Charlottesville, police said.
Authorities, who notified the girl's parents of the grim discovery, must conduct forensic tests on the remains to determine the person's identity, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo told a news conference.
The case has drawn national attention to the university town of Charlottesville in central Virginia and shaken the community.
Jesse Matthew Jr, 32, of Charlottesville who authorities say was the last person seen with Graham, has been charged in her disappearance. Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore, was last seen on Sept. 13 in Charlottesville.
The human remains were found by a Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office team combing through an abandoned property in a rural area of southern Albemarle County, and police called Graham's parents to inform them, Longo told reporters in Charlottesville.
"These are human remains and forensic tests need to be conducted to determine the identification of those remains, but nonetheless we wanted to be quick and timely to share that information with the Graham family," he said.
"Thousands of hours have been spent by literally hundreds of law enforcement and civilian volunteers in an effort to find Hannah. We think perhaps today proved their worth," Longo said.
Matthew was arrested on Sept. 24 in a tent pitched on a beach outside of Galveston, Texas, about 1,100 miles (1,770 kms) away from the University of Virginia campus. The arrest came a day after a warrant was issued accusing him in connection with Graham's disappearance. He has been extradited back to Virginia to face charges of abduction and intent to defile.
Police have also said forensic evidence links Matthew to the disappearance of female Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, whose body was found in 2010.
Matthew's attorney could not be reached for comment.
Longo said police may not have further information to share on the case for a number of days.
Albemarle County Police Chief Steve Sellers asked members of the public to come forward if they are connected to the area where the remains were found and might have seen Matthew there after Graham went missing.
