<p>My take on it was that they abandoned the chase because to continue to do so would have endangered other citizens.</p>
<p>Police abandon high speed chases due to danger to communities all the time. And, they had nothing on him that we know of but strong suspicion, so maybe that’s not that important. However, now they have a warrant for his arrest. Previously, their problem was no probable cause to bring him in for questioning… </p>
<p>If he is innocent I hope he has a good lawyer. He’s gonna need it.</p>
<p>I guess we’ll have to wait and see :(</p>
<p>I’m not a lawyer (obviously) but if they bring him in on the reckless driving charges , can they also start questioning him about Hannah’s disappearance? He does sound desperate based on his recent actions. I wonder about potential suicide or suicide by cop if he doesn’t resurface soon with a lawyer. </p>
<p>I don’t think the cops wanted a suicide by cop. They were probably wise to back off and get some evidence.</p>
<p>I’m not saying the police would want that, they still want to talk to him … The longer this goes on , the more possible outcomes where he is concerned , evolve. He really needs to come in with a lawyer and deal with some questions, in the presence of his lawyer.</p>
<p>That’s not exactly what I meant. But, I agree with you. They think he knows what happened and his unwillingness to be questioned and racing out of town doesn’t quite make him look innocent I wouldn’t think. Of course, he can have a lawyer but he hasn’t been charged with anything yet, either…</p>
<p>I think perhaps the police chiefs accusatory demeanor at the press conference was to “turn the heat up” on Mathew, get him to do something stupid like make a run for it. Just letting him know in no uncertain terms what he “believed”. Boxing him in to see if he would go on the lam. If he runs, that would imply a lot.</p>
<p>HarvestMoon has it precisely. They are increasing the pressure on this guy. There are all kinds of FBI experts contributing to this investigation and I think it is orchestrated. The parents’ appeal was part of it. I have incredible respect for her parents making the appearance. </p>
<p>The police still have his car. The lab reports won’t be ready for a while. The brief chase was done by the State Police who called it off due to danger to the public. They have sworn out a Class 1 misdemeanor warrant for the reckless driving and he can be physically arrested when he is located. If he has already requested an attorney they can’t question him about the abduction case. With the increased pressure they’re hoping he’ll visit the site where she is or make a confession to a friend. </p>
<p>The chief made the statement that they were examining phone records but they have to get “official” phone records. I know in an emergency the cell phone companies can give info over the phone but they need to get date and time stamps for court purposes. I’m sure they’ve tracked where POI and Hannah’s phones were pinging on the night she met him. </p>
<p>The apartment complex where he lived I believe is where auxiliary police officer Kevin Quick was abducted/murdered last January. His girlfriend he was visiting worked at UVA hospital. Eight people are in custody over the case. Three siblings (two female!) were caught with Quick’s SUV. They lived in Hessian Hills. News has slowed about the case but at the time it was said it was part of continued gang activity (Bloods) in the area I wonder if this is how POI is known to the police. If there’s a gang connection there’s maybe a hope that she’s alive.</p>
<p>Cracking down on underage drinking at this point wouldn’t be helpful to the investigation. They need to keep friendly communication with the partiers and the bars Hannah visited. I would think they need to know who was at the parties she attended and look at cell phone pictures of who was there. I really think she was slipped a drug. </p>
<p>That’s what I think, too. They are not stupid. And, they know more than they are saying. They always do.</p>
<p>
I’ve got no training in these matters, but I’d think precisely the opposite. I think he’d be more likely to revisit something if he thought that he wasn’t on the radar, but had left something undone. He’d be more likely to brag to a friend if it was a local mystery and he wasn’t on the radar. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, when you have a missing person case, you are caught between an urgency of acting quickly in case they are still alive (and to collect evidence while it still exists) and taking a more measured approach to surveil a suspect who might inadvertently give you some leads. You can’t do both.</p>
<p>Everyone in Va. knew there was a search for Hannah. Her face was distributed everywhere. Matthew was working inside the UVa hospital as a nurse’s aide - he couldn’t have missed that publicity. However, it took him several days to come forward, and only after he found out there were video cameras showing him with Hannah, as well as a couple witnesses. Even when he did come forward, he apparently did not cooperate in answering questions on Saturday, even after a lawyer was provided for him. Anyone with half a heart would have wanted to cooperate, because they realize time is of the essence. If he was guilty of a minor offense (such as providing alcohol to a minor), I’m sure the police would have given him immunity for that offense to get his answers.</p>
<p>Prior to that time, everyone thought she disappeared about a mile to the west. A great amount of time was wasted searching in the wrong place because Matthew did not come forward.</p>
<p>IF and when Police catch the responsible person, I hope they can also resolve the cases of the other missing women with the same perpetrator. I’d hate to think there is more than one mass kidnapper running loose. </p>
<p>Did the Matthews ever actually “come forward”? My sense from the reports was that the police somehow identified him and showed up at his apartment. The guy who came forward in the reports was the white guy who was following her but backed off after (presumably Matthews) the other guy showed up and put his arm around the girl. So my read on this was that Matthews never “came forward”. Happy to be corrected if that’s wrong. </p>
<p>No. He never came forward, unless you count his visit to the police station on Saturday before he took off but that was to demand a lawyer and apparently to refuse to co-operate…</p>
<p>He did come forward. He went to the police station on his own accord, no doubt after the video surfaced of him with her. He asked for a lawyer, talked to a lawyer and then took off. They followed him, and he began driving recklessly so they backed off of the chase. However, they have now issued a warrant for his arrest based on the reckless driving.</p>
<p>They had already had contact with him at his apartment sometime early Friday morning after midnight . He went to the police station Saturday afternoon , asking for a lawyer He has not provided any info that could help with the investigation.</p>
<p>Okay, came forward after they searched his apartment (and they said there were people in the apartment at the time so he could have been one of them), but they also said he was known to law enforcement, previously so I’m not sure it even matters. In any case a lawyer is going to say, “Keep quiet.” But, probably not advise him to lead cops on a high speed pursuit out of town.</p>
<p>Maybe someone can give a link to yesterday’s full press conference. At this moment, I can;t look for one, but listening to what Longo says is informative.</p>
<p>Obviously the reporting or the reading of the story isn’t completely clear. I read that the white guy came forward after seeing the video, and said he followed Hannah Graham until she encountered the black fellow who apparently was Matthews. That was mid-week, and gave rise to the prospect of the mythical black perpetrator story. But as it turned out, the report was true, and they have witness accounts that Matthews was with her in a bar after 1:00. </p>
<p>My sense of the timeline from the reports is that the police showed up at Matthews apartment with a search warrant for the car, and then got one for the apartment. * After that*, (the next day?) Matthews came into the police department and asked to have a lawyer assigned. That’s not coming forward, if I have the facts right. At some point after requesting the lawyer, he hightailed it away from the police officials who were following him. </p>