Police check car, apartment in search for missing Virginia student

By John Clarke (Reuters) - Police looking for a missing University of Virginia student searched a car and apartment on Friday in a major break in the case, a police spokeswoman said. Acting on several tips about missing student Hannah Graham, 18, police in Charlottesville, Virginia, executed search warrants on the apartment and car in what the spokeswoman called a "major break." Graham, a sophomore from Alexandria, Virginia, was last seen early on Saturday after leaving an off-campus party in downtown Charlottesville. Her disappearance has riveted the college town of 45,000 people about 100 miles southwest of Washington. A surveillance video showed her on the downtown pedestrian mall. Graham sent a text message to friends shortly afterwards saying she was lost. A witness told police that Graham appeared "somewhat physically distressed" and was approached by a black man, police have said. He put his arm around her and the two talked, the witness said, according to police. Police said in a statement they had a person of interest in the case. He is a black male, 5 feet 10 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall weighing 250 to 285 pounds, with a close-shaved head, goatee, and a slight "beer belly." The man is in his late 20s to early 30s and was wearing black jeans and a white T-shirt, the statement said. Graham is white, about 5 feet 11 inches tall, with blue eyes, light brown hair and freckles. She was wearing a metallic black crop top with mesh cut outs and black pants. More than 800 people have registered to take part in a weekend search, according to the state Department of Emergency Management. More than 1,000 people gathered late on Thursday for a campus vigil for Graham. Organizers handed out pink Starbusts, her favorite candy, and read from a letter. "You make things good, Hannah Graham. Where are you?" the letter said. (Reporting by John Clarke in Washington; Editing by Ian Simpson and Sandra Maler)