Oct 08, 2014 03:57 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

While police and any volunteer willing to help continue the search for Hannah Graham, authorities stressed the importance of taking their time in the criminal case against the man accused of abducting her.

Jesse Leroy "LJ" Matthew, 32, was the last person seen with Graham before she disappeared and evidence thus far seems to further suggest that he abducted her. He was arrested more than a week ago on the charge of abduction with the intent to defile and is currently being held without bail.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo spoke on how Matthew walked into the station as a "person of interest" before eventually becoming the lead suspect. Graham disappeared on Sept. 13 and Matthew came to the Charlottesville station the next weekend.

He left after about an hour where all he did was request an attorney. Police openly trailed him later and he sped off, prompting the police to issue an arrest warrant for reckless driving. Matthew then disappeared himself and was later arrested on the abduction charge in Galveston, Texas.

"We caught some criticism when Mr. Matthew walked out that door on that Saturday afternoon. People couldn't understand: 'How do you just let the guy walk out the door?'" Longo told the AP. "We made a commitment to honor certain constitutional protections that people have in our criminal justice system, and as frustrating as it is, we want to be very careful to get it right, not to rush to judgment."

Police searched Matthew's apartment and found evidence in need of forensic analysis to possibly place Graham there, the Washington Post previously reported, though Longo did not discuss the evidence against the suspect.

According to WVIR, investigators believe Graham is still in Virginia, Longo told the TV station, because there is no evidence to suggest she left.

"I think the more we gather with respect to investigative leads the more sense, the more idea, we get as to when we believe that time period that becomes most relevant took place and how much time we are dealing with between her disappearance and where that need to search would have otherwise began," he said.

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