The Mom wrote: "It reminds me of the (rumored, as per WS rules) story someone posted that a friend of theirs experienced with a cab driver in cville, who drove them to a spot on OLRoad, she hopped out, and the black driver looked for her for about 2 hours before he gave up and left (victim did go to LE with this story during the HG search)."
The 2013 (?) cab driver attack was reported in the news and the Harringtons made a public plea for the victim to go to the police.
This is the incident of which you speak. JM did not have a taxi license at the time. The student later reported she couldn't verify whether or not the car she got in had any taxi markings. She also reported him to be "a middle aged male of Indian descent. She stated that he was tall and chubby with short black hair. He spoke in broken English.
The suspect vehicle is described as a dark in color, four door sedan. The survivor does not believe that the vehicle had any markings or decals to indicate that it was a taxi."
She only went to police at the Harrington's urging. I do wonder if her description was skewed by fear or drugs/alcohol. Most Indian (or Middle Eastern/Asian) men are neither chubby nor tall. http://www.averageheight.co/average-male-height-by-country
"February 18, 2013
To members of the University community:
A University of Virginia student has reported to University officials that she was abducted and assaulted on Feb. 17, 2013, at approximately 2:30 a.m. Using the JustReportIt system, the student reported that she was near 513 Rugby Road trying to hail a cab when a car pulled over and she got in. The car drove away and began driving her toward her Alderman Road residence. Instead of pulling over, the car continued in the direction of Observatory Hill and pulled to the side of the road near Kellogg House. The driver locked the doors and attempted to assault her. The student was able to kick the suspect and flee from the vehicle."
http://www.virginia.edu/uvapolice/safety.html
http://www.nbc29.com/story/21300446/uva-alleged-abduction-assault-victim-comes-forward