Waddles
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I've been trying to keep up with these threads, but they're moving way too fast for me! So I apologize if anything I say or ask is redundant.
I'm local and participated in the searches yesterday. I don't think about how densely wooded even parts of UVA can be until I participate in these searches. Our area was right on the edge of the UVA campus, and between dense ground cover and thick foliage, slopes that were impossible to walk and water, I feel we could easily have missed clues.
We were told to look for Hannah's sequined shirt (which I have heard different descriptions of even from law enforcement, some say it was silver with black mesh cutouts and others say black), black pants, white shoes, and iPhone 5s with a pink case. No jewelry description was given, although I think almost any young woman going out at night is at least wearing earrings. My group talked about the importance of the sequined shirt and looking for sequins catching the light.
I'm very impressed with how organized the search was and LE's response to this in general.
I keep thinking about what Hannah could have been doing on the Downtown Mall. On one hand, I have a really hard time believing she was lost or walked the wrong way for that long. She seems to be moving with so much purpose in the videos, like she is meeting someone and running late. I know a lot of UVA students are unfamiliar with Cville outside of the Corner and the UVA campus, but we know her phone still had some battery at that point, and she could have pulled up a map on her phone at any time. Plus, there's a lot of signage on the mall that IDs where you are, with maps, etc.
On the other hand, if she intended to go to the mall all along, why take such a roundabout way? Why not walk straight up West Main? Was she trying to avoid running into people she knows? Was she looking for someone who she thought might be at McGrady's? Was she texting with someone who first said he/she was at McGrady's, and then when she got there, he/she said, "Oh, I left, I'm on the mall now"?
Finally, has there been any explanation as to why police initially thought they were looking for a guy with short hair who is not in the videos? I know that description came from WG. So is it thought that WG intentionally lied or was actually talking about JM but had a bad memory of his appearance?
Hi there are pictures of the shirt, like this one: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=856356884384073&set=pcb.10152292546151576&type=1&theater