Snatched off the street, raped and murdered: The mystery of Morgan Harrington and the FOUR other women who've vanished along Route 29 in just five years

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The desperate hunt for missing UVA student Hannah Graham took an astonishing turn on Monday when it was revealed police are linking the case to that of the notorious abduction, rape and murder of student Morgan Harrington.

Morgan, 20, vanished after she was last seen trying to hitch a lift after a Metallica concert in Charlottesville in 2009. She is one of five women - including Hannah - who have disappeared along the Route 29 corridor that runs through Virginia, in the last five years.

Of the five women, only the remains of Morgan have been found. 

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Big break: Police said on Monday that there is a forensic link between the rape and murder of Morgan Harrington, 20, in 2009 and the disappearance of Hannah Graham, 18 on September 13

Missing on Route 29: Five women have gone missing in and around Charlottesville, Virginia, just a few minutes' drive from the same highway in the last five years. The body of just one has been found so far

Tragedy: Morgan Harrington, 20 (left), vanished from UVA's John Paul Jones Arena while attending a Metallica concert in October 2009. Alexis Murphy, 17 (right), was last seen at a gas station in Lovingston in August 2013

Mystery: DaShad Laquinn Smith, 19 (left), has not been seen since November 2012. Samantha Ann Clarke, 19 (right) vanished after leaving her home in Orange in September 2010

The disappearances, with that of Morgan being the most high profile, have for years fueled speculation of a serial killer on the loose in Virginia. 

Now, the arrest of Jesse Matthew, 32, over the abduction of Hannah has provided a 'forensic link' to the Harrington case. It will no doubt now raise the hopes - rightly or wrongly - of the families of the other women who vanished.

Matthew has been charged with abduction and intent to defile Hannah. He has yet to enter a plea. Matthew has not been charged in any other case. Police did not specify the nature of the link between the cases. 

Before Matthew was arrested Morgan's mother, Gil, told MailOnline that the worry of not knowing is the hardest to bear.

'The missing time is the hardest. You have no answers and you fill in the blanks in a horrible way.

'It's much worse having a missing daughter than knowing she is dead. There are rituals for death. There are no cards for "sorry about your missing child". You go from hope to despair. It's hideous.

'My heart goes out to Hannah's family.'

Mrs Harrington suffered months of despair after Morgan disappeared from UVA in October 2009 while attending a Metallica concert.

She left alone and witnesses claim a woman fitting her description was seen hitchhiking at a bridge near the concert venue. A day after her disappearance, her purse and cellphone - with the batteries removed - were found at the arena.

Her body was not recovered until three months later, hidden at a remote farm. She had been raped before she was murdered.

Hope: Gil Harrington, the mother of murdered Morgan Harrington, told MailOnline: 'I hope and pray that Hannah is somewhere and will come walking through the door with a sheepish look on her face any moment now. But my logic tells me that is unlikely to happen'

Link: Jesse Matthew is taken off a private plane after being found in Galveston, Texas, where he fled to

Police would later reveal that a Pantera t-shirt discovered in November 2009 at an apartment over a mile from the arena also belonged to Morgan.

Her skeletal remains were found in January 2010 on a farm in Albemarle County - around four miles away from where she disappeared.  

Mrs Harrington, 57, from Roanake added: 'I hope and pray that Hannah is somewhere and is recoverable and will come walking through the door with a sheepish look on her face any moment now. 

'That's my hope. But my logic tells me that is unlikely to happen. I'm really holding out hope that we can have a good outcome.'  

Mrs Harrington has launched a charity in her daughter's honor called Help Save The Next Girl to educate young women of the dangers of predatory men. 

She has previously said that a serial killer was responsible for Morgan's murder. Mrs Harrington said: 'My own daughter was abducted in the area that Hannah went missing. Morgan was abducted and murdered in Charlottesville in 2009. 

'We know that the person involved with Morgan's case was a serial offender. We know that because he was involved with a previous abduction and rape in 2005.'

Morgan's case gained widespread national coverage, largely down to her mother's tireless campaigning. 

The other women to go missing included Samantha Ann Clarke, 19. She disappeared after leaving her home in nearby Orange County in September 2010. Her body has not been found.

Sketch: The police released the sketch of Morgan's attacker, left, in 2010. Right is Matthew without dreadlocks

Driver: Matthew used to work as a taxi driver and a source told MailOnline that he used to give girls free rides

DaShad Laquinn Smith, 19, disappeared in Charlottesville in November 2012. Her whereabouts remain a mystery.

Alexis Murphy, 17, disappeared after leaving her home in Shipman, Virginia, in August 2013. This May, Randolph Taylor, 48, was convicted of her abduction and murder in January although her body has never been found.

Another two young women, Alicia Showalter Reynolds, 25, and Anne Carolyn McDaniel, 20, were abducted and murdered in 1996 along the same corridor.

On Monday, Virginia State Police said: 'For the past give year, the Virginia State Police has been aggressively pursuing the investigation into the disappearance and death of 20-year-old Morgan D Harrington of Roanoke, VA.

‘Last week the arrest of Jesse L Matthew, 32, of Charlottesville, Virginia, provided a significant break in this case with a new forensic link for state police investigators to pursue.

‘There is still a great deal of work to be done in regards to this investigation and we appreciate the public’s patience as we move forward.’

Morgan's case was also linked by DNA to the rape of a 26-year-old woman in Fairfax, Virginia in September 2005. 

The woman was lucky to escape with her life. She was walking along a residential street after dark when a man grabbed her from behind and forced her into a nearby wood.

He sexually assaulted her but he fled after being startled by a passerby. The victim was rushed to hospital for treatment for several injuries. 

Hope: Hannah's parents, Susan and john, and brother James, are clinging on to hope they will find her alive. But they have said they do fear 'foul play'

She described her attacker as black in his mid-20’s and with a heavy build, to police and it led to a police sketch being released of the attacker - by then, also thought to be Morgan's attacker.

Meanwhile, MailOnline revealed last week that Matthew was named as a suspect of an alleged rape at Liberty University, the acclaimed Christian college, in Lynchburg, Virginia.

He was not arrested or charged due to a lack of sufficient evidence. But he was expelled.

• Anyone with information is asked to call Charlottesville Police Department at 970-3280 or Crimestoppers at 977-4000