FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Fairfax County Police Department has identified a man as a person of interest in the "suspicious" disappearance of 72-year-old Emily Lu, who was last seen on June 3.
During a news conference Thursday morning, police said that they can not release the identity of the man linked to the case, but they do believe Lu's disappearance was not random and she knew him.
"I can tell that person is not a stranger to Miss Lu," said Fairfax County Police Department Major Edward O'Carroll.
Police are looking for additional clues and expanding the search. They are not excluding that there could be more people of interest linked to Lu's disappearance.
Fairfax County Chief of Police, Kevin Davis said the case remains a missing person investigation and they will not stop until they find her. He said they are working with federal and local authorities to bring justice to this case.
"This is not a cold case, this is one of many cases within the Fairfax County Police Department," said O'Carroll. "This is an all-hands-on-deck approach."
Lu, who was a resident of Lorton, was last seen on surveillance video, June 3, at an Aldi supermarket in Woodbridge.
Police found Lu’s car in her driveway, with groceries still inside, on June 4. Her employer requested officers conduct a welfare check at her residence, on the 9200 block of Davis Drive, after she did not show up to work that day.
Detectives previously said that foul play could have been involved in Lu’s disappearance. They added she was not the only person living in her home at the time she went missing.
“A team of detectives from our Major Crimes and Cyber and Forensics Bureau continue to comb through evidence, conduct interviews and follow up on leads,” a Fairfax County Police Department statement reads. “Detectives remain dedicated to this case and are working diligently to find Ms. Lu.”
Jenny Ball, Lu’s daughter, drove up from Little Rock, Arkansas to continue her search for her mother. She went to several stores that her mother used to frequent around Fairfax County, dropping off leaflets alerting the public of Lu’s disappearance.
Fairfax County police are offering a $20,000 reward through Crime Solvers for information related to her disappearance. Tipsters can call its Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, and press option 6.
Lu's family and her employer will hold a candlelight vigil at her home in Lorton Thursday night at 7 p.m.