Case Closed - Matt Hill

Courtesy of Mike Allen, Politico

MATT HILL, the campus outreach worker whose disappearance mobilized hundreds of Christians in a remarkable grid search in D.C. and Arlington, was found unharmed yesterday in Asheville, N.C. The FindMattHill Facebook page announced yesterday: “He … left on his own will. We don't have any answers. We praise God he is alive, but ask you continue to pray.” The Facebook page was then deleted, to keep unhelpful comments from circulating.

--A.D.C. police official told the Charlotte Observer that detectives got a lead that Hill was in Asheville, and that police there made contact with him around 4 a.m.: “He just left on his own -- for personal reasons. I guess he just wanted to get away.” Hill is a member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, where senior pastor Mark Dever yesterday preached that no matter the outcome, the purpose of trials is God’s glory, which should inspire humility and trust.

--Local television, blogs and network morning shows swarmed the story. The church was media-friendly, allowing reporters access to searchers and friends of Hill. Who thought it wasn’t an interesting story? The Washington Post, which prints four sentences of AP on page B3.

Breaking News! - Matt Hill Found Alive

Breaking News


Matt Hill has been found alive and unharmed! No other details available at this time.

WUSA9 - Search for Matt Hill Intensifies

WASHINGTON (WUSA) - The search for a missing DC Campus Outreach minister who mentors students at George Washington University is growing in scale and outreach.

On Saturday, volunteers with the Capitol Hill Baptist Church, covered the map looking for Matt Hill, 26, a Charlotte native who went missing on Tuesday. Organizers used a giant map of the region to divide up into sections for various groups.

Some passed out fliers at major events like the Nationals game, others rode their bikes looking for Matt Hill's vehicle near his church and many more drove far out to areas like Southeast and Mount Vernon to search for the 1996 Black Honda Civic LX.


Click for Full Article

CBS Sports - Matt Hill

From CBS Sports
By Matt Snyder

Red Sox setup man Daniel Bard is dealing with an off-field issue right now and he's seeking a little help from anyone who can offer it.

Matt Hill, a childhood friend of Bard's, has gone missing. Hill, 26, grew up with Bard in North Carolina and was one of his groomsmen. Hill was last seen in the Washington D.C. area Tuesday morning. He was mentoring a student at George Washington University as part of a campus outreach ministry program.

Bard said he first became worried when a mutual friend called and asked Bard if Hill might have come to Boston to hang out with Bard for the week. Only it was Thursday morning and the Red Sox were in Detroit.

Bard has been asking fellow major leaguers and all reporters to tweet and retweet information about his friend with hopes that someone will find something to help police in their search. There's a Facebook page, too.

Bard definitely suspects foul play.

"He was one of the most positive, outgoing, happy people I've ever met,'' Bard said. "I'm not just saying that. I think anyone who met him would say that. He loves his job, loves the people he works with. He's not married. There's nothing tying him down, nothing to run from. So that's why this all seems so strange.''

"He's a clean-cut guy," Bard continued (ESPN Boston). "He's never done a drug in his life, so we're 99 percent sure that something external was involved.'' 

Politico Report on Matt Hill

ATT HILL STILL MISSING – “D.C. efforts intensify to find missing 26-year-old” – WTOP: “D.C. police now have classified a 26-year-old Christian outreach worker last seen Tuesday morning near the Verizon Center as a ‘critical missing person.’ A Facebook page has been set up to help locate Matthew Alan Hill … Friends say he was last seen at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday near the Verizon Center … Hill -- who works for Campus Outreach D.C. and does campus ministry at George Washington University -- had been in Chinatown that morning to drop off a student he was mentoring … Cmdr. Michael Reese says Hill is a ‘very conscientious person’ who ‘keeps in touch with everyone.’” SecurityAtChurch.com has 411http://bit.ly/lChY3n  ... Facebook page http://on.fb.me/me3Isf

From: Mike Allen's Politico Playbook

NewsChannel 36 - Matt Hill Missing

News Report From: News Channel 36

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Matthews man working with a college ministry group in Washington, D.C. is missing and is the subject of a widening manhunt.

Matthew Hill, 26, was last seen around 10:30 Tuesday morning in the Chinatown area of D.C. He'd dropped a student off there, after working with him on a ministry project, and colleagues believe he planned to head back to Capitol Hill Baptist Church where his organization works. The student he worked with said Hill seemed just fine when he left him.

Friends and family tell police that it would be very out of character for Matt to take off without notice. Police say his cell phone is shut off.

"I've tried not to let my mind wander too much because it's already traveled the full spectrum of possibilities, none of which are very good," his father, Holger Hill said Friday afternoon.

Holger and his son Daniel arrived in D.C. Thursday to assist with the search.

"Know that we love you and we are doing everything we can, and that everything is going to be just fine," Holger Hill said.

Matt Hill had been working with an organization called Campus Outreach at George Washington University since last August. The group provides tutoring and Christian-based support for college students. Hill's friends and colleagues have used Campus Outreach's home church, Capitol Hill Baptist, as a home base for a massive search, combing the area near his Foggy Bottom apartment.

"We just confirmed he got a parking ticket on Tuesday, the 24th at 11:09 a.m. That would lead us to believe the car ended back here on 26th Street," said Thomas Snow, Hill's roommate.

His car, a 1996 Honda Civic with license plate DT2747, is still missing.

Thursday, friends also began searching gas stations in Virginia after police said Hill's credit card was used at a station in Arlington. Police hoped to view surveillance video from the gas station Friday to determine if Hill used the card himself.

Hill is an Elon University graduate and baseball player who grew up in Matthews and has many friends in the area.

"You feel like you're in a dream. You watch this on TV, You don't think this is going to land in your neighborhood," said Andrew Holbrook, a pastor at Christ Covenant.

Holbrook has been friends with Hill for five years. He spoke with Hill's mother just before speaking with NewsChannel 36 Friday.

"Any mom out there could imagine how she is doing. It's very hard," said Holbrook.

Hill's friends have started a Facebook page athttp://www.facebook.com/findmatthill#!/findmatthill to call attention to the disappearance.

"We need people to get involved and give as much information if they have any to helping us find his whereabouts," Holbrook said.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call police at 202-727-9099.

Updated Fox News Report - Matt Hill Missing

Friends, Co-Workers Seek Clues in Search For Missing DC Christian Outreach Worker: MyFoxDC.com

By BOB BARNARD/myfoxdc

WASHINGTON - A Baptist church on Capitol Hill has become the command headquarters for friends and co-workers of a Christian outreach worker missing since Tuesday.

Matt Hill disappeared without a trace, leaving few clues behind. He was last seen at 9th and H Streets in Northwest near Chinatown 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. His colleagues at Campus Outreach DC say Hill dropped off a young George Washington University student he had been mentoring and that is the last anybody has seen the 26-year-old Elon University graduate.

Hill was supposed to go to his job at Capitol Hill Baptist Church after dropping off the college student, but he never showed up. His roommate says it appears Hill stopped by their apartment on 26th Street in Foggy Bottom.

Bank records reportedly show somebody used Hill's credit card to buy $33.01 in gas at an Exxon station in Arlington just before noon.

Hill's car is also missing. It is a black 1996 Honda civic with DC tags DT2747.

Friends say Matt Hill's cell phone has been off since he disappeared and that nobody has heard from him.

D.C. Police are calling it a critical missing person case.

Hill's father and brother have flown to Washington, D.C. from North Carolina, telling FOX 5 News they will be meeting with the FBI on Friday.

LINK: www.facebook.com/findmatthill

Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dc/friends-co-workers-seek-clues-in-search-for-missing-dc-christian-outreach-worker-052611#ixzz1NewL9hHl

Matt Hill - Fox New Report

Friends, Co-Workers Seek Clues in Search For Missing DC Christian Outreach Worker: MyFoxDC.com