Arrest In Teen's Disappearance

Richmond, Va., police have arrested a man whom they call "a person of interest" in the disappearance three weeks ago of 17-year-old Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Taylor Behl. He has been charged with 16 counts of possession of child pornography.

Police say Ben Fawley, a 38-year-old amateur photographer, was one of the last people to see Behl the night she vanished.

It's believed she left her dorm room with her a cell phone, some cash, identification and car keys, reports Rene Syler.

Twelve days later, police found her car a mile-and-a-half from campus.

At the time, Chief Rodney Monroe called it "a very big piece in the puzzle, and hopefully, once we have an opportunity to search the vehicle further, it can give us more information."

Behl's acquaintance with Fawley could be another piece of that puzzle, Syler says.

They met through his former roommate, who says Fawley took pictures of Behl and posted them on his Web site.

Behl's friend, Mike Cino, says, "They'd been talking for a while online … and it's possible she considered him a confidante of sorts."

Cino says Fawley was drawn to younger friends.

Fawley's lawyer, Chris Collins, admits Fawley's ways may seem odd, but that's no crime: "This guy is a bit quirky, as I'm sure everybody knows by now, but he is not a child pornographer. I promise you that."

Behl's mother, Janet Pelasara, told Syler on The Early Show Monday that the last three weeks have been "excruciating, heartbreaking and horribly frustrating.

"I'm taking it day by day, and trying not to think about how, what kind of situation she could be in. I try not to feel, and just hope that if she can hear me, come home. You know? If they'll just let her walk away and just come on home."

But she says Fawley's arrest gives her "hope that maybe he knows something and, while he's behind bars, he'll share what he knows that would help us, help the police locate Taylor and bring her home."

Monroe, the police chief, joined Pelasara on The Early Show Monday and noted that, "We're just pushing along. Every day, there is a number of things that we have to follow up on. There is an enormous amount of evidence that we've collected, both from Taylor's car and from the search warrants that we issued on Friday. It's a matter of linking any evidence that we have recovered to any information that we have in our possession or may have in our possession in the future."

Monroe wouldn't say whether authorities consider Fawley a suspect in Behl's disappearance.

"We don't know that yet," he said. "Quite naturally, he's one of only a few people that had contact with Taylor in the preceding 24 hours of her disappearance. He admitted to the fact that he was with her the night of her disappearance. So quite naturally, whatever information that he could provide could be of great value to us."