Video of Missing Va. Woman Released

Police Question Man, Call Him Focus of Probe at the University of Vermont

In these images taken from a video camera mounted on a jewelry store in Burlington, Michelle Gardner-Quinn of Arlington, foreground, can be seen walking with a man whose cellphone she had borrowed. Police are seeking tips from anyone who might have seen the two together. (Burlington Police Department Via Associated Press)

Police in Vermont released still video images yesterday of an Arlington County college senior and the man with whom she was last seen, calling him a "significant focus" of their investigation into her disappearance last weekend.

Captured by a surveillance camera outside a jewelry store in downtown Burlington, the images show the man walking alongside missing University of Vermont senior Michelle Gardner-Quinn, 21, about 2:15 a.m. Saturday. Police said Gardner-Quinn, a student at the college for only six weeks, borrowed the man's cellphone to call her friends and was last seen walking with the man toward campus, about five blocks from the downtown area where she had celebrated a friend's 21st birthday.

Burlington police know who the man is and have talked to him but declined to identify him. They said yesterday in a statement posted on the department Web site that he is not a suspect "specifically at this time." Still, he remains a "significant focus of our investigation," it said.

In addition to the snapshots of Gardner-Quinn and the man, almost 600 other images taken from the surveillance camera were released yesterday. Police said they would like to speak to anyone who was in the area in the moments after Gardner-Quinn and the man walked past.

In the first frame, Gardner-Quinn, wearing a gray peacoat, is standing to the right of the man, who is dressed in a dark sweater and pants. The second frame shows the man looking at Gardner-Quinn, as if they are talking. And in the final frame, they are looking straight ahead, their hands in their pockets.

As the growing investigation stretched into its sixth day, police continued to canvass the communities surrounding the university, where about 10,000 students attend classes. And in Arlington, parishioners of Gardner-Quinn's hometown church planned to gather last night for a prayer vigil. Another vigil at the same church, Church of the Covenant on Military Road, is planned for 3 p.m. tomorrow.

Gardner-Quinn, who is majoring in Latin American studies and environmental science, was reported missing by her parents Saturday night after she failed to meet them for dinner. Police said her parents remain in Burlington. They did not return a telephone message left at their house, nor did they return an e-mail seeking comment.