The sergeant who discovered remains that could belong to missing UVA student Hannah Graham said 'divine intervention' led him to the body.

Sergeant Dale Terry, with the Chesterfield County Sheriff's office, found the remains in a shallow grave on an abandoned property in Albemarle County, Virginia on Saturday.

Authorities have not yet confirmed that the body belongs to the 18-year-old University of Virginia student, who was last seen after a night out with friends in Charlottesville on September 13.

But CBS19 reported on Sunday that sources had confirmed the body is Hannah's. It also emerged that her suspected kidnapper, Jesse Matthew, 32, grew up around Albemarle County.

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Found? A body found in a rural area of Albemarle County could belong to missing student Hannah Graham

Sergeant Terry explained that he and his team were about to finish searching when he decided to push on.

'We were on our way back to our vehicle and I just decided to keep going and we swept a different area and luckily we came upon what we came upon,' he told Fox5.

'Divine intervention is the only thing I can think of.'

He said that it had been a 'huge shock' to come across the young woman's body.

'We came out here to assist, but you don't prepare yourself for finding something like that,' he added. 'It was just an unreal feeling to be honest with you.'

Discovery: Sgt. Dale Terry, pictured, found the body during a search on Saturday. He said his team had finished searching for the day but he felt compelled to continue - and believes God wanted him to find the girl

Search: Albemarle County sheriff deputies search the road leading to the area where the body was found

Investigation: The body has not been identified yet but it is believed to belong to the 18-year-old student

Police let Graham's parents know about the discovery before they publicly released the information and instead of continuing the search for Graham, they focused Sunday on looking for clues and evidence in a heavily wooded area of Albemarle County that is home to horse farms.

We came here to assist but you don't prepare yourself for finding something like that Sergeant Dale Terry

Matthew, the last person seen with Graham, has been charged with abduction with intent to defile her. He is being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

Witnesses have said they saw Matthew with Hannah on the night she disappeared.

The spot at which the human remains were found, on Old Lynchburg Road in Albemarle County, is not far from where Matthew's mother used to live.

He is said to have grown up in the area and to be familiar with it.

The remains were also discovered roughly six miles from where the body of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington was found after she vanished in 2009 after attending a concert.

Close: Graham disappeared a month ago during a night out in Charlottesville. The body was found about eight miles away on an Old Lynchburg Road abandoned property

Emotional: Charlottesville Police Chief, Tim Longo, wipes his eyes as he briefs the media on the discovery of remains in Albemarle County during a news conference in Charlottesville on Saturday

Her body was found three months later on an Albemale County farm.

Police have said forensic evidence connects Matthew to Harrington's killing, which in turn is linked by DNA to a 2005 sexual assault in northern Virginia. Matthew hasn't been charged in those cases.

Graham hasn't been seen since September 13 after a night out with friends.

She had met friends at a restaurant for dinner before stopping by two off-campus parties. She left the second party alone and eventually texted a friend saying she was lost, authorities said.

In surveillance video, she can be seen walking unsteadily and even running at times, past a pub and a service station and then onto a seven-block strip of bars, restaurants and shops.

On Sunday, the area was buzzing with people having brunch at outdoor cafes on a brisk, sunny day. Graham's disappearance and the discovery of human remains was a frequent topic of conversation.

Suspect: Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., pictured in court on September 25, has been charged with abduction with intent to defile Graham. He allegedly appears near her on surveillance footage on the night she vanished

Link: Police have said DNA evidence connects Hannah's disappearance with that of Morgan Harrington, another student in Virginia who went missing in 2009. Her body was also found in Albemarle County

'Everybody was rattled. Everybody knew it was coming, but you still hope for the best. As much as you can prepare for it, you can never prepare for it,' said Claire Meyers, a University of Virginia nursing student who has friends who knew Graham and Matthew.

Matthew was an operating room technician at the university's hospital, where Meyers works as a patient care assistant.

Albemarle County resident Bill Gnas, a retiree who lives a few miles from where the remains were found, said he suspected the worst.