This is what I am thinking. The circumstances depicted in the video + eyewitness accounts that suggest she was 'in distress' and did not know the suspect (and therefore would not have willingly gone with him) = the charge.
I don't know what the minimum evidence needed to charge someone with "abduction with intent to defile". LE had spoken to people who had seen JM and Hannah together, he was the last person to be seen with Hannah. LE also pretty much knew that Hannah appeared inebriated or under the influence of something and was erratic, and eye witnesses confirmed that. She was on her way to something specific as friends and texts indicated. But with all of that, they still could not arrest JM even when he was right in arms length and in their faces. They needed more.
Clearly, they got something, perhaps from the car, the apartment, the clothing, JM's cell phone, Hannah's messages that tipped the balance. Even without Hannah herself, and without JM in their custody LE feels comfortable to charge JM with this. Without a body, without full forensics, as they would need more time to do a complete work up at these labs. THey can make this charge even with the possibllity of Hannah still being alive. There is evidence that he picked up Hannah and attempted to rape her (as that is pretty much what "defile" comes down to. Whether her state of mind from witnesses that she was not all there, and perhaps saying she needed to get somewhere is enough to show that consent was unlikely, I don't know.
Also don't know if JM could swear that he started to take her to wherever she wanted to go, and she was interested in a sexual encounter to which he consented, and then dropped her off somewhere, and that was it. If LE doesn't find Hannah, if that story could hold up, is something maybe the lawyers here can weigh in on.
Of course, that 's if that is all the evidence can show. There is likely more. JM seems to be a very careless person as his traffic, drivinng, payment, car maintence show, so there might be a wealth of forensic evidence the labs now have. Hopefully JM's phone, soil samples, Hannah's phone records can point LE to where Hannah is right now.
But as I mentioned before, the Alexis Murphy case was resolved with full conviction of murder one without her body, and the first charge against Randy Taylor was the same as it si for JM.
