PRESSER RECAP
-Public relations manager from Virginia State Police speaking first. Wants to thank the public for the many calls and emails related to the search. Every piece of info is being looked at. Police are still working very closely. Also thanks the media. Because they are receiving so many tips new tip line (434)352-3467 asking people to NOT use old tip line because of volume of calls.
-Let. Joe Rader says he confirms her purse and her cell phone were located NOT by the police but by a passerby who turned it into the police. Originally handled as recovered property report. Facts: "We have a purse, a cell phone, and a missing girl. Those are the facts".
-Says this is STILL a missing person investigation but this is being handled as a criminal investigation because they have not located Morgan and do not know if she is alive or met with foul play.
-Says today they have concluded a long period of time on a localized ground search around the arena, athletic fields, and other areas of UVA.
-Says it would not be unusual for this particular incident for the battery to have dropped out of her cell phone.
-Says at this point we have no reliable information that criminal misconduct has occurred. They are only conducting it as a criminal investigation only because no one has heard from her and no one knows if she's ok.
-Says they interviewed Morgans friends, people in the arena, etc. and they can confirm that people have spoke to her at the arena.
-They can confirm she was on the grounds of the arena up through 9:30 Saturday night.
-There has been no contact with Morgan or from Morgan.
-They HAVE checked video surveillance and "many many places in the area" and none of that has helped them at this time.
-Multiple calls have come in across the country and have thought they spotted Morgan but none have panned out. But they are following up on every call.
-They do not know if she is still on the grounds.
-In the next 24 hours, there will be a reward fund set up through Crime Stoppers. The minimum reward will be set at $50,000. The details are still being worked out. Details will be posted on the police website tomorrow.
-There is no timeframe for this investigation. Reinterates that it is a criminal investigation until they can develop more information that proves otherwise, this will still be a criminal investigation.
-Urges the public to please keep sending in information.
-"She left the building to go to the restroom. For whatever reason, she went outside the arena" Says "her condition is being looked at. We are not prepared to discuss her condition at this time but she was in a condition where she could move around the arena freely and converse with people"
-She called her friends and told her she would find a way to get home and that she would not be coming back into the arena. Call was made between 8:30 and 9.
-SHE WAS NOT THE DRIVER. HER CAR IS NOT AN ISSUE AND IS NOT PART OF THE INVESTIGATION.
-They are not prepared to talk about her cell phone but they are looking into all her calls placed that night.
-Her purse and cell phone were found in the vicinity between the arena and the athletic fields.
-Don't have any signs of a struggle up until this point.
-SWAT teams were there because they are in training today. Instead of having them go through training, the police used them to help go over the area of the vicinity. They just happened to be SWAT team members.
-There was no evidence recovered in the searches today.
-They feel confident she is not in the immediate perimeter.
-No more air searches unless new information comes up. Because of the amount of trees, they have to use the air searches limitedly.
-Says he doesn't want the public to be focused on a timeline because he doesn't want to steer the public away from calling. The general time line is this: Between 8:30 and 9:30 Morgan was not inside the arena but she WAS confirmed to be in the vicinity.
-Over 100 calls since Monday. At least 20% are leads that needed immediate followup and have followed up on every one of them.
-The purse was found in a small parking area and was easily discovered by a bystander.
-Ground search for should be concluded in about 45 minutes.
-They are using "many sorts of dogs" in this investigation.
-Her friends were aware they may not meet up with her after the concert and wasn't a need for an immediate alarm because Morgan said she would find a way to get "away from the vicinity of the arena"
-Her friends were not aware until later the belongings were discovered.
Presser over.