Found Deceased VA - Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, Charlottesville, 17 Oct 2009 - #1

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Kant,
On a local message board there were of course some really unkind speculations, but I was wondering about this angle myself. I feel sorry for her parents right now, because it happened Saturday night and I don't think they realized that anything was wrong until Sunday. That is a lot of time lost if she was abducted. Is it possible that these were just scared, confused kids? That was a local suggestion, and I have to disagree. People in their twenties know to call the police if there is someone unexpectedly missing.

I think that unless the friends were doing drugs and were waiting for them to wear off before reporting there is something else up. The comments board at www.readthehook.com supposedly contains comments from close friends who swear that Morgan was NOT that kind of girl so I just don't know.
 
Even with a ticket stub, the JPJ has a policy that they will not let you return inside after you exit. Also, I just read on my local feed that the arena has no surveillance in place for that night? That stuns me. I have been to this arena. It is not even 5 years old and the University of Virginia has all of it's basketball games here. There have to be cameras. Frustrated.
 
I would like to post for the more experienced sleuthers that Roanoke where Morgan was from and where her friends returned to Saturday night without her is about an hour and 15 minutes from here. She was supposedly traveling with 3 female friends that night. Parties between UVA, JMU, and VT are fairly common here as many of our kids all go to the different state schools and of course know each other.
 
Just moved to an area immediately outside of Charlottesville.....SO suggested several things that warrant further discussion...and I have a couple of my own. Please remember that these theories are not based on her disposition or past behavioral traits.

She could have called someone to meet them outside to pick up drugs before the show for everyone (please remember all of the people you never suspected of dabbling...it happens a lot). There may have been plenty of "friends of friends" in the area that would have been able to hook them up with whatever they were interested in.

This could have also been enticed to go with others that travel a lot to see different shows....was she at VA tech during the massacre? Did she have PTSD? That her battery was missing and her cell phone remained doesn't fit...and her friends know something.

The dramatic changes in her weight and appearance through the pictures suggest either emotional, physical or addiction problems. She appears too thin to have needed to lose weight for health reasons. Her facebook picture is alarming.

Just ideas we had that thought should be mentioned.
 
Do we know where in the parking lot her purse was found? Was it closer to the arena or farther out? If she left because she was feeling sick and needed air (that happened to me at a concert before too, because of the crowd and the heat) I can see why she went out of the building. Obviously she didn't know of the no re-entry rule since she tried to get back in. Do we know when she called her friends? Maybe while she was waiting for the concert to end out there someone grabbed her or sweet-talked her into getting into their car. If the main act was on the stage, the parking lot was probably empty of people.
 
It should be mentioned that there is always a very heavy police presence patrolling the parking lots for the concerts. I live 6 blocks from the arena, and it is like driving through a gauntlet for every event.
 
Roanoke where Morgan was from and where her friends returned to Saturday night without her is about an hour and 15 minutes from here.

Above respectfully snipped...

I'm sorry I have to disagree... I'm born and raised in Roanoke. It takes nearly 2 hours to make it to Harrisonburg from Roanoke...add another 40-45 minutes if you are coming to Harrisonburg from VT.

1 hr. & 15 minutes is only going to put you on the far side of Lexington, VA.

And it takes roughly 2 hrs. 10 minutes to make it to Charlottesville - believe me I know...drove it back and forth every day for 4 weeks.

Unless...one is driving like a maniac and doing 80+ on I-81 you might could make Harrisonburg in 1 hr and 20-25 minutes.

I-81 is 2 lanes on either side - lots of big truck traffic and wrecks that tie up the Interstate almost on a daily basis...
 
Watching Nancy Grace now..

-Pastor says this is not behavior she would have. To their knowledge, she doesn't have a boyfriend and this isn't something she would do.

-Dad says he was working the last day she was at their house. He didn't see her, but her mom and her picked out an outfit for her to wear. She left Roanoke (from their house) at about 12 noon. He spoke to Morgan at 2 o'clock Saturday when she called him to say she arrived safely in Harrisonburg with her friends and they then drove (with another friend) to the concert in Charlottesville.

-Nancy Grace says she had the tickets posted on her fridge to the concert for about 6 months. She was so excited.

-Friends say they aren't sure why she went outside, but she never returned. 16 hours later (about noon on Sunday) her father calls her friends and they say they haven't seen her since she left before Metallica took the stage. He becomes worries, and then calls police.

-Cops have been there since Sunday. Because of bad weather over the weekend, they couldn't put choppers up until Monday.

-Mother (Gil Harrington) on Nancy Grace live. Mother sounds really distraught (so sad :( ) Gil says she was with her in the hours before the concert (Sat. afternoon) and said she brought home 3 outfits and asked for her mothers opinion on which to wear. Her mom says she was so excited for her, Morgan was really excited, and that the two of them were really close.

-Her mom says Morgan has a very close relationship with her family. Says Morgan is involved in many different things, she doesn't really date much, she has had the same core group of girlfriends since highschool and that's who she was with at the concert.

-Her mom says her friends haven't told her anything about why Morgan may have left before the band started.

-Private Investigator says it's possible someone removed the battery of her cell phone intentionally to stop the pings.
 
LOL, I used to commute back and forth myself, and have been accused of having a serious lead foot, so I will respectfully concede that it could take longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes:blushing:
 
Does she smoke? If so, maybe she didn't know about the designated indoor smoking area and went outside.

WHAT MADE HER GO OUTSIDE?

Maybe she thought she had her ticket stub to get back in? IDK.
and we already know she tried to re enter... if we are to believe the worker that saw her try to re enter...

strange stuff
 
Not watching NG- hubby has TV, but all of the local friends that have been posting have all said the same thing about Morgan. She seems to have been pretty close with her family and level-headed. Makes it more worrisome because I feel that there are some big parts missing to this.
 
I was just thinking about this possible scenario..
Maybe Morgan wasn't feeling well (as speculated/rumored) and left the concert arena, thinking that she could get back in. When she found out she couldn't, she called her friends and when she found out that if the ticket was already used, there is no re-entry (meaning one of her friends couldn't come down and let her in), she went to a ticket scalper (who frequently are outside the arena) and attempted to buy a cheap ticket just to get her back in..but she was robbed or something went wrong with the scalper (I've heard horror stories about them).
 
I was just thinking about this possible scenario..
Maybe Morgan wasn't feeling well (as speculated/rumored) and left the concert arena, thinking that she could get back in. When she found out she couldn't, she called her friends and when she found out that if the ticket was already used, there is no re-entry (meaning one of her friends couldn't come down and let her in), she went to a ticket scalper (who frequently are outside the arena) and attempted to buy a cheap ticket just to get her back in..but she was robbed or something went wrong with the scalper (I've heard horror stories about them).
oh my... that does make sense... esp the "what are you willing to do for this ticket" scenario...
 
Just moved to an area immediately outside of Charlottesville.....SO suggested several things that warrant further discussion...and I have a couple of my own. Please remember that these theories are not based on her disposition or past behavioral traits.

She could have called someone to meet them outside to pick up drugs before the show for everyone (please remember all of the people you never suspected of dabbling...it happens a lot). There may have been plenty of "friends of friends" in the area that would have been able to hook them up with whatever they were interested in.

This could have also been enticed to go with others that travel a lot to see different shows....was she at VA tech during the massacre? Did she have PTSD? That her battery was missing and her cell phone remained doesn't fit...and her friends know something.

The dramatic changes in her weight and appearance through the pictures suggest either emotional, physical or addiction problems. She appears too thin to have needed to lose weight for health reasons. Her facebook picture is alarming.

Just ideas we had that thought should be mentioned.
I missed the photos. Do I look thru the posts here? Or do you have the link?

The mom was just on NG and she really didn't answer the question that Nancy asked as to why the friends didnt' they call the cops THAT NIGHT. The mom didnt' really answer, but said she "knows" the girls and they're like sisters. This tells me two possible things why the friends didn't call the cops.
1.) The girls had reason to believe she was with someone who she wanted to be with.

2.) They were on some substance and didn't want the cops to see them inebriated underage if they're under 21 for alcohol or any age for other illegal things. Iow tey wanted to wait until they returned to normal, as you mentioned.

But the second reason really sucks and a good friend wouldnt do that. Yikes. Plus, if the second one were the case, they would have called the cops later which appraently they didn't do either.

Something flashed in my head when the dad said twice that she gives them all her access codes to her online accounts and bank accts and everything. I mean if you're 20 and dont have a private email acct.... that may be a little much. I can see it if someone is IDK... 13.. ... or under 18 or something. I can almost feel a sock account type situation. But still I only mention that b/c if there are some things she feels she cant tell the parents, then maybe there are other things they don't know. They say that she is transparent. I was a dull snoozer socially conservative goody-two-shoes kid and I still had my little things... you know....you know -- not "bad" things, but still not exactly... "transparent." :) (snerk)

Surely there is a way for them to find out if she had extra email accounts and can you have two facebooks and all that? [Oh God I sound like a fossil now and Im not; Im just not up on this stuff :) ]
 
YES!! And not only that, but why not call and report her missing? From right there at the stadium? No way would I have just left. Something made them not worried apparently.

Something is missing from this story. I don't want a tomater pelting from you guys, but I like metal music; I dont do drugs, so Im not judging, but could there be more to this than Dad knows? Are the friends scared to say something?

HOW COULD THE FRIENDS JUST LEAVE??? AND NOT REPORT HER MISSING? That is just stunning to me.

MOO

Hi ya'll. Been following along all day but couldn't post from work! Arrrggghhh!!!

This is what bothers me as well. WTH kind of girlfriends just leave without you and don't alert anyone that there may be a problem? It's been a bit since I was 21, but I never would have done that.....unless I KNEW there was a logical explanation why I couldn't find her and why I felt it would be okay to take off without her.

That being said, the fact that they found her purse where they did concerns me greatly. If she had arranged to meet someone there and intended to go off with them, I can't see her leaving her purse or her cell phone.

Then again, if she did get stuck outside the arena (due to a ridiculous policy!), it stands to reason she would have called at least one of the girls inside and let them know. If that is the case, they will be able to see that the call(s) were placed from her phone.

Has it been reported these girls were drinking that night? That (or drugs) could explain the poor judgment on all parts.

I hope she's okay.
 
Hi everyone,
Long time lurker, second time poster. I live in Charlottesville and have been glued to this case. I don't know if this will answer any questions, but the talk at one of our local dailies is that she left the arena because she was feeling sick. .......

Thanks wva. There's still more to be heard from the friends within the logic of the story:

Why go outside the arena if you're sick, unless to rest in the car? She probably would have told her friends where she was going, and since it it was her car, she should have had the keys. The friends would have reported checking on her by cell or at least having gone with her to the exit gate, and having kept up with her, as she was their ride (at least in some of the reports she was the car owner and driver).

If she were sick, she must have gotten better since she tried to re-enter as late as approximately 10 PM.

Did her friends establish a rendez-vous after the concert, since she called them from stranded outside and she (?) had the car?

Since she had her purse, she could have bought a scalper ticket on the cheap as the main act opened and gotten back inside or her friends could have pooled some $.



So there is more to the friends' story than we're hearing, maybe due to fuzzy reporting, friends' reluctance, or being kept unclear at LE request.

There's also a lot of time unaccounted between when she left her friends and when she was reported trying to regain entry.

A quite curious jumble of information.

Thanks for the local info.

Crypto6
 
Does she live on campus? Dorm or apt?

Was one of the friends who went to the concert her roommate?

tia
 
I remember when the Grateful Dead played at this arena a few months ago, and "fans" were camped out 3 days beforehand. The same thing happened with Metallica. I hate to say it, because I was young once and followed bands, but this was a slightly scary looking crowd. I know that scary looking does not imply behavior, but there were some truly scary looking folks and many of them were just sitting in cars in the parking lot seemingly alone up to 24 hours before showtime. I know because I drove by on my way home from the grocery store and mentally noted, "who sits around in the car by themselves like that?" Not talking on the phone or anything, just sitting. Oh well. Clearly I am rambling now. Sorry guys. I just am so disturbed that this happened so close to my house, and I am worried for this poor girl.
 
Hi ya'll. Been following along all day but couldn't post from work! Arrrggghhh!!!

This is what bothers me as well. WTH kind of girlfriends just leave without you and don't alert anyone that there may be a problem? It's been a bit since I was 21, but I never would have done that.....unless I KNEW there was a logical explanation why I couldn't find her and why I felt it would be okay to take off without her.

That being said, the fact that they found her purse where they did concerns me greatly. If she had arranged to meet someone there and intended to go off with them, I can't see her leaving her purse or her cell phone.

Then again, if she did get stuck outside the arena (due to a ridiculous policy!), it stands to reason she would have called at least one of the girls inside and let them know. If that is the case, they will be able to see that the call(s) were placed from her phone.

Has it been reported these girls were drinking that night? That (or drugs) could explain the poor judgment on all parts.

I hope she's okay.

After watching Nancy Grace tonight, Morgans mother (Gil Harrington) stated that the group of girls that Morgan went to the concert with were "all like sisters" to Morgan. She says they have known each other since highschool or before, and were all girls that she was very familiar with, had in her home many times, and would do anything for each other.

Then, they had a private investigator on, and he made a good point. He said perhaps the reason they didn't wait for Morgan after the show (the mom stated they had waited for Morgan for a significant amount of time, couldn't reach her so they left) was because they knew Morgan was meeting someone there. Maybe she had mentioned meeting a friend there and she figured she would get a ride with them.

If what the mom says is true about her friends, I find it hard to believe they would just leave her without, at the VERY least notifying someone she was missing. I think, like the PI stated, she was meeting someone there and her friends figured she had gotten a ride home with that person.I can't think of any other reason they would have left without notifying anyone.
 
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