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

[Waddles]

I'm sorry to be negative but I really really don't think she is missing on her own accord and I don't think her mother thinks she has just gone off. Although she is a complete stranger she just really does not seem like a girl who would voluntarily stay hidden despite all this media attention or put her loved ones through this. I'm afraid we're most likely looking at bad news. Still, lets hope she is released alive and well.

 

[petresq_algc]

I'm sorry to be negative but I really really don't think she is missing on her own accord and I don't think her mother thinks she has just gone off. Although she is a complete stranger she just really does not seem like a girl who would voluntarily stay hidden despite all this media attention or put her loved ones through this. I'm afraid we're most likely looking at bad news. Still, lets hope she is released alive and well.

Unfortunately, ICAM. I can't think of an innocent reason for the battery being taken out of her cell phone and her purse with ID being discarded. Also, the fact that she is so close with her family. IMO even if she left willingly to spend time with someone her family wouldn't have approved of or got really drunk (to the point of not knowing what was going on) DAYS have gone by. She would have at least called by now. I pray that I am completely wrong and that Morgan just needed some time away.

 

[KaylynnCouture]

We need her DATE of BIRTH. Can someone help us out.

Thank you.
FifthEssence

I'll keep my eyes out for her birthday, I haven't seen it released anywhere yet though.

 

[January.]

Does anyone know where this creek is in regards to the arena? Is it near the parking lot or behind the building?

 

[secret_agent_mom]

Does anyone know where this creek is in regards to the arena? Is it near the parking lot or behind the building?

From Google Earth - it looks like there is a small creek in the wooded area directly beside of the Arena.

There is also a wooded area on Massie Rd. about a half a mile or so from the Arena.

 

[AmyinTheHam]

Wow, this is sad. I think the key is with her friends. I just listened to audio from Foxnews and her dad says her friends have not given much info as to if she was drinking or on anything, just that she went to the bathroom didn't come back and called to say she was getting a ride with someone else...

Don't hold me to it because it is just my opinion but the friends would have to know more. Did she leave with a guy she met? Did she go outside to meet someone? Did she have a fight with her friends? Did she leave her purse in the arena and her friends take it out only to leave it? They could have been upset with her for leaving them or something... I just know if I was a few hours from home I would not leave or accept that anyone was finding a ride home on their own if they came with me. Perhaps I am too nosey as a friend but girls typically watch each other's backs....

 

[nervous_nellie]

Not verifiable by link.....but The Early Show gave information just now saying that when Morgan called her friends she told them she would get her own ride back.

Hard to know what is fact though as so many scenarios are being put out there by the media.

yeah - the foxnews anchor just said that her car was found in the parking lot??? wth? he was just going over what was coming up - not a full story. the reporting on this is the worst that i have EVER seen.

1. who drove to the arena?
2. did she call the friends after she went out? did they answer?

i wonder if there is/was texting between them that would out a secret and that is why the battery/sim card was removed ? or if she was with someone outside and that someone removed the battery without her knowing, obviously with ill intent...idk, just thinking?

 

[nervous_nellie]

Wow, this is sad. I think the key is with her friends. I just listened to audio from Foxnews and her dad says her friends have not given much info as to if she was drinking or on anything, just that she went to the bathroom didn't come back and called to say she was getting a ride with someone else...

Don't hold me to it because it is just my opinion but the friends would have to know more. Did she leave with a guy she met? Did she go outside to meet someone? Did she have a fight with her friends? Did she leave her purse in the arena and her friends take it out only to leave it? They could have been upset with her for leaving them or something... I just know if I was a few hours from home I would not leave or accept that anyone was finding a ride home on their own if they came with me. Perhaps I am too nosey as a friend but girls typically watch each other's backs....

exactly! i would not just accept this story without finding out WHO she was going to leave with... i hope that something has not happened to her and they just made up the story about the bathroom and then planted the purse and phone in the parking lot to make it seem legitimate...

 

[secret_agent_mom]

This is a map from Google Earth of the area. I tried to make it so about half a mile around the Arena can be seen.

I added parking lots where I have parked when I have been to events there. I am not sure where Morgan and/or her friends were parked.

I also added where I *think* the creek is located. You can also see the other wooded areas.

The road directly in front of the Arena is very busy at all times of day and night because it leads to the main shopping/dining area of Charlottesville and in the opposite direction to campus.

 

[lucky181]

The CBS video report says that the friends called her and she said she'd get a ride home. Other reports say that she called the friends. Very confusing and possibly poor reporting. I think it's important to know who called who. If her friends called her, then it appears that Morgan wasn't concerned about keeping in touch with them. It also seems strange that the call wasn't until 10pm. Why wait so long to check on your friend or for her to let them know she couldn't get back in the arena.

 

[MBLover]

Why was she getting a ride with someone else if she had driven her car? And where was she getting a ride to? This was a concert she was so excited about and had wanted to see and had tickets 6 months in advance for.

And why would she just take off leaving her friends with no ride back to Harrisonburg? Has she displayed this behavior before with those friends or others? If so, don't know that I'd be her friend...

Obviously none of these other friends had the keys to her car or they would have driven it back to Harrisonburg?

 

[secret_agent_mom]

Quoted: Virginia State Police and University of Virginia Police will hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

WDBJ7.com will live stream the news conference.

And friends of Morgan Harrington are holding a vigil Thursday night at Northside High School in Roanoke County. It will begin at 7 p.m. They are asking everyone in the community to come out.

Source: http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=11336143#

This source also says she last communicated with her friends at 8:30 and not 10 as it has been reported elsewhere.

Ugh! So many conflicting stories!

 

[wvagirl]

I have heard several times in local Cville news that she was last seen at 8:40. They definitely are using the word seen. My question is, by whom? I am checking the local news stories here for updates on my lunch hour and will report back when I can. I am also going to drive by the arena in about an hour on the way to pick up my son.

 

[wvagirl]

At www.readthehook.com there is a story about the band joining in the search for Morgan and they have posted her flyer on their band's website. More updates coming.

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Have You Seen Morgan?
<snipped>
"Morgan is a pretty transparent kid, who's had a really close relationship with us," her father, Dan Harrington, said in a phone interview Tuesday with the Associated Press. "I don't think there are lots of secrets, so this kind of behavior of (her) missing is not something I think we would expect."

Amy Melvin, her roommate in Blacksburg, Va. told The Roanoke Times Harrington went outside the stadium before Metallica went on stage, but she wasn't sure why.

"Everyone assumed she'd be coming back, " Amanda Melvin, Amy Melvin's older sister told the newspaper. "Sitting here while Morgan is out there missing isn't a very good feeling,"

Harrington drove to the concert and her car was still in parking lot after, the newspaper reported.

Video: 'Still Hopeful'
Police on search for missing Virginia Tech student last seen at concert
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video...p://www.foxnews.com/national/crime/index.html

Video: Father Pleads for Daughter's Safe Return
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video...p://www.foxnews.com/national/crime/index.html

Article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568644,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/crime
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VA woman vanishes from concert 10:52
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/10/21/jvm.morgan.harrington.missing.cnn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Va. College Student Vanished, Cops Say
Virginia Tech Junior Missing for 3 Days, Last Seen at Metallica Concert
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 21, 2009
<snipped>
The opening act of the concert took the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday. Police say just before 8:40 p.m. Harrington left the concert to have a cigarette outside but left her ticket inside. Friends in the arena phoned her and she said not to wait up for her and that she'd find her own ride home. That was the last time anyone spoke with Harrington.

Dan Harrington, who lives in Roanoke, Va., said his daughter had asked him to help her study for a math test and go through the class schedule for next semester on Sunday. He called her friends around 12:30 p.m. when he realized he had not heard from her.

YouTube - Missing After Metallica Concert

Article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/21/earlyshow/main5404939.shtml?tag=contentBody;cbsCarousel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Police Searching Fields and Stadium Areas for Harrington
Posted: 1:35 PM Oct 21, 2009
<snipped>
The University of Virginia Police Department, Virginia State Police and the FBI are working together on the search and are actively looking around Davenport Field where the UVA baseball team plays its home games.

On Wednesday morning, police were seen searching the woods around Davenport Field and the track near Klockner Stadium. The track, Klockner Stadium, and Davenport Field are all part of a sports complex that is one block away from the John Paul Jones Arena, where Morgan was last seen.

Morgan's parents, Dan and Gil Harrington, told reporters she was last seen going to the bathroom inside JPJ around 8:40 p.m. Saturday. They say she then went outside before Metallica took the stage and security would not let her back inside.

Video: Police Continue Their Search Around JPJ, Charlottesville
http://www.whsv.com/video?clipID=4229406&autoStart=true&contentID=65185217

Video: Web Extra: Full News Conference - Parents Plea for Safe Return
http://www.whsv.com/video?clipID=4227480&autoStart=true&contentID=65185217

Video: UPDATE: Parents Stay Hopeful in Search for Missing Daughter and VT Student
http://www.whsv.com/video?clipID=4226966&autoStart=true&contentID=65185217

Article:
http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/65185217.html

:angel:

 

[KaylynnCouture]

I have a quick question- has LE ever came out in said that, for a 100% certainty Morgan drove to the concert? I'm not sure where everyone is getting that from. Everything I'm reading states she did not drive..she rode with two friends to JMU to pick up another friend, then they all went to the concert.

 

[January.]

That's really decent of Metallica to help aid in her search. Kudos to them.

Wasn't it reported earlier that someone who worked at the arena saw her trying to get back in? Or was that just from comments on one of those news sites?

 

[KaylynnCouture]

http://www.wdbj7.com will be streaming the 3:00 presser live, for anyone interested.

 

[kant]

The reporting on significant facts of this case are all over the freakin place. Good GRIEF>

Some new hinkies for me:

I've seen, "She called her friend at 8:30;" Well, she suppposedly left for the restroom at 8:40. so WTH?

Also, is that time just a guess-a-mate estimate? I mean, unless you're really vigilant and a worrier about about "stuff" do many 20 yr old noitice what time someone else goes to the restroom?

Sorry to sound disparaging of the friends, but in retrospect, could they feel guilty that they left her, so they added, "She said she'd get her own ride" b/c that sounds odd to me. Wouldn't you say, "Who with?" if you jwere a long-time-sister-good-friend?

Also, is the purse a confounding element? This would be really cold and I hate to think it, but if the friends had texted some "stuff".. to her maybe embarrassing or private information about ...whatever... there would be a record of it; And if she turned up missing that info would be known (to the friends' parents etc) But if that were the case, why not get rid of the phone entirely? Altho where do you put it? IDK. I grabbing straws again. And that's pretty selfish to cover your butt when your dear friend is missing, so I hate to even go there.

We've heard conflicting info about what car and who drove. Yikes. That seems pretty straightforward. Why all the confusion?

I cant envsion myself accepting a friend saying, "I'll 'get a ride' " if we were not in the home neighborhood of the person. Weren't they two hours away? How many random people would you run into? I could see it in your own home area maybe. But the friend didnt' ask WHO is giving you a ride? Maybe Im an old fart. But I'm not that old; and I'd have said the same thing when I was 20 (but I was an old fart at age 20 too so...)

 

[kant]

This is a map from Google Earth of the area. I tried to make it so about half a mile around the Arena can be seen.

I added parking lots where I have parked when I have been to events there. I am not sure where Morgan and/or her friends were parked.

I also added where I *think* the creek is located. You can also see the other wooded areas.

The road directly in front of the Arena is very busy at all times of day and night because it leads to the main shopping/dining area of Charlottesville and in the opposite direction to campus.

Thanks for this. Wow the parking looks really spread out.