Found Deceased VA - Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, Charlottesville, 17 Oct 2009 - #3

[CindyS]

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2009/10/29/cover-findMorgan-E.aspx



Morgan with Kate Canterbury of Charlottesville
COURTESY HARRINGTON FAMILY -- photo caption

Why would Morgan's parents have made such a broad statement as to say she doesn't know anyone in C'Ville and then offer this photo? I could see where Kate may be going to college elsewhere, but she probably has local friends who attend UVA.

 

[SusieMom]

you know, I still think all the pieces except her purse fit the theory that she did exactly what she told her friends she was going to do (if you assume that for reasons we can only speculate about that she was outside the arena and not trying to get back in or, at least, had given up trying) that is, that she found someone who agreed to take her "home", which IMO probably in this case means to Blacksburg such as other students or at least people her age likely to be at the concert (people she would have considered safe.) But if it was a "tailgating" like atmosphere outside the concert (which really is that likely given the cool/damp weather?) could she have sat it down next to whomever's vehicle and then left without it, inadvertently?

I have the same type purse (when not carrying a diaper bag that is) ... it has two straps that zip together to make one or can be unzipped and worn as a backpack. Its great for wearing when you expect to have to walk a long way (ie from parking lot to event) but its not go great for wearing on one shoulder.. it constantly slips. So I normally do wear it backpack style (could also be b/c I have little kids, generally one in each hand and slippy purses tend to bonk them on the head) But I have noticed that if I sit with my back against something I will take it off and when I do, I am way more likely to accidentally leave it than I am a purse that I carry the regular way, I guess b/c I don't notice that its not on my back, I don't know probably I am grasping here. I know it seems farfetched... I mean how ditzy could this girl be?... accidentally walks outside, then loses her phone battery, leaves her purse.. gets in a car with a total stranger b/c they act like nice people.

The battery thing is odd and its even odder to me that LE thinks its no big deal. But the only benefit I can guess for some bad guy type to remove her battery was if they did it surreptitiously before she perceived to be a threat. As if the plan was to get her to leave willingly and then have no pings or way for her to get help. But what happened? She conveniently left it behind? Was it only the back-up plan and she was drugged?... bad guy just left it behind?

 

[kant]

Hey, after all the false reports we now know for sure it WAS NOT HER CAR her car parked at JMU -her friends' car it was.

Not her car at JMU? (James Madison Univ in in Harrisonburg?) Or not her car at JPJ? (John Paul Jones arena in C'ville?)

tia
.

 

[CindyS]

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2009/10/29/cover-findMorgan-E.aspx

"Morgan and Melvin, who share an off-campus apartment in Blacksburg, drove to Harrisonburg, where they picked up Snead and, according to her father, the boyfriend of a friend. According to State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller, the four rode from Harrisonburg to Charlottesville in Morgan's car. Morgan, Geller says, allowed a friend to drive, so she didn't have her car keys with her during the show."

In the comments section of the same article is the following message:

"@J Hey, this is the Hook editor here. Morgan's dad originally told us that Morgan's car and keys stayed in Harrisonburg. In preparing this cover story, State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller-- asserting a change in info-- told us the contrary scenario we put in this story above. So we spoke again this morning to Dr. Harrington, and he stands by his statement: that Morgan's car was never in Charlottesville. Messages left this morning with Ms. Geller have not been immediately returned, but we'll update as soon as she clarifies.

Sounds to me like Morgan's parents either aren't being given all the information LE is making public, they don't agree with it, or (in their emotional state) don't remember. I have been confused by some of their previous statements that have conflicted with published LE statements and now wonder if the information they're providing is accurate.

 

[SusieMom]

my understanding is that the most recent "official" story is that her car was not in C'ville but in Harrisonburg at JMU which makes a ton more sense than the previous theory.

 

[CindyS]

SAM- your theory is something I would say "aye" to if I hadn't recently read that MH kissed one of the friends on the cheek before she left the party.

snipped by me.

I've read several posts discussing a party but don't remember reading anything about it. Would someone mind letting me know where I can find more information? TIA.

 

[tarheellvr]

MBLover can your friend shed any light on why she left the arena? If she saw something in the arena, I really think it involved drugs/drug deal. Did she leave on her own accord or was she forced to leave?

I think the Astrology forum stated her demise at around 9:30??? Does your friend concur? On that forum they spoke of finding her body 20-27 mile north I think. Can your friend shed any light on this possibility?

 

[debirlfan]

Ok - a couple possibilities/questions I haven't seen discussed or clarified...

Apparently someone here is from the area. Perhaps they can clarify a few points. By the time she was trying to get back in, would the ticket office be closed? I know it has been speculated that it was, but do we have confirmation? Also, given that it was a rainy, cold evening, might most of the scalpers have "given up" and left as well?

Everyone is assuming she could not have gone out and waited in the friend's car because she didn't have the keys. Are we sure the car was locked? Not everyone locks their car (I don't - having had my window smashed once, I'd rather they just opened the door!)

Reportedly, she has gone to this venue before and should know of the "no re-entry" policy. However - perhaps she has gone there before and HAS been able to get back in (perhaps a friend who is a security guard?) and expected to be able to do it again that night, but her guard friend wasn't working, or security was tighter.

Some rumors of her being ill - any chance she could have had swine flu? Is the flu going through the campus down there? If she was really looking forward to the concert, she might have taken a bunch of cold meds and tried to "tough it out" and then felt worse.

If she knew someone who lived in the area, she might have been walking to their apartment. Perhaps she stopped in the RV lot and had a soda or beer with someone who was tailgating there? Might she have set her pocketbook down and either have forgotten it, or perhaps it was getting heavy and she "stashed" it intentionally with someone who was staying there till morning, planning to come back and fetch it in the morning (intending to spend the night at the friend's house).

 

[MBLover]

MBLover can your friend shed any light on why she left the arena? If she saw something in the arena, I really think it involved drugs/drug deal. Did she leave on her own accord or was she forced to leave?

I think the Astrology forum stated her demise at around 9:30??? Does your friend concur? On that forum they spoke of finding her body 20-27 mile north I think. Can your friend shed any light on this possibility?

***** has left running errands for a while. I believe what ***** stated about the words being exchanged was the reason for leaving the friends initially. From what ***** said, I don't believe it was anything near screaming and yelling or knock down fight kind of thing...just words which may or may not have been interpreted wrong or something taken out of context and I guess made worse than what the tiff was actually about.

Reading between the lines of what ***** told me, I believe MH must have left the friends to cool off...but didn't quite turn out that way...it was like she became a bit more mad over the issue. What leads me to believe that is the possible encounter of the guy saying something about her shirt and she tells him to *advertiser censored** off. Kind of a pissy/pouting thing (that some girls do).

IMO if she was in this mood and speaking this way not only to this person - there may have been others she mouthed off too...and this could be a reason she was asked to leave the arena - IF that be the case.

As soon as I speak with ***** again, I will let you know if there is anything she can further add (or dismiss with what I've said).

 

[kant]

OK, y'all can heave tomaters at me, but if this is true, it just screams at me. Screams what? Im not sure, but it screams. Who kisses their friend goodbye, have-a-nice-evening as you're off to the restroom? or have a nice trip to the restroom? I kiss folks goodbye all the time... when the visit or evening has come to an end; when we are parting ways for the day. I do not kiss even my BBF friend on the cheeck when she's going to the restroom or out for a ciggy. But that's me. Everyone's different and that's not a crime.

" 'Amy gave Morgan a kiss on the cheek. and Morgan went to the bathroom,' says Dan Harrington. 'We know that Morgan got out of the building, and then it's like she fell off the face of the earth.' "

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2009/10/29/cover-findMorgan-E.aspx

"Dan and Gil Harrington, however, no longer believe there's any chance Morgan voluntarily disappeared. 'We've gotten past the she-ran-away-with-a-boy idea,' says Dan. 'But I wish this had been the case. ' "
"

"No longer believe?" This is new for me. Did they initially believe that Morgan may have left of her own volition?

Moving on to the subject of the parents' demeanor on TV. They are totally normal to me with their emotion. Im sure that they are crying their eyes out in private. They are likely the kind of criers who cannot speak once they lose it and that wouldn't help Morgan's minutes on television; And every moment and every appearance by the parents keeps her face out there.

Personally, if Im observing a super-TV-crier in comparison to a stoic TV non-crier, if I had a gun to my head and had to choose, I would have a hard time b/c I think BOTH reactions are perfectly normal; But the super-TV-criers can be suspicious to me. Look at Susan Smith, Casey Anthony, Ron Cummings. (I said "suspicious to me," not having been on trial.)

OMG the family's pain must be indescribable.

MOO.

 

[tarheellvr]

Thanks MBLover for your friend's input. I feel what she has to offer very, very important. Thanks to you as well for posting what you have.

 

[Nouveau]

Ok - a couple possibilities/questions I haven't seen discussed or clarified...

Apparently someone here is from the area. Perhaps they can clarify a few points. By the time she was trying to get back in, would the ticket office be closed? I know it has been speculated that it was, but do we have confirmation? Also, given that it was a rainy, cold evening, might most of the scalpers have "given up" and left as well?

Everyone is assuming she could not have gone out and waited in the friend's car because she didn't have the keys. Are we sure the car was locked? Not everyone locks their car (I don't - having had my window smashed once, I'd rather they just opened the door!)

Reportedly, she has gone to this venue before and should know of the "no re-entry" policy. However - perhaps she has gone there before and HAS been able to get back in (perhaps a friend who is a security guard?) and expected to be able to do it again that night, but her guard friend wasn't working, or security was tighter.

Some rumors of her being ill - any chance she could have had swine flu? Is the flu going through the campus down there? If she was really looking forward to the concert, she might have taken a bunch of cold meds and tried to "tough it out" and then felt worse.

If she knew someone who lived in the area, she might have been walking to their apartment. Perhaps she stopped in the RV lot and had a soda or beer with someone who was tailgating there? Might she have set her pocketbook down and either have forgotten it, or perhaps it was getting heavy and she "stashed" it intentionally with someone who was staying there till morning, planning to come back and fetch it in the morning (intending to spend the night at the friend's house).

Being that it was so late into the show, and that the main band was about to go on, there most likely would not have been anyone inside to sell tickets. I don't remember seeing any scalpers at all that night actually, at least not anywhere near where I work, and they usually do sell tickets on my road. But, if there were any out, being that it was that late into the show, and rainy and cold, I'm sure they would have given up. Most of the time when I see scalpers, they are only out when there is heavy traffic of cars/pedestrians, and they are gone by the time the show starts.

 

[ChasingMoxie]

Okay, so for right now I think I'm leaning toward the following:

She ends up outside the arena, (maybe she had to throw up and it was an instinct to run out the nearest door?) I think she was on something, based on LEs responses in this vein:

"Was she high, was she drunk, was she stumbling?" asked a television reporter at a recent press briefing.

Police have been cautious in their response.

"Her condition is being looked at from interviews," responded State Police Lieutenant Joe Rader at the briefing, declining to elaborate except to say, "She was able to move about the arena freely and converse with people."

At presstime, Tuesday, October 27, State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller confirmed that witness testimony places Morgan outside the arena until 9:30pm but that after that, the trail runs cold. Again, she declined to comment on Morgan's condition or possible signs of intoxication.

BBM, that's a *really* weird thing to say. I think it indicates that they're aware of some inebriation and don't want to share it, which is fine. It helps us to know that, however, because it means she may have made decisions that aren't as logical or safe as she typically would. It also provides the reason to need to instantly exit the building I mentioned above. Moving on...

So she's outside the arena, and waiting around, out of smokes, bored, unsure what to do. According to locals the RV area is a busy spot, you can hear and see people tailgating often, there's a lot of activity before the shows. If I were her, I could see wandering over to see if anything is still going on, see if anyone has a cigarette, hang out with some people while she waits, etc. That sounds plausible to me. This time, though, someone was there, and they had a different idea.

I think she was taken from the RV lot where her purse was found. I don't think the sighting on the bridge was her. It's possible that someone acted friendly, offered her a smoke, seemed nice for a while, snuck the battery out of her phone so that she wouldn't later be able to call for help, or so that when she tried to call someone her phone would be dead and he could offer her a ride. Or it's possible that the battery really isn't significant, like LE says, and this same scenario happened. She may have even dropped her purse on purpose as soon as she realized she was in trouble, to help people try to find her.

Sometimes the obvious answer is the correct one, and her disappearing from where her belongings were found seems like the most direct answer to me at this time.

 

[Waddles]

Not her car at JMU? (James Madison Univ in in Harrisonburg?) Or not her car at JPJ? (John Paul Jones arena in C'ville?)

tia
.

sorry, there should be a comma between the "her"s
It was not her car, her car was in fact parked at JMU, it was her friend's car-how's that

 

[arielilane]

I don't see the parents behavior suspect at all. They must be going through a living he*l.

Strange about the battery missing from the cell phone. I guess the Sim card was still there?

 

[debirlfan]

Being that it was so late into the show, and that the main band was about to go on, there most likely would not have been anyone inside to sell tickets. I don't remember seeing any scalpers at all that night actually, at least not anywhere near where I work, and they usually do sell tickets on my road. But, if there were any out, being that it was that late into the show, and rainy and cold, I'm sure they would have given up. Most of the time when I see scalpers, they are only out when there is heavy traffic of cars/pedestrians, and they are gone by the time the show starts.

Good info - so apparently it doesn't matter whether she had money or not, there was no one to buy a 2nd ticket from.

 

[Waddles]

Okay, so for right now I think I'm leaning toward the following:

She ends up outside the arena, (maybe she had to throw up and it was an instinct to run out the nearest door?) I think she was on something, based on LEs responses in this vein:



BBM, that's a *really* weird thing to say. I think it indicates that they're aware of some inebriation and don't want to share it, which is fine. It helps us to know that, however, because it means she may have made decisions that aren't as logical or safe as she typically would. It also provides the reason to need to instantly exit the building I mentioned above. Moving on...

So she's outside the arena, and waiting around, out of smokes, bored, unsure what to do. According to locals the RV area is a busy spot, you can hear and see people tailgating often, there's a lot of activity before the shows. If I were her, I could see wandering over to see if anything is still going on, see if anyone has a cigarette, hang out with some people while she waits, etc. That sounds plausible to me. This time, though, someone was there, and they had a different idea.

I think she was taken from the RV lot where her purse was found. I don't think the sighting on the bridge was her. It's possible that someone acted friendly, offered her a smoke, seemed nice for a while, snuck the battery out of her phone so that she wouldn't later be able to call for help, or so that when she tried to call someone her phone would be dead and he could offer her a ride. Or it's possible that the battery really isn't significant, like LE says, and this same scenario happened. She may have even dropped her purse on purpose as soon as she realized she was in trouble, to help people try to find her.

Sometimes the obvious answer is the correct one, and her disappearing from where her belongings were found seems like the most direct answer to me at this time.

I think so too

 

[Waddles]

OK, y'all can heave tomaters at me, but if this is true, it just screams at me. Screams what? Im not sure, but it screams. Who kisses their friend goodbye, have-a-nice-evening as you're off to the restroom? or have a nice trip to the restroom? I kiss folks goodbye all the time... when the visit or evening has come to an end; when we are parting ways for the day. I do not kiss even my BBF friend on the cheeck when she's going to the restroom or out for a ciggy. But that's me. Everyone's different and that's not a crime.

" 'Amy gave Morgan a kiss on the cheek. and Morgan went to the bathroom,' says Dan Harrington. 'We know that Morgan got out of the building, and then it's like she fell off the face of the earth.' "

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2009/10/29/cover-findMorgan-E.aspx

"Dan and Gil Harrington, however, no longer believe there's any chance Morgan voluntarily disappeared. 'We've gotten past the she-ran-away-with-a-boy idea,' says Dan. 'But I wish this had been the case. ' "
"

"No longer believe?" This is new for me. Did they initially believe that Morgan may have left of her own volition?

Moving on to the subject of the parents' demeanor on TV. They are totally normal to me with their emotion. Im sure that they are crying their eyes out in private. They are likely the kind of criers who cannot speak once they lose it and that wouldn't help Morgan's minutes on television; And every moment and every appearance by the parents keeps her face out there.

Personally, if Im observing a super-TV-crier in comparison to a stoic TV non-crier, if I had a gun to my head and had to choose, I would have a hard time b/c I think BOTH reactions are perfectly normal; But the super-TV-criers can be suspicious to me. Look at Susan Smith, Casey Anthony, Ron Cummings. (I said "suspicious to me," not having been on trial.)

OMG the family's pain must be indescribable.

MOO.

wow, I never heard they ever believed this either, or maybe they never believed it but were holding out hope it could be the case, as people around them and police were trying to reassure them there was hope

 

[Waddles]

Hmmmm....on the FB page! Charles Walton: A reporter e-mailed me about this because there has been so much confusion. She is with a reliable station but I cannot mention her name. Here is what she wrote:
..and I wanted to let you know Morgan and her friends drove HER car to JPJA. Her friends then drove it back to JMU where they spent the night Saturday night. The car is now sitting in Morgan's parent's driveway... I've seen it quite a few times in the past week. State police told me originally they thought her friends drove to the concert in one of their cars, but found out late last week that was incorrect.
about an hour ago

 

[arielilane]

Does Morgan live on campus? How many miles is it from the bridge to campus? TIA