Found Deceased VA - Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, Charlottesville, 17 Oct 2009 - #8

[MeoW333]

I agree. Wonder if we could get a description from someone who was actually there. How would the area around the arena look once Metallica started playing? Thanks to the early (and apparently discounted) eye witness report of Morgan and a guy fighting, we have been presented with a picture of at least a small crowd milling around out front of the entrance; this report was followed by similar reports of sightings of her in the company of different groups of men. But what if the whole area was actually deserted, and Morgan was roaming around looking for people, so that she could ask some nice & normal-seeming person for help?

Janeumayer brings up an excellent point in her post, the contrast between Jimmy Buffet and Metallica concerts, and the difference in the scenes..
It's possible that not many people were outside at all, so that may have what may Morgan decide to look elsewhere for people.

Walker, what kind of help do you think she would seek from a "nice & normal seeming" person?
We know there was blue light boxes scattered around the area, and her cell may have worked up until a point..
When she seen the BB players and talked to them, imo, i think she would have asked them for help or to call the police if she was in dire need at that point.. if only we knew what she said to them, it would help to figure where or what she was doing or headed to. LE is being tightlipped on that though. At least they did say the BB players had cooperated completely with them.
After Morgan left them, that seems around the time something may have happened..

 

[Walker]

This picture was taken on October 25th.

I edited the pic with the location of where the purse was found to show you where the box is located. Orange arrow indcates where the box is. P - represents the purse.

The map is here:http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/tracynb/For%20Morgan/2009-11-22202000.png

Since we are talking about this area again. I would like to mention that when we were there - there was lots of construction going on. There were big dumpsters and piles of dirt. We even saw a shovel out near one of the smaller piles of dirt.

Is it possible that some possible abductor somehow knew that she was headed in the direction of that phone, and deliberately broke or damaged it that very night? UVa computer can probably tell exactly when service from that phone terminated.

 

[Walker]

LogicalMinds, I don't understand why you're calling her Shannon?

Maybe Logic is reminded of another case. MH reminds me in some ways of Channon Christian (and her boyfriend, Chris Newsome), Heidi Childs (and her boyfriend, David Metzler; both VTech students) ... Are any young college-type guys missing from the area, too? Maybe she was with some male friend, and they both were abducted ...

 

[KAE]

I agree. Wonder if we could get a description from someone who was actually there. How would the area around the arena look once Metallica started playing? Thanks to the early (and apparently discounted) eye witness report of Morgan and a guy fighting, we have been presented with a picture of at least a small crowd milling around out front of the entrance; this report was followed by similar reports of sightings of her in the company of different groups of men. But what if the whole area was actually deserted, and Morgan was roaming around looking for people, so that she could ask some nice & normal-seeming person for help?

I would imagine some diehard fans of the opening bands might have left after Lamb of God or Gojira were done. They might not have stayed for Metallica and headed for the parking lot to party or decide were to go next.

 

[Walker]

Walker, what kind of help do you think she would seek from a "nice & normal seeming" person?
We know there was blue light boxes scattered around the area, and her cell may have worked up until a point..
When she seen the BB players and talked to them, imo, i think she would have asked them for help or to call the police if she was in dire need at that point.. if only we knew what she said to them, it would help to figure where or what she was doing or headed to. LE is being tightlipped on that though. At least they did say the BB players had cooperated completely with them.
After Morgan left them, that seems around the time something may have happened..

Metallica would bring out a wide audience; including middle-aged couples who might have been more than pleased to give her a ride to a safe place. If only she had been willing to wait two hours ... Also, as far as it being cold, she could have borrowed a hoodie or something from someone, (even security might have helped her with that small request) ... people at concerts tend to be friendly.

It's not impossible that she was hypothermiating. As hypothermia advances, the subject goes into a dream-like state. They will actually feel very warm, happy and drowsy. This drowsiness is very dangerous; they might wander off, try to just lie down and take a nap (usually in snow), as if all were well, even as they continue to lose body heat. Hallucinations can occur. But MH wouldn't have had the strength to go any great distance; unless she collapsed with some people who had given her a ride, and they assumed she had OD'd from drugs, panicked, and threw her body down an unused well somewhere in the woods. This theory doesn't quite make sense, because even if she did OD, most people would just take her to the ER. JMO: Just knowing someone who OD'd would not ruin their reps or chance at grad school.

 

[MeoW333]

Metallica would bring out a wide audience; including middle-aged couples who might have been more than pleased to give her a ride to a safe place. If only she had been willing to wait two hours ... Also, as far as it being cold, she could have borrowed a hoodie or something from someone, (even security might have helped her with that small request) ... people at concerts tend to be friendly.

It's not impossible that she was hypothermiating. As hypothermia advances, the subject goes into a dream-like state. They will actually feel very warm, happy and drowsy. This drowsiness is very dangerous; they might wander off, try to just lie down and take a nap (usually in snow), as if all were well, even as they continue to lose body heat. Hallucinations can occur. But MH wouldn't have had the strength to go any great distance; unless she collapsed with some people who had given her a ride, and they assumed she had OD'd from drugs, panicked, and threw her body down an unused well somewhere in the woods. This theory doesn't quite make sense, because even if she did OD, most people would just take her to the ER. JMO: Just knowing someone who OD'd would not ruin their reps or chance at grad school.

Walker, it's a very interesting concept, hypothermia, it was cold that night and we know she wasn't dressed for the weather.
Is there any medical professionals on here who think that it could be possible that Morgan could have got hypothermia, however slight, that night?

Also, concerts usually have vendors selling tshirts, hoodies, and things for the bands, i'm not sure if Morgan would have purchased anything on her way out..

The overdose theory would fit if other people were responsible for giving her drugs and then got scared they would be charged for giving her drugs (using that as a possible scenario, provided it happened sometime after she was seen talking to the BB players, not sure what witnesses aside from the person who claimed to see her hitchhiking on the bridge saw her after that. I do not think the BB players are involved in this case in any way aside from just talking to her, and they have cooperated fully with LE).
Most people i would hope would have the common sense to call 911 for an overdose, however there are always some out there who don't think that way, possibly they are already on probation, etc, and put their self concerns first.

 

[weetziebat]

I think hypothermia would account for many of her apparent 'symptoms' such as posssible clumsiness, stumbling (dropping purse repeatedly), difficulty thinking, poor decision making, slurred speech and the person is not aware of the progression of symptoms so obvious to others.

Would be caused by being inappropriately dressed for the weather, being out in the cold, wet clothing etc. Also being thin she may be more sensitive to the cold.

But, I wouldn't think a healthy young woman would likely become hypothermic in the hour Morgan was outside. One's body temperature is ~95-96 degrees when hypothermic and she would have been quite noticeably shivering at least till her temp dropped that low.

 

[Walker]

I think hypothermia would account for many of her apparent 'symptoms' such as posssible clumsiness, stumbling (dropping purse repeatedly), difficulty thinking, poor decision making, slurred speech and the person is not aware of the progression of symptoms so obvious to others.

Would be caused by being inappropriately dressed for the weather, being out in the cold, wet clothing etc. Also being thin she may be more sensitive to the cold.

But, I wouldn't think a healthy young woman would likely become hypothermic in the hour Morgan was outside. One's body temperature is ~95-96 degrees when hypothermic and she would have been quite noticeably shivering at least till her temp dropped that low.

I agree that one hour of 40-ish temps would usually not be enough to cause hypothermia. Of course, we don't know the total time she was exposed to the cold. She seems to have disappeared from the bridge, but whether someone picked her up is not known. She could have tried to walk somewhere. Maybe alcohol consumption suppressed the shivering.

 

[Cardinal47]

BBM
This is true, i wonder why that was..?
Where the friends having the party connected to the friends that Morgan went with to the concert only via Morgan?
Morgan's friends called the others about the party saying they couldn't make it since they were "missing someone"??
Please correct me if i'm wrong.. i wish i had a link for it..
That they were "missing Morgan", seems to be the reason they didn't attend the party.
Yet they still talked via at least cell phone to those having a party.. where was this party to be held? If was at a hotel nearby or somewhere nearby, then one would think Morgan would try to head there..
She said that she'd either meet her friends after the concert or find her own way home.. or hitchhike a ride (if any are true that's what was said)
it still comes down to that it sounds like Morgan had no intentions of going to the party afterwards..
Did her friends who went with her decide to not attend the party since they had Morgan's car and waited around for her a bit? Was their sole reason for not going to the party that Morgan was missing, and if they were concerned she was "missing" why didn't they call her parents at the very least, if not the police??
Most likely they couldn't reach her via her cell phone..

This is one of the links I found when searching for the connection between Morgan and DS. Regarding the conversation between Dee and Morgans friends. Hope it helps. http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/66764102.html

 

[Cardinal47]

This is kind of an interesting interview with the spokesperson for the VSP . I hadn't seen it before and thought somebody else might like watching and commenting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kkIGrC70ds

 

[Willow57]

This case is so sad and mysterious. Where in the world can this young woman be? I feel so sorry for her parents. May they find the answer soon!

 

[Janeumayer]

Sometimes colleges & universities have their own shuttle services. Would any UVA shuttles be running that night? Does the bridge have a nearby shuttle stop?

They did but you have to have a student ID to board. Although I am sure she could have gotten on it anyway.

 

[Hucklepie]

the people asking for rides on craigslist, or bulletin boards are wackos. never normal looking people which morgan was above normal looking

Craigslist might attract some "wackos," but it definitely wasn't uncommon for people at my university in NC to advertise on campus to share rides, and this was only a few years ago. I imagine with gas prices being what they are, it's even more common. I'm about as far from a risk-taker as you can imagine, and I didn't think twice about posting "Anybody going to (town) next weekend? I'll chip in for gas" messages on the university's bulletin boards. I can see Morgan being very trusting of another student, even if she didn't know them personally (or know them well).

 

[Janeumayer]

This is kind of an interesting interview with the spokesperson for the VSP . I hadn't seen it before and thought somebody else might like watching and commenting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kkIGrC70ds

I guess that they do not have any footage of her at all. Honeybun, when was this segment aired?
Can people really believe they talked to her and turns out it may have been someone else?
I wonder if LE thinks she was there bc her tix got scanned and bc her friends said she was there.
If this turns out to be true then I have no confidence in them finding her.

 

[Janeumayer]

Very sad

http://www.nbc29.com/global/Category.asp?C=175568&clipId=4335821&autostart=true

 

[distracted]

Very sad

http://www.nbc29.com/global/Category.asp?C=175568&clipId=4335821&autostart=true

It's just heartbreaking. I hope and pray they have some answers soon.

 

[LRS9S]

They did but you have to have a student ID to board. Although I am sure she could have gotten on it anyway.

I'm a UVA student, and I can say with certainty that no identification is required or ever asked for. The bus stops outside of UHall, right across the street from JPJ. If Morgan knew much about UVA through her brother or other acquaintances or if she had ever visited, she would know about these.

This indicates to me that she did not have any interest in just getting back to campus or was in some way impaired. Of course these are scenarios that have been discussed.

Due to the possible public relations damage it could cause, I don't think that the hitchhiking story is misinformation. Since she didn't take the bus, it would seem that she was headed somewhere that wasn't on the UVA campus (Harrisonburg, possibly).

A note about the idea of "hitchhiking" and the way in general that students in Virginia act: I'm an outsider at UVA in that I'm from the West coast and don't have many previous acquaintances there. BUT, in my experience, all of the Virginia kids know people at other schools, and I do mean all. Morgan probably could have found a friend to stay with at UVA if she felt she had no other option (or, obviously, she could have waited for the concert to end and met back up with her friends).

That's why I think there are only two real possibilities:

A) Morgan was making bad decisions for some reason (a previous argument with friends, alcohol or drugs, guy troubles, or any number of other reasons) and, as a result, got into a bad situation with some sort of predator or possibly drunk student or adult.

B) Morgan was picked up by someone she knew and had contacted. It's my understanding that LE at least suspects that she may have texted or called from someone else's phone. The important detail there is that if she had made a call like this, she would have had to know their number by memory or have it written down. It is also possible, however, that her phone was for some reason not making calls but still worked to pull up numbers.

One more question: is there any confirmation one way or another of Morgan's sexual orientation? Is it possible that any number of the "guy problem" scenarios posted on this forum could actually be true but for the fact that they're really "gal problems"? Just throwing that out there.

 

[weetziebat]

I agree that one hour of 40-ish temps would usually not be enough to cause hypothermia. Of course, we don't the total time she was exposed to the cold. She seems to have disappeared from the bridge, but whether someone picked her up is not known. She could have tried to walk somewhere. Maybe alcohol consumption suppressed the shivering.

Agree about ETOH possibly suppressing shivering as, like THC, it dilates the blood vessels as well as altering awareness. Imagine if it continued she would have wound up in an E.R. after being found unconscious. Kind of seems unlikely (not impossible but...) that she not only collapsed from hypothermia but also was found by a predator.

 

[Walker]

Local pastor is concerned about gang violence in Charlottesville, including Gangster Disciples.

Link: http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2007/08/16/NEWS-gangforum-B.rtf.aspx

Gangs have always been prevalent in the DC area ... and have moved into the Charlottesville and Harrisonburg areas with their potentially lucrative market of college students interested in drugs and hookers -- at least according to TWS ...

Denver arrests may be part of trend of gangs videotaping attacks.
[Article describes random racist attacks against Whites & Latinos by gangs, including Gangster Disciples.]
http://www.denverpost.com/frontpage/ci_13843272

Lamaricus Davidson, who brutally raped and murdered Channon Christian and Chris Newsome, was a member of Gangster Disciples.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=5963499

And, he has recently been sentenced to death.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/oct/30/torture-slaying-sentencing-jury-choosing-life-or-d/

 

[weetziebat]

So depressing. Just add gang violence to the rest of the speculation. I'm about ready to hide under a duvet myself! Was heartbreaking to watch the video of Morgan's family today, at the bridge. How they manage to keep it together is more than I can fathom.