Re: Missing VT student~this is a cousin to a friend of mine
Search continues for Va. Tech student
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By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 21, 2009; 5:07 PM
Morgan Harrington telephoned her friends Saturday night from outside John Paul Jones Arena at the University of Virginia to say she had left the Metallica concert, couldn't get back in and would find her own way home. She hasn't been heard from since.
A massive police and community search continued Wednesday for Harrington, 20, a Virginia Tech junior, whose absence became cause for alarm after her cellphone and purse were found by a passerby in a parking lot outside the arena. The case has garnered national media attention, a heavily trafficked Facebook page and even a posting to the Metallica band Web site, under the heading "One Of Our Fans Is Missing."
"We have a purse. We have a cellphone. We have a missing girl. Those are the facts," said Lt. Joe Rader of the Virginia State Police, speaking at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. "We do not know whether she is alive or has met some kind of ill fate. It's just that simple."
Harrington, an education major from Roanoke County, traveled to U-Va. with friends for the concert. They became separated about 8:40 p.m. when Harrington left the group to use the bathroom and wound up outside the arena, which allowed no reentry. She called her friends and said she "would find a way either to [meet] up with them or to get home," Rader said. Interviews with friends and other concert-goers and surveillance tapes suggest that she was last seen about 9:30 Saturday evening. Her family notified police Sunday that she had not come home as expected.
Police are working more than 100 leads from across the country and have completed a search of the arena and its vicinity, in part to ensure that Harrington had not become ill or injured and exposed to the chilly Charlottesville weather.
Rader said there were no signs of a struggle in the parking lot where the purse and phone were found, but stressed that the case had become "a criminal investigation in nature." He said a reward of at least $50,000 would be forthcoming.
Harrington was last seen wearing a black T-shirt celebrating the metal band Pantera, a black mini-skirt with black tights and knee-high black boots.
Metallica Fan Morgan Harrington Still MissingPosted 3 hours ago by Chris Harris
Despite earlier reports to the contrary, the search for missing Metallica fan Morgan Harrington continued on Thursday, Oct. 22, as a group of local sheriffs joined the hunt for the 20-year-old Virginia Tech student, who has been missing for four days. She was last seen wearing a black skirt, a Pantera shirt, and knee-high boots at Metallica's concert Oct. 17. Crews searched wooded areas with canines, but still, have uncovered no clues as to what may have happened to Harrington.
Investigators, who are treating Harrington's disappearance as a criminal matter, said Wednesday that they'd be calling off all search efforts on the ground and in the air unless a credible tip called teams back out. According to police, Thursday was spent following up on tips, but the search was mainly intended to recheck areas that have already been searched.
Meanwhile, a vigil was held Oct. 22 in Roanoke, Va., and Harrington's parents are offering a $100,000 reward for their daughter's safe return. Harrington's parents told reporters Thursday that they believe their daughter was abducted and didn't run away, and that they're not yet ready to give up hope. They released a statement to the media.
"Dr. Harrington and his wife have asked that the following message be shared with everyone possible," the statement reads. The message, "I love you too much...forever...and once more." It's a message the Harringtons share with each other, verbally, in notes, and even in signing, and the Harringtons believe if the message is shared with others, Morgan will experience "love, comfort, and peace."
Those with any information regarding this case have been asked to call (434) 352-3467, or e-mail police.
Metallica issued a statement earlier this week, saying that they "are deeply concerned about the disappearance of Morgan Dana Harrington. She was not carrying I.D. or a cell phone. Morgan was separated from her friends shortly before 9 PM at the venue, and police have been searching the area since Monday. We encourage anyone who has any information regarding Morgan's disappearance to please come forward. Our thoughts are with Morgan and her family for her safe return."
