Morgan Harrington found dead

Confirmed: Remains Are Metallica Fan Morgan Harrington
By Stephen M. Silverman

Thursday January 28, 2010 10:30 AM EST


Morgan Harrington
FindMorgan.com

One tragic chapter closes, another begins. Virginia State Police on Wednesday confirmed that the human remains found in a Virginia hayfield earlier this week have been conclusively identified as belonging to Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, 20, who went missing from a Metallica concert in Charlottesville on Oct. 17.

Her parents, Gil and Daniel Harrington, now say whoever did this to their daughter must be captured and tried in court.

"At least we now have some peace and we're able to have some closure today," Daniel Harrington said Wednesday, reports The Washington Post."We now need to find the person who did this, and we will not stop until that person is brought to justice."

The Harringtons believe their daughter was abducted from the concert by someone familiar with the area, and said that the condition of Morgan's remains show that she probably died shortly after she vanished. "This is not a random place that someone came upon accidentally. This is known to someone here," Daniel Harrington said.

"For the first time in 101 days, I am not thinking every minute, 'What is he doing to my daughter now? What is he doing to her? What is she having to endure?' " he said. "She was a long time in that field. I am happy that she was not alive long, enduring unspeakable things."

Authorities have yet to determine how Harrington died or even if she was murdered, though law officers are treating the case as a homicide.

Among the ways Harrington's parents hope to remember their daughter, they said, is by possibly initiating a national campaign to safeguard college campuses. "We can figure out how we can honor Morgan and remember Morgan, and maybe make it a safer place for all," said her father.

On the Metallica Web site, the band extended the following message: "Our most sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of Morgan Dana Harrington ... Mere words cannot express the anguish and grief that we know her parents Dan and Gil are feeling, and our thoughts are with them."

Who killed college student Morgan Harrington?
By Mike Celizic
Someone abducted and murdered her 20-year-old daughter, police believe, but Gil Harrington doesn’t really care about punishing the perpetrator. She just wants a killer taken off the streets before he can cause another parent the pain she has felt.

“I am concerned and determined that he be caught for safety reasons, because this was not the first bad thing that this man did. Abduction and murder is not your entry level into a life of crime,” Harrington told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Friday via satellite from her home in Roanoke, Va. “He’s done bad things before. He’s upped his game, and he’s likely to do something bad again unless we catch him.”

‘Horrific three months’
Gil and her husband, Dan Harrington, were speaking out three days after the skeletal remains of their daughter, Morgan, were discovered in a pasture some 10 miles from Charlottesville, Va. Three months earlier, on Oct. 17, 2009, Morgan had gone to Charlottesville with friends to attend a Metallica concert.

October 21, 2009 2:51 PM

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS) It's been four days and still no sign of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington.

PICTURES: Morgan Harrington Missing

A desperate search is still underway for Harrington, who was last seen near the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., at a Metallica concert on Oct. 17.

Her parents held back tears as they pleaded for the return of their youngest child and only daughter.

(Facebook)
Facebook Photo: Morgan Harrington
PICTURES: Morgan Harrington Missing

"If Morgan is out there and hears us," said Harrington's father, Dan Harrington. "Please come home."

Harrington and her friends arrived at the University of Virginia campus from Virginia Tech Saturday for a Metallica Concert.

The first opening act, metal band "Lamb of God", took the stage at 7 pm. Police say just before 8:40 pm Harrington left the concert to have a cigarette outside, but left her ticket inside.

(Facebook)
Facebook Photo: Morgan Harrington
PICTURES: Morgan Harrington Missing

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. Her parents reported her missing Sunday afternoon.

Word of Harrington's disappearance has left students shaken.

"It's just kind of a shock to realize that somebody's actually gone missing," student Ania Griffin said to CBS News.

Metallica released a statement last night asking fans: "If you or anyone you know shot video footage or took photos of the concert or audience, please check to see if there is anyone in your photos who might resemble Morgan."

A candle light vigil is planned for Morgan at her former high school in Roanoke, Va. on Thursday.

PICTURES: Morgan Harrington Missing

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/21/crimesider/entry5405868.shtml

Statement from Daniel and Gil Harrington

Roanoke, VA., October 29, 2009 -- We sincerely thank the Virginia State Police Department, University of Virginia Police Department, members of Metallica, and the many people who have shown their support in this difficult time. We are doing everything in our power to bring Morgan home. We appreciate your prayers and ask that you continue to share any information you can with law enforcement so that we can find our daughter.

Please refer to www.FindMorgan.com as a resource for updates on Morgan’s investigation. Information can also be found on the Virginia State Police Department’s website at http://www.vsp.state.va.us/News/News_Releases.shtm. We encourage you to share your thoughts and questions with us directly at info@findmorgan.com. All media inquires may be directed to our new media hotline (202) 973-1330 for immediate assistance.

If you have any helpful information regarding our daughter’s whereabouts, please contact the Virginia State Police’s tip hotline at (434) 352-3467 or bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov.

We thank you again for your prayers and support.



Timeline Given by the State Police:

*
8:20 - 8:48 PM: Someone matching Morgan Harrington's description was seen outside John Paul Jones Arena parking lot by the ticket office and on the University Hall side.
*
8:48 PM: Morgan calls a friend inside the arena, discusses trying to get back in. Tells her friend that she will get a ride home from friends around Charlottesville.
*
8:48 - 9:00 PM: Morgan is still spotted outside the arena. Police say they have no indication she re-entered the building.
*
9:00 - 9:10 PM: Someone matching Morgan's description was seen walking through the University Hall parking lot. Nobody saw her with someone, but there were other people walking in the same direction.
*
9:10 - 9:20 PM: Someone matching Morgan's description was seen in the Lannigan Field parking area near the track. This parking lot is used for overflow parking for arena events. The person matching Morgan's description had limited interaction with people who were at the parking area.
*
9:20 PM: The people who witnesses the person matching Morgan's description left the area.
*
9:20 - 9:30 PM: The person matching Morgan's description was seen on the Copeley Road Bridge near Ivy Road. The last spotting of Morgan Harrington was at 9:30 PM near the intersection of Copeley Rd. and Ivy Rd.

Reward - $150,000

The Harrington family is offering a $100,000 reward for the safe return of their daughter, Morgan Harrington, or information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Morgan Harrington's disappearance.

The Band Metallica is also adding an additional $50,000 to the reward bringing it to $150,000 for Morgan's safe return or information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Morgan's disappearance.