Morgan Harrington Case: State Police Say She Was Hitchhiking
Charlottesville, VA– In the latest release from Corrine Geller, spokesperson for the Virginia State Police, it has been confirmed that the VSP have independent accounts of Morgan Harrington hitchhiking on the Copley Bridge.
Also in the latest release, is a picture of the Swarovski necklace she was wearing.
Virginia State Police are also asking if anyone loaned their cell phone to Morgan that evening.
“Anyone who might remember seeing a vehicle randomly stopped in the roadway on Copeley Road bridge that night is also asked to contact investigators,” the release said. “Investigators are also hoping to hear from anyone who might have loaned their cell phone to a young woman fitting Miss Harrington’s description to make a call that night.
“We don’t have any evidence she made other calls,” Geller says, “but we’d like to know.”
Also confirmed, as reported exclusively on blinkoncrime.com; The last people to interact with Morgan Harrington were players from the UVA Men’s basketball team.
According to several sources, members of UVA’s men’s basketball team were among the last to see Harrington in the grassy, tree-shrouded parking area. Emails sent to numerous team members were forwarded to UVA spokesperson Carol Wood, who directed the inquiry to State Police, but Geller declines comment on the identity of any witnesses.
“We leave it to them whether they want to speak publicly,” she says.
The Full News Release From VSP:
STATE AND LOCAL POLICE STILL SEEK PUBLIC’S AID IN LOCATING MORGAN HARRINGTON
RICHMOND – As the search and investigative efforts continue for missing college student Morgan Harrington, state and local investigators are now able to release additional details concerning the night of her disappearance. Miss Harrington disappeared Oct. 17, 2009, during a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena on the University of Virginia (UVA) campus in Charlottesville, Va.
During the course of the investigation, police have been able to establish a timeline of Miss Harrington’s movements once she ended up outside of the arena at approximately 8:30 p.m. After talking to her friends on her cell phone, she then walked through the parking lot of University Hall and was also seen in the Lannigan Field athlete parking lot, which is also used for RV parking. At around 9:30 p.m., she was seen walking on the Copeley Road bridge near Ivy Road.
Based on independent witness accounts, investigators are confident that Miss Harrington was hitchhiking for a ride while on the Copeley Road bridge. If anyone recalls seeing a young woman hitchhiking that night on or near the Copeley Road bridge, then they are asked to please contact police by phone or email. Anyone who might remember seeing a vehicle randomly stopped in the roadway on Copeley Road bridge that night is also asked to contact investigators. Investigators are also hoping to hear from anyone who might have loaned their cell phone to a young woman fitting Miss Harrington’s description to make a call that night.
In addition to Miss Harrington’s black T-shirt with the word “Pantera” spelled out in tan letters, black mini-skirt, black tights, and knee-high black boots, she was wearing a distinctive necklace. It is a Swarovski Crystal necklace made up of large crystal chain links. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 120 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes.
The search and investigation are still being actively pursued by Virginia State Police, University of Virginia Police, Charlottesville Police, Albemarle County Police and the FBI. The public has generated close to 400 leads in the case. Anyone can call the Virginia State Police Tip Line at (434) 352-3467 or email State Police at bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov. UVA Police can be reached at (434) 924-7166. Anonymous tips are welcome.
Also accepting tips is the Jefferson Area Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000. A reward of $150,041 is available for information that leads to the location and recovery of Miss Harrington.
Related Posts
Related Posts:
487 Comments
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
B, just their un-credited statements were featured on the shows, not the actual witnesses themselves (followed by the usual, a clip of gil harrington speaking and a guest “journalist” to throw his 2 cents in and a viewer call-in question that the “journalists” rant about for a minute but don’t actually come close to answering the actual question…. typical nancy grace-esque coverage)
Also, these supposed sightings don’t move our timeline past 9:20 pm on the night of the disappearance and teach us anything we don’t already know about the situation, so why give them airtime?
I personally would not, and do not feel their statements have been validated. I paid particular attention to Gil Harrington’s statements on Dr. Phil again today. She says the texts occur AFTER the call from the friends at 8:48PM. That was the first I heard they occured AFTER she was outside. I find that relevant.
B
I wanted to share……keep holding on to your hearts…..
New Blog post by Gil Harrington
ON NOVEMBER – 16 – 20097 COMMENTS
People ask me to give one word for Morgan and it’s difficult to do… Morgan liked both Birkenstocks and platforms and chucks and didn’t see them as mutually exclusive, you can like them all.
Morgan was not a remote princess in an ivory tower. She is a real, beautiful, free-spirited girl, accessible.
We had the responsibility of caring for a rare, precious original. What do you do when you have an original, something genuine and beautiful? You appreciate it and love it and look after it… take care of it…
We are devastated and outraged. We tried to protect our own, protecting our young, that is what parents do. This community is not the anonymous type one where people think “thank god it wasn’t my kid, but they think instead that one of ours has been taken. They are all ours, all our children are precious. We still manage to snatch moments of normal. We will find a way…
FAMILY BLOG
I cried when I read that. I pray for peace in their souls on their journey.
B
Blink
How does a girl who has been described to be so under the influence of something to the point where she is suffering from apparent loss of coordination and is falling down, not to mention being described as in an emotional and somewhat aggressive state, manage to even “text” a message, and a message which calmly says “Don’t worry..getting a ride”.
This still supports, IMO, the possibility of someone else sending the text message. And if there was more than than one text, in that “Morgan” and her friend texted back and forth, wouldn’t the friend realize if Morgan was using her own phone or not.
blink: do kids still hitchhike in america?
i find this a very odd statement from whichever university of virginia basketball player that said this!
i truly and deeply believe that we will learn that the bridge sighting will be the coverup. a statement made to cover one’s own tracks and try to blame the victim!
Note: nobody has verified where the hitchhiking comment came from. That is an opinion.
B
I think I read on another site that a person had seen Morgan outside the concert hall, bleeding and crying. If true, think – locked out, cold, bleeding, probably smashed and very upset. By now you’re desperate. This is when things get dangerous for someone in such a vulnerable situation. I would guess this could be when she saw basketball team and went over perhaps to see if she could borrow phone. In doing so, she would have let everyone of those guys see she was easy prey.
Another thing about text messages. Morgan probably had her own texting “lingo”, habit, style, something “unique to Morgan”.
As for Morgan’s or (the) car being in the parking lot – am I the only one who has either sat in an idling car for an hour to get out of a venue or couldn’t get out at all (if blocked in)?
B- Noted and understood. How would I go about posting something private to You?
Right here Stephanie, I will keep it private at your request, only I will see it.
B
Thank you for posting the new info of Mrs. Harrington’s statement regarding the texts. I couldn’t understand why Morgan would only try to contact the friends that one time…
Off to search for the video of the show. Thanks Blink
Good catch, Blink, on Gil’s statement. I didn’t know that the texting was after the 8:48 pm phone call, either. I have to go back to your suspicion that Morgan was in contact with someone, encourgaged or lured, to venture outside the arena.
Wow! The time stamp through me off. I know I’m obsessed about justice for victims, but 1:44 am?!
It’s a few hours earlier on the west coast.
I’d like to address a couple of things that have stuck with me as I’ve followed this tragic event.
I think its important to remember that Morgan would have been more than familiar with the UVA campus than we may realize. She was born there, Dr Harrington was on staff there through the mid-1990s, in other words… they lived in Charlottesville for a time. Plus, her brother has just graduated from UVA, so Morgan had every reason to feel like she knew her way around…FWIW.
As to why Morgan didn’t go to her car… Who says she didn’t. Consider back in the beginning when Mr Gardner (or whatever his name was) that reported on Morgan’s arrival at JPJ and her chattiness with him, as he described it (paraphrasing…) There were two or three others in the car. The car pulled up and she (Morgan) got out of the car and just starting chatting with him while waiting for her friend(s) to park the car. She didn’t care about the opening acts, she was there to see Metallica, etc. I got the impression that the others didn’t get out of the car at that point. At a minimum, the driver of Morgan’s car went to park it. We are not privy to where the car was parked, and I’m sure there is a good reason that LE is keeping that under wraps.
Now suppose Morgan DID want to go to her car when she ended up outside, but didn’t know where the car was parked, …she knew there wouldn’t be any parking spots available up close since her friend/driver dropped her off at the JPJ entrance, so after finding herself outside the arena and unable to go back in, she started walking through the parking lot toward Copley Road looking for her car. She may have found her car and perhaps her 10 minutes of limited interaction with the BB players was them trying to help her get into her car.
What could have happened after that point is anybody’s guess, but I just wanted to mention these thoughts for consideration.
Personally, I believe her friends have been told by LE to lay low and keep their mouths shut as LE works to find Morgan, hopefully alive. That would be incentive enough for her friends to endure horrible judgement from the public for ‘not providing more details’. They have probably taken down their FB accounts and photos to minimize the harassment cause by their very necessary silence. If so, good for them. I’m sure the are grieving.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Morgan, the Harrington family and friends.
Never, Ever Give Up!
Catch, I agree it is an important point that Morgan was very familiar with the campus, and for me, negates the wandering in some sort of stupor as has been intimated in the Hook’s unfortunate article. Again, I say she knew where she was headed and possibly “who.” I also have to agree the friends have been well advised to lay low and not speak to the press.
Perhaps now is not the best time to make this point, but if I am going to be true to my work, I must-
I am very sensitive to what the friends are undoubtedly going through, and Morgan’s fate is not “their fault” if there is a predator involved. That said, under no circumstances should friends allow themselves to be split up, for any reason, at any time. It should be their unbreakable pact. If your a person that hangs with friends, please make this your creedo.
The bottom line here is this very well could have been preventable.
B
Don’t we owe it to Morgan and her family to learn something from this tragedy?
Blink… just reread the article about our 44 year old “kickee” (which i laughed hysterically at earlier when you coined that term by the way) and read some posts on the other thread and this guy still sits weird with me… I think different than most though, I thought his account was fiction from the beginning because of his g/f’s supposed reaction…
Why would the first thing out of her mouth be to report the girl to the police? It was nowhere near serious enough of a situation to even think about calling the cops. I mean its a hard rock concert, people are passing bongs around the parking lot not calling the cops for trivial stuff. She didn’t exactly kick him in the jugular or stomp on his head (as I’m sure his account would have differed slightly). I asked my g/f what she would say if I called her with such a story and she said “you’re calling me to tell me some weird drunk girl just kicked you? You need to drink a few yourself and go have fun”.
So, to me, her reaction seems to be the made up ending to a made up story. If its true and I’m wrong, then I warn everyone not to park more than 12 inches from the curb or jaywalk or cut the tag off your mattress anywhere near her or she might call the cops on you.
Hi Blink,
On C’list from 11/6–in C’ville the third necklace listed is for sale for only $20–but no pic:
http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/jwl/1455008809.html
Blink,
I think I am getting your angle on the texts “after”. Maybe that person was a POI from the start and LE wanted to throw everyone including him off.
Did they GPS track that person or did they just go off his phone number to find out he wasn’t around the area that night?
Or maybe a friend of a friend of that person?
I didn’t understand why by last comment was removed.
If the BB Players got in their cars and left Morgan in that lot, is it reasonable to assume that Morgan made it to the bridge before at least one of the players got that far in his car to see her “Hitchhiking”. It would seem traffic would be heavier coming to the area rather than going at that time.
What I mean is if all three BB Players got in their car and left and Morgan went immediately to the bridge why didn’t all 3 see her their or was one of the players cars parked farther away than the other 2 or did he stop to talk to someone else which delayed him longer so that by the time he got to the bridge he saw Morgan their?
If one had to walk to that bridge from where she was last seen in that lot what is a reasonable length of time?
And why at that point if he sees the girl he had just been talking to “Hitchhiking” on a bridge at least stop and offer her a ride to the nearest coffee shop or some place warm and safe?. Does not make sense.
In regards to the phone, is it safe to assume that LE knows the phone number, but not the owner?
If that is true, couldn’t LE then obtain a subpoena to start tracing that phone, ping it’s location at regular intervals to see what the movements of the holder are, and cross check that phone number through cell phone database records to see if any registered phones have been called from the mystery phone, and start bringing those persons in for questioning?
When you look at what persons and organizations close to the investigation have said and done, and more importantly, what they have not said and done, it becomes much clearer. To spell it out more would not aid the investigation but could possibly hinder it.
If the texts occurred after she was outside and it is believed that maybe she dropped her phone inside and the battery come out, would that not lead one to believe that Morgan did not send those texts?
I think this is my first comment on this case but I’ve read every comment here. This is a truly baffling case.
Justice for Morgan Harrington will come someday because regardless of people’s opinions about her being into drugs…alcohol…or whatnot, she also volunteered and did good for her community, her payback will come in justice for her one day….and, I just hope it can be soon so her mother and dad can find some comfort in this very sad story.
DB found in Roanoke, under the Wasena Bridge near the train tracks… The dispatcher said she believed it was a female…
http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/226638
Where has everybody gone? Confusing to me to follow the threads.
Blink-
I know you always have insider information and I hope you are right
about a possible arrest soon.
But IMPO this case is becoming somewhat dormant, even with all the Internet buzz. The information that was released regarding the necklace, basketball players and hitchhiking was probably known by LE for quite sometime and just recently released to general public.
I really haven’t heard any new Breaking News relevent to this case in quite sometime.
All the more reason to keep this link alive and support the Harrington
family.
Blink,
Just had a scenario go through my feeble mind. What if when walking threw the athletes parking lot Morgan stumbles upon someone and asks to use their phone. Once call is completed, this person attempts to assault Morgan (the grandma’s account of the arguing and struggle) that could be when her purse was broken and was lost.
Basketball players come walking through Morgan sees them and she runs to them for help, Assault-ant also runs leaves purse on ground. Basketball players hang with Morgan for about 10 minutes making sure that whoever attempted to grab her/purse is gone and she again says she fine and leaves. (Not the smartest move, but so far none of her actions seem rational)
That person may have not wanted the purse at all, Morgan was his target. Possible that he was still lurking around, now upset by the fact that she got away and grabs her once she is alone again.
Lovely,
I like your thinking on maybe she lost her battery inside the arena. however, one thing doesn’t sit well with that theory. Phone numbers. If she texted or called her friends from someone elses phone, she would have to KNOW their number.
Which, in this day and age of cell phones, I don’t know anyones number anymore. i just search their name and hit call. I would assume very much the same with college kids. Unless she was with someone who had those numbers in their cell (a friend)
#311 OMG Could that be Morgan? Cant find any more info yet>
The Wasena Bridge is 2 hours away(driving) from CVille. The latest I read is this:
“Roanoke police are on the scene under the Wasena Bridge, where a body was found near the train tracks this morning.
Investigators are waiting for a medical examiner to arrive on scene and help determine whether the death appears to be criminal, said police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson.
The crew on the Norfolk Southern coal train spotted the body about 7:30 a.m. and reported it to dispatchers, who then called city police, a company spokeswoman said.
A Roanoke dispatcher said she believed the body was that of a female.”
…waiting for news from Roanoke. The latest update just says that police are on the scene and waiting for a ME.
In the HFMDH facebook page, some posters that live in the area have commented that the area was flooded last week and that the Wasena Bridge is also a common spot for suicides… Actually one of them lives about a mile from the scene and has said he was going back to see if he could gather any info…
The wording I received also made me think it is possible this person may have committed suicide or was a natural event.
Anyone on their scanners?
B
It will be a very sad day, in fact, if the body found is Morgan. However, if so, maybe the authorities will now have more evidence so they can catch the perpetrator. Once a body has been recovered the chances of catching those involved go waaaay up.
May God see that Morgan be brought home to her family!
Here is the online link to the police/fire/rescue scanner in Roanoke:
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?action=wp&feedId=1250
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?feedId=1250
If those don’t work, go to http://www.RadioReference.com and search for Roanoke
HTH
I hate this breaking news.
BTW, on second C’list view, I see the necklace is pictured and isn’t the MDH one. Sorry all.
There was another body found in Virginia, I believe yesterday. It was apparently found in a trash compactor.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111701092.html
Prince George’s may be in Maryland, but borders Virginia.
Another body, gender unknown, found this AM in Prince George’s Co.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111701092.html
http://www.nokenews.com/2008/08/15/exploring-roanoke-wasena-bridge/
The bridge doesn’t seem high enough to be a “suicide” type of place imo
http://www.nokenews.com/2008/06/16/exploring-roanoke-the-roanoke-river-greenway-part-2/
More pics of the bridge – not a suicide imo
Sent a message to WSLS news in Roanoke Va, asking if they had any info on the body found this morning. This is their reply:
“We had a crew out there earlier this morning. We are waiting on a call back from police to get confirmed information to post on our website. We have not heard anything to lead us to believe the body is Morgan’s, but we will post any information we get from police as soon as they call back.
Justice, thanks for posting that, I am going to delete the contact info though.
Thanks
B
If this does happen to be Morgan, it will be interesting because railroad tracks were near the arena and run near this bridge. Don’t know if they connect or not, but it’s a thought.
Someone from the area just posted on HFMDH Facebook page that the area(Wasena Bridge) has already been cleared… No news channels, police, or anything…
AUREL, Md. (WUSA) — Police in Prince George’s County are investigating the discovery of a body at a recycling plant in Laurel.
Officer Henry Tippett, spokesperson for Prince George’s County Police, says the body, which appears to be an adult, was found in a trash compactor at the Encore Recycling Plant in the 13200 block of Virginia Manor Road.
Tippett says the gruesome discovery was made sometime before 6:15 Tuesday morning.
Homicide investigators are on the scene, however police are classifying the incident as a suspicious death.
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=93813
Thanks Lily, new article is up, mind reposting there? Thanks friend
B
LE has tentatively ruled the FB in Roanoake as a suicide.
LE news release to appear shortly.
Concert time line. I checked my phone — it’s just so terrible to see that date of 10-17. I recv’d a call from my son at 11:42 PM. At that point the concert was over, and they were walking on the sidewalk outside of the arena – we stayed on the phone until he was able to see our SUV parked at the sidewalk parked in the panda garden restaurant — I was parked in the space right beside the stairs. I blinked my lights a few times, and he said he saw them and were headed right to the car, and was in the car in about 2 mins. By that time, they had been in the arena for about 30 mins after the last song. They were on the floor and were making their way out, plus some guy was hawking concert shirts for $15 cheaper than the one he bought when he first went inside, and he stopped by buy one — but that only probably took about 3 mins. max. As soon as they were in the car, someone let us into traffic at that stoplight, which jives with my memory of being on 64 headed east back to Richmond at around midnight, so traffic flow was easy out of charlottesville. The boys were so happy after the concert, so excited to tell me about their treasures — the tee shirts, and a Metallica beach ball and the guitar picks each had caught — about how nice the couple beside them was, and that she was emailing her pix to him the next day, the different songs they band played — or didn’t play — which was exactly the experience I wanted for my son when I bought the tickets, and for the kid that went with us, who is just as huge a fan of Metallica — and maybe this is why I am so drawn to this case. That is exactly the experience I know Dr. Harrington wanted for Morgan and her friends, and it’s exactly the experience Morgan should have had, and then sat w/ her parents the next day telling them all about it. I still hold my little prayer vigil every night at 9:30 PM ET demanding that the person(s) who are responsible for her disappearance speak the truth to someone who will contact authorities NOW; and to give her parents strength to get thru another day and when Morgan’s outcome is revealed. I hope others will join me.
Blink and team, thanks for all your efforts in starting and maintaining this amazing website.
Late response to SuzeeB’s #317 post: Because of the very close proximity of the Lanningan Field RV lot (closely adjacent to the intersection of Lanningan Rd. and Copeley Rd.) and the Copeley Rd. Bridge, it would take literally only two or three minutes to walk from one to the other.
[Apologies for much-delayed response.]
B, re: 301 post:
I had understood earlier that the text(s) occurred after the earlier call between MH and her friend(s); that is, after MH had exited JPJ.
That was news to me, as previously Dr. Harrington mentioned that testing was going on while she was in the concert- obviously he may have had his information second hand or not counted the timing of those as relevant. So we know we have a young man she was friends with from another city, further away exchanging texts about the concert she was now shut out of?
B
That is correct.
Re: #345 & #346 –
Going to bring my post over from Nov. 12 from another thread, (for the simple reason…I won’t have to look up the Dr. Phil interview again). I have snipped much out of this earlier post as it is not relevent, however these are extremely close to G. Harrington’s words:
“Comment by PamTX — November 12, 2009 @ 8:20 pm
Fact: the last people to speak with her from 9:10 PM – 9:20 PM Fact: “any communication ended on the cell phone about 9:20 PM” (Mrs. Harrington’s comment on the Dr. Phil show today)
On this afternoon’s airing of the taped Dr. Phil show, Mrs. Harrington says that she called her girlfriend to say that she would get a ride home and there were a few texts after that call that have been eliminated by LE and are not part of their investigation.”
My Q’s:
I understand “speak with” = verbal; and “communication ended” = texts.
Would that be accurate?
Mrs. Harrington states:(snip)…”there were a few texts after that call that have been eliminated by LE and are not part of their investigation.”
“Few texts” = could have been to/from one or more than one individual as I don’t recall that information to have been released anywhere (other than Dr. Harrington referencing early on the man friend in another city)
What it says to me is that the source(s) of these texts have been verified and individuals cleared and deemed unrelated.
Is that what we understand to still be the case, including the man friend from another city?
I am just unclear on that, I am more focused on Gil’s reference to “the guys” in today’s blog.
B
I, too, have been following this site, and it’s so heartbreaking and scary – this could have happened to anyone’s daughter — or son. I have two in college and grad school in Virginia, and I preach constantly about their safety. I was raised to be afraid of the boogie man, and I actually just ordered “The Gift of Fear” for both of them.
I’m commenting on the words “the guys”…I use that phrase all the time when referring to someone, more than one, etc. I’m from Chicago originally, and everything was “you guys”, “the guys”, etc. Just a thought…..
RE: Blink’s response to #347 — Haven’t seen the plural form referenced in any statements by LE or the Harrington family until today.
Could be as simple as the Harrington’s recently asking a question of LE if they think more than one person could be responsible? And LE answers along the lines of (i.e.) “it’s possible” “anything is possible”, “we haven’t ruled anything out”, or something similiar….and a deeply grieving mother relays that memory to her web page. I am thinking “one” and just because she hasn’t been found yet, does not mean he is smart, savvy, or won anything…jmo.
We know you will find out, Blink. You have the drive of a soldier and I say that with the utmost respect. My heart absolutely breaks for Morgan and her family. The pain is immense and yet they manage to find times of strength and composure. God Be With Them.
Link to November 17 interview with MDH’s parents, from WDBJ
http://www.wdbj7.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=4309158&h1=WDBJ7.COM%20EXTRA%3A%20Extended%20interview%20with%20Morgan%20Harrington%27s%20parents&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=272167&LaunchPageAdTag=Homepage&activePane=info&rnd=64792737