Morgan Harrington Case: 2 Unidentfied Bodies Found in Different Locations (Updated)

Posted by BOC Staff | Missing Persons,Morgan Harrington | Tuesday 17 November 2009 11:48 am

Breaking News

Roanoke, VA Laurel, MD– Two bodies of unidentified individuals, one confirmed female, were found this morning in Roanoke, VA and Laurel MD, respectively.

Encore

The remains in Roanoke, which is also the town Morgan Harrington’s family home is located, were spotted by a coal train employee near the tracks under the Wasena Bridge. The Medical Examiner is on the scene and it is believed to be the body of a female.

 In Laurel, MD  Prince George County, Homicide detectives have been called to the scene at approximately 6 am this morning following the discovery of a deceased individual in the Encore Recycling Plant. Police are not commenting on the victims gender or age at this time.

Blinkoncrime.com will be updating this developing story as information becomes available. 

Update #1 11:58 EST. The Female Body recovered near the RR tracks in Roanoke is tentatively classified as a suicide. Press Release forthcoming from Roanoke PD

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242 Comments

  1. annieb says:

    #82 Suz and #89 wpgmouse
    According to the UVa police website the purse was reported found @ 0819 on 10-18-09 from the Cage parking lot. I can only assume the passerby used the blue light phone located at the cage to report the find. At the time Morgan had not been reported missing…thus I continue to wonder how well the exact “spot”, and with “no evidence of a struggle”, where the purse was found was fixed by LE.

    I have a theory on that.. to come.
    B

  2. wpgmouse says:

    (Sorry for unintentional repeat posting of updated article)

    Not only is there an updated article yesterday particularly mentioning the “recovery” of the battery cover MINUS the details, but yesterday, September 17 was also the LE press release on a first-time van description regarding the August 26 tragedy.

    Today, in was announced and confirmed the personal leave of absence and 3-game suspension are not related to the disappearance of Morgan. I would think Ms. Woods has an obligation to the players to comment and stick to those particualr facts as she did. Anything more, would go beyond the scope of her responsibility (and possible knowledge) and fall under the jurisdiction of LE, wouldn’t it?
    Nothing against these players whatsoever, but IMO a player of any sport cannot be suspended in regards to being questioned by LE unless officially named a suspect in a pending criminal investigation or charged, to which these 2 have not.

    Hey, who knew- they ALSO changed the date I pointed out about “44 Kickee”. It now says he reported it Monday October 19.
    Imagine that. Yes, we all have cached articles, that dude is sitting on my sciatic to coin a blinkism.
    B

  3. chitown lady says:

    #85 Lizzy…..gray metallic resembles SILVER actually. when I think of gray I think of gun metal gray….or battleship gray.Now thats gray…All these metallic “greys’ are actually way of saying SILVER…anyway, I don’t get the real connection to Morgan.

    Are there any camera on the bridge?

  4. DTA says:

    This is all so frustrating. I feel so very bad for the Harrington’s. All the articles say the sightings on the bridge are confirmed. How are they confirmed?

  5. sue says:

    This is the oddest part of the story for me.

    “We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t think it was okay,” she said. “Obviously, we wish things had taken place differently.” A male who traveled to the concert with the three women from Harrisonburg has never been publicly identified, and while police and the Harrington family have declined to name him, he is not considered a suspect, says Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller, who said on November 13 that Morgan had her thumb out to hitch a ride.

    http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/15/concerned-witnesses-before-hitching-morgan-harrington

    So, are we to assume that the unidentified male friend who attended the concert is the same male friend with whom Morgan was texting?

    I don’t know what happened to this poor girl, but I do know that there are some underlying secrets and problems that the family does not want known. The swift hiring off the PR firm? It all just seems very managed and handled. If you go back and look at the early Hook articles, you will see further examples of headlines being changed to provide a more flattering picture of the victim.

    The female reverend who lives with the Harrington family publicly states that “Morgan was a very responsible young lady”, and that becomes the new headline. It was previously,”Metal fan from Tech disappears.” Not really sure if it’s relevant to the situation, but just seems curious.

    On the hiring of the PR firm, we disagree. It is essential at the stage this case was in when they did it for a variety of reasons and I can tell you they were advised to do just that. People get thrown into these nightmares and are judged for reacting to situations they could not be less prepared for, or more vulnerable to. Hurts my heart.
    B

  6. Debi says:

    Post# 91…That is interesting about this blogger..I felt compelled to write her a private e-mail asking to make sure she contacted the FBI..I told her as a mom, I would want her to do this for my daughter..She answered my e-mail and said she did, before she even posted..Great!

    I agree about the phone, so very important..if the cover off..could be a hundred things..if the cover placed back on..could only be a couple..I think it is very possible that it could of been ran over and smashed..

    I also think that the purse is important to ow it was ripped..if it was made of leather or nylon, it would of been more difficult to rip off someones back..it would have to have been done with great force..now if it was pleather, then it would of ripped very easily.

  7. George says:

    Morgan had two devices that would take pictures. The cell phone is recovered without the battery and the camera is missing. The authorities are not giving out any information as to photos that may have been recovered from the cell phone.

    Morgan talked for ten minutes with UVA athletes but authorities are not giving out any information as to what was said. The athletes are not coming forward.

    No photo of the missing battery type (with a scale to show size) has been released. No search of the woods surrounding the RV parking lot specifically looking for the battery has been made (to my knowledge).

    No photo of a camera identical to Morgan’s has been released.

    No photo of her car has been released. Perhaps someone saw it on an earlier trip to Charlottesville?

    The parking spot of her car at the arena has not been released.

    No one has dressed a model whose body type is similar to Morgan’s and in clothes identical to Morgan’s outfit and photo-shopped Morgan’s face onto the image and released it.

    The identities of the people who saw her supposedly hitch-hiking have not been released and they have not come forward.

    The Virginia State Police have not held a press conference or responded to questions.

    The University of Virginia administration has not added to the reward money for her safe return.

    The above all seem unexplicable to me.

  8. Reece says:

    So LE are now claiming they don’t have any suspects. Uh oh!

  9. wpgmouse says:

    #101 annieb

    annieb, big thank you for that information.

    Blink, looking forward as usual.
    Yeah, that boo-boo was a timely correction. Also not identified as a “correction” – - must fall under “updated” and “purse details”.

  10. gotoutofpcity says:

    101 annieb… that is a very interesting point

    a random passerby found the purse that early in the morning, there shouldn’t have been a real investigation into morgan’s disappearance even going on yet, hence no one imparticular to link the purse to right away (or a “crime scene” to establish or anything like that)

    fishy fishy

  11. mari lily says:

    Comment by SCHokie: “On this last news report they claim that LE has no suspects and no idea of the type of vehicle Morgan may have gotten into.”

    SCHokie, It is my feeling that investigators do have an idea of what type of vehicle Morgan may have gotten into. I think they are seeking witnesses to corroborate information already received. This is just a strong hunch on my part…

    I agree they not only have a vehicle description, but I suspect they spoke to the driver, who gave the hitchhiking story, followed by “I dropped her off at..”
    B

  12. Dakota says:

    I feel if we could confirm WHY Morgan’s behavior appeared to be so erratic on the night in question we may want to take a look at the 44- kickee again . I am still stuck on the alcohol mixed with an underlying mental disorder that causes erratic behavior . IF this were the case, I am of the opinion this was a GG gone BG situation and we will be waiting for a very long time for an answer . Gil was telling us something about her “special” Morgan ,what was she trying to tell us . Those friends , still so quiet .

    If I am choosing inbetween the “worst of” scenarios, I prefer GG turned BG anyday. His post-offense behavior will give him away. In fact, I am sure it already has to some. It is the BG organized suspect zero that worries me in terms of how quickly she is found.
    B

  13. tess says:

    No one has dressed a model whose body type is similar to Morgan’s and in clothes identical to Morgan’s outfit and photo-shopped Morgan’s face onto the image and released it.

    George – Facebook has a mock photo of Morgan dressed the way she may have looked like the night she vanished.

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9674835&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=162224546575&id=712425576

  14. Lily2 says:

    So…. if her purse was recovered and just the camera is missing?

    What’s on it?

  15. wpgmouse says:

    For what it’s worth…

    According to The Hook article,

    9:00PM – - the 44yo man gets kicked by a female fitting the description of Morgan

    9:05PM – - from a female witness, snipped from the same article:

    “With the blonde were four young, white men— a conspicuous group, says the witness, because of the direction they were headed: away from the Arena”…
    … “The men, says the witness, were allegedly laughing.” …
    … “I thought, ‘That girl should have no business going off with those guys, walking into an empty parking lot when the concert is getting ready to start.”…
    …”The blonde, however, did not allegedly seem distressed and even, seemingly as a joke, shook one leg at the men, also clad in black.
    The witness estimates the time at 9:05PM since she placed a phone call to a friend a minute later while still on Massie Road.” …

    If this was Morgan, or thought to be Morgan in both instances, could the 9:05pm laughter and leg gesture be about the 9:00pm kicking incident? Was there someone who witnessed BOTH interactions?

    http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/15/concerned-witnesses-before-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/

    If this is above the knee boot lady, My money says this was Dee S and not Morgan.
    B

  16. George says:

    Tess,

    Thanks! I am glad someone did it. Hope it gets wide, wide publicity.

  17. SuzeeB says:

    Have you seen this interview with Morgans parents at home? 11 parts. Heart breaking.

    http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-morgan-harrington-story,0,1260432.story

  18. George says:

    When you lighten the exposure of the facebook picture, the boots the model is wearing have two vertical rows of diamond-shaped shaped metal studs (or metal-looking studs) on the front of each boot going from the instep to the top of the boot. It is very distinctive.

    Also with the leggings and small jacket she might not have been too cold outside the arena. The temperature was between 45 and 46 F at the airport at that time.

  19. lizzy says:

    I’ve been searching in vain for a place to read about Dee S and her three friends leaving the concert at about 9. I found the video snip showing her dancing near the stage while Metallica was playing. I also found a mention of her talking to Morgan’s friends. But that’s all. TIA for your help.

  20. sweetpea says:

    Earliar I had read here that the father had purchased 9 tickets,
    Blink informed that that information was in fact a rumor.

    I also read that the purse’s strap had been torn, Blink was that also rumor? #82 states no sign of struggle

    It seems that there is alot of conflicting information being tossed around.

  21. wpgmouse says:

    “If this is above the knee boot lady, My money says this was Dee S and not Morgan.
    B”

    Yeah, but what adds to the confusion, or rather my confusion, is that this female witness described the blonde girl as wearing tights, and I thought Dee was bare legged. Another article “boo boo”, perhaps.

    The above the knee boots . . .

    adding to my confusion, this from the “original” Hook article:

    Until now, the missing woman’s boots have been described as “knee high,” but this witness insists they were “over the knee.”
    At presstime, neither police nor Morgan’s parents, Dan and Gil Harrington, had responded to the possible discrepancy.”

    Updated Hook article now says..

    “(Through a spokesperson with the Harrington’s recently hired PR firm, Gil Harrington says the boots she saw Morgan try on prior to the concert were not above the knee.)”

    Any ways, I digress.
    Looking forward to your purse theory, Blink.

    Dee was proved to be tight-less in the youtube presented to the press, as was the newspaper lady sighting. The over the knee boots cement this sighting again, was NOT Morgan.
    B

  22. acapella says:

    Hi B

    I set up a Hotmail acct and made it a default…not sure if my post went thru before…don’t see it…Anyway, you are a true inspiration and give hope to hopeless situations. Thank you for all you do and your team’s exhaustive efforts! You are THE BEST

    Anne

  23. acapella says:

    Okay, there it is!

    So…what occured to me is this:

    1. Childs-Metzler murders occured right at the start of the semester
    2. Morgan’s disappearance occured on Family Weekend.
    3. Silver/Grey MINI-VAN says “family car” to me.

    Could the perp be a family member of a UVA student, most likely freshman (Family Weekend visit)?? …just a thought

  24. Counselor4u says:

    This is my initial post; however, I have been following your site when I am able…not working. You certainly do tackle some questions head-on, which I think is needed….good for you, as well those who need advocacy. I pray the Harrington family will find some peace.
    I have a question about the male witness who was in his 40s and reported to have been approached and kicked Morgan Harrington. I would think that the LE checked out his whereabouts during the time-frame in which Morgan disappeared. Is that correct?
    What came to mind when I read about his stated experience is that sometimes, things may not appear as they seem. Attempting to walk into an interaction with someone and trying to pull away from an unwanted interaction with someone might appear very similar to a casual onlooker. Was Morgan offering her arm to him or was she trying to pull her arm away from him? In addition, the statement, “Let’s go” and “Let go” are so similar that one could easily interchange the wording for a completely different meaning. Why would Morgan suddenly kick someone who she had just approached in a ‘receptive’ manner? Did she interact with this man prior to or after she walked off with the BB players. If she was truly labile with this older man, then I would think that she would have exhibited similar behavior with the BB players. To my knowledge, there has been no mention of any such behavior/interactions with the BB players; thus, I wonder about the reason for Morgan’s reaction to the 40 yr. old.

    Welcome to BOC Counselor, we agree, my hinkomaticspechtrometer went through the roof at “44 Kickee” account.
    Does not gahzinta.
    B

  25. Elizabeth says:

    George your post # 107 just took the words out of my mouth.

    Also I ponder this little ditty..what came first the chicken or the egg.

    Where was Morgan first the bridge or the RV lot?????

  26. tess says:

    Well, if the “over the knee boot” lady truly exists, she’s neither Morgan or Dee cause it appears the woman in the video (supposedly Dee) has knee, if not slightly below the knee, boots on (take a good look – 4 posts down in attached link) http://findmorgan.com/forums/index.php?topic=397.msg2790#msg2790

    and supposedly Morgan had knee hi boots on.

    Leave it to us fashionistas to notice the difference.

    Right? Over the knee is for the swashbucklers of last year and the year prior, not Morgan.
    B

  27. Elizabeth says:

    Re post 115. If it was Dee how did she and her fellow compadres leave later with a black balloon that Metallica passed out at the end of their concert?

    The post to me would have had Dee outside at 9 and back inside til Metallica ended. How would she get in and out with the no readmission policy?

  28. Elizabeth says:

    George # 117 Morgan left her jacket in her car. She went in with the tshirt and her purse/backpackstyle on. So after an hour wandering around..she was cold. They say it even snowed that night.

  29. lizzy says:

    tess [125] and Elizabeth [126]

    Exactly and part of why I’m trying to find the info that I requested in [118]. Any help from anyone? Or was this just a rumor that got perpetuated? So many references to the implication that Dee was also outside, etc. But I can’t find the source. Her own statements that I could find referenced imply she was at the whole concert.

    If you do, I also need to find the source that she is friends with Amy and Sarah and through them, Morgan.
    I know I read that somewhere.
    B

  30. wpgmouse says:

    Counselor4u

    With you and Blink. The phone call to girlfriend, IMO, seemed a deliberate “turning of the table” variation of the events, to place one’s self as the “injured party” as soon as possible (pre-emptive to “something” coming up in the near future, regarding this young lady).

  31. suz says:

    Thank you, mari lily—glad to know I didn’t miss that little tidbit on Sunday…!

  32. susan m says:

    http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/66764102.html heres one spot where it is alluded dee s friends knew morgans friends and they met up after the show

    TY
    B

  33. starbucks says:

    So, has LE identified and talked to the four white guys Morgan was walking with in the parking lot? I haven’t seen anything about them.

    Also, who is the male friend that attended the concert with Morgan? I don’t suspect that he is involved, just that his parents are probably fairly influential (able to keep his name out of the media).

    Even if Morgan was on the bridge, she could have walked back to the RV lot after walking on the bridge.

    Yes, because they were with Dee over the knee boots.
    B

  34. wpgmouse says:

    Blink

    My last coment comes off a little too “matter of fact”. Emotions got the better of me. It doesn’t appear to be posted, so perhaps it’s best to keep it that way. Thank you, Blink.

    WPG, just be you.
    Fondly,
    B

  35. jawbreaker says:

    Hi Blink:

    I may have missed this, but did they ever release the ID of the female suicide victim in Roanoke?
    not yet
    B

  36. jawbreaker says:

    ok thanks….man, get some sleep…:)

  37. wpgmouse says:

    Fondness to you, Blink.
    I see why you may be up so late.

    Back at ya, side o’ cheese too.
    B

  38. debi says:

    I would think it would fairly hard to remember the type of boots she had on, if she had black thighs on and black boots..unless you were looking right at them….and you really would have had to notice them…the new style, again, is over the knee boots…both looks would appear to run together…especially for someone who had long legs and a short black skirt on.JAT

  39. luvblink says:

    http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/66764102.html

    Blink this is the link about Dee meeting with Morgans friends at the concert. She was there with four men wearing black shirts.hmmm

    Quote:
    When Spolarics bought a ticket to the concert, she had no idea just how small her world was about to become.

    Spolarics, her boyfriend and three other guys went to the concert and say it was a great crowd. Afterward, they tried to meet up with friends, seated in another part of the arena. Those friends were mutual friends of Spolarics and Morgan Harrington.

    “We call and [our friend] is like, ‘We’re actually missing somebody,’ one of the people she was with, and they’re like, ‘We don’t know what happened to her. She said she was getting a ride home, so we guess she’s fine,’ but so we’re like OK, we didn’t think anything of it and they went home,” says Spolarics.

    “They” went home.

  40. lizzy says:

    *Blink, Regarding Dee S knowing Morgan’s friend(s), I only have the same link as Susan gave in [132]. But you have again referred to the group outside as “Dee over the knee boots” and her friends, and I can only find info contrary to that–the dancing during Metallica playing, the calling to meet up after, and the balloon. Do you have unpublished info?

    Well something is off on the timing here. The blonde with 4 white males and no tights is definately Dee S.
    B

  41. suz says:

    susan m, thanks for that link about Dee. So the blonde seen walking with the four white guys was in fact Dee, her boyfriend, and the three other guys she was with. Amazing that they are friends with morgan’s friends.

  42. lilbugs says:

    re #135: Blink, actually they released the id: http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/226885 – How to keep up with it all…

  43. sue says:

    Tess, I agree. How can the girl in the video be the girl seen anywhere and everywhere with boots that are above the knee? Her boots are clearly not above the knee.

    Apparently, one of them is Morgan.

    Also, how does Gil know for certain that Morgan did not remove her tights and decide to wear a different pair of boots?

  44. SuzeeB says:

    Part of a comment posted by Logician. Didn’t post all the speculation part.

    Logician said:
    Let me start off by correcting the time frame. I was there for the concert, and I am one of those people that check the time frequently (plus I used my phone to communicate a message to the friend I went with ’cause we couldn’t hear).
    Nothing started until about 7:20 when Gojira took the stage. They stopped at about 7:45, and it wasn’t until about 8:05 that Lamb of God went on. They stopped pretty much right at 8:40, which means Morgan left right as soon as they finished. Please ignore anything “cville_resident” said about the crowd there, because obviously they don’t know anything about it since they weren’t actually at the concert.

    It was a lot of your typical metal fans. I really couldn’t possibly count the number of people I saw dressed in all black with Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Godsmack, Archenemy, Slayer, etc. shirts on. The crowd was a very typical Metallica horns-up headbanging crowd. Just because security was high doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any roudiness. U.Va. hires security and uses its own police to prevent anything from happening inside the arena and around the band backstage and out by the trucks (I would know I managed to sneak back around to the buses later on it took a while to do).

    http://www.truecrimereport.com/2009/10/virginia_tech_student_morgan_d.php

  45. TOY says:

    From the Roanoke Times:

    “Police have identified the woman whose body was found Tuesday under a Roanoke bridge.

    Jennifer Shantelle Adair, 30, of Roanoke was found under the Wasena bridge about 7:30 a.m. A crew on a Norfolk Southern coal train spotted her body near the train tracks and called police.”

  46. Josie says:

    Hi Blink

    This is my first post. Would you please go to FB Psychic Premonitions and read the last two posts?

    This place does exist. I just googled and gmapped it.

    Link:

    http://www.summitpost.org/image/334537/Devils-Summit.html

    Googlemap search: Devil’s Summit Blue Ridge Pkwy

    Josie, respectfully it is in North Carolina. What is the inference to Morgan or is this just someone word associating a vision?
    B

    Take a look at pics submitted on first link.

  47. George says:

    If she left her jacket in the car she might have been cold but I don’t believe there were any snow showers. The weather reports for the Charlottesville airport indicate the following (converted from universal time to the nearest hour in local time (Eastern daylight time) and temp converted back to F):

    8 pm 44 degrees F, 3 knots of wind
    9 pm 44 deg, 6 kts of wind
    10 pm 44 deg, 6 kts of wind
    11 pm 43 deg, winds calm, light rain
    12 pm, 43 deg, winds calm, light rain
    01 am, 41 deg, winds calm
    02 am, 41 deg, winds calm, light rain
    03 am, 39 deg, winds calm
    04 am, 39 deg, winds calm, light rain
    05 am, 39 deg, 3 kts of wind, light rain
    06 am, 39 deg, 3 knots of wind
    07 am, 39 deg, 5 knots of wind
    08 am, 39 deg, 3 knots of wind
    09 am, 42 deg, 3 knots of wind

  48. starbucks says:

    Re: Dee Spolarics
    “It wasn’t the last time the Richmond woman saw the young blonde. After she, her husband, and friend parked near U-Hall, she says, she saw the same group of five gathered around a vehicle in the RV Lot, or Lannigan Field overflow parking lot— the spot where Morgan’s purse and phone were found and one of the last places police have officially placed her.”

    http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/15/concerned-witnesses-before-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/

    So, you are saying that Dee (dressed similarly to Morgan and sharing mutual friends) and her companions also left the concert before Matallica performed and also went over to the RV lot during the same time frame.

    I’m sorry, that is just too weird! What the hell was going on in the RV lot? How do you know that the basketball players did not see Dee rather than Morgan?

    Where is the evidence that Dee left the concert about the same time that Morgan left the concert?

    Here are some sources regarding Dee Spolarics and mutual friends:

    On Tuesday, Virginia State Police confirmed the video and pictures thought to show Morgan Harrington before her disappearance October 17, actually show James Madison University sophomore Dee Spolarics. Spolarics says this case of mistaken identity is opening up a world of similarities between herself and the missing student.
    When Spolarics bought a ticket to the concert, she had no idea just how small her world was about to become.

    Spolarics, her boyfriend and three other guys went to the concert and say it was a great crowd. Afterward, they tried to meet up with friends, seated in another part of the arena. Those friends were mutual friends of Spolarics and Morgan Harrington.

    “We call and [our friend] is like, ‘We’re actually missing somebody,’ one of the people she was with, and they’re like, ‘We don’t know what happened to her. She said she was getting a ride home, so we guess she’s fine,’ but so we’re like OK, we didn’t think anything of it and they went home,” says Spolarics.

    More than a week later, those trying to find Harrington spotted a blond woman in video posted online and made a connection. Spolarics says she’s the one in the video and police agree.
    “I thought I would say ‘oh that’s not me’ and it would be over, but people were coming up with theories,” says Spolarics.
    Spolarics and Harrington are both average height, blond, college-aged women. The night of the concert they were both wearing black shirts, black mini-skirts and black boots.

    “I can definitely see people who didn’t know, who wanted it to be Morgan, I wish it was her and not me,” says Spolarics.

    http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/66764102.html

    “Polarics does not know Harrington, but their mutual friends had planned to meet after the concert but that did not take place.”

    http://breezejmu.org/2009/10/29/false-alarm-in-harrington-search/

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