Morgan Harrington Murder: Anchorage Farm Could Yield Even More Clues
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Charlottesville, VA– In a new development in the murder investigation of Morgan Dana Harrington, blinkoncrime.com has learned that Anchorage Farm was very much a frequent party spot for local musicians.
In fact, there was a 7 Mile Sleepover exactly one week after Morgan’s disappearance from the JPJ arena that included an invitation list of over 130 guests.
Jenny Bass, the adult daughter of David and Nancy Bass, is an accomplished pianist, musician, horticulturist and artist in the Charlottesville community.
The Seven Mile Sleepover appears to have been posted prior to Morgan’s disappearance, approximately October 14, 2009.
While it is unconfirmed how many guests actually attended the event, it is clear there could have been over 100 people within a few hundred yards of Morgan’s final resting place a week after she went missing, and presumably, her death.
As Anchorage Farm is a verified crime scene in an active murder investigation, one wonders if anyone found anything they may not have realized of importance at the time.
According to her facebook, Ms. Bass was clearly disturbed by her discovery as well:
Jason Mateos and Elizabeth Morton, contributing editors to this report
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Sorry, only just remembered this here. Apparently, there are interns wading around the river and so on. There is also an e coli contamination.
“mammamary says:
May 26, 2010 at 10:11 pm
The local hydrology is under scrutiny by many agencies and organizations, most of which do field work and use interns. A few links:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/va/nwis/uv?cb_00060=on&cb_00065=on&format=gif_default&period=120&site_no=02030000
http://www.tjswcd.org/HardwareRiverProject.html
http://www.tmdl.bse.vt.edu/outreach/C105/
That is very interesting.
B”
When I first started looking at this case, my first reaction was, “How, in God’s name, in this day and age does any organization refuse re-entry to a young woman stranded outside an arena and left to wander a parking lot and/or wooded campus alone AND on a PITCH BLACK NIGHT, no less? How can JPJA/UVA approve this policy and on a campus that for years has known that there are cases involving an unknown serial rapist in the UVA area? I even went as far as to say, “she would have been better off if they had arrested her that evening.”
When my child was looking at colleges, we took a tour of UVA. I was not at all comfortable with the darkness that surrounds the UVA Campus nor with the many wooded or secluded enclaves that pepper the campus. It left me with an overwhelming sense of fear/worry. My child had the same impression. I have to say, I felt more comfortable at every other University, including the urban campuses that we visited, than I did at UVA.
Observer, I am excited to see the new rocks you have described. I will give you time to place them, and then upload some new photos to the photobucket site maybe Monday.
I haven’t posted much lately because I haven’t had anything to add. I will be on the lookout for the Morgan billboards; does anyone know where they are placed?
After reading the most current posts, and watching the court fight take place over the Huguely case documents, I feel an extremely anti-Jeffersonian censorship campaign is being waged by our courts, law enforcement officials and U.Va. I wish I knew what it was all about. I am starting to wonder if the VSP fears an active LE member (non-VSP) is responsible for Morgan’s death, but what could that possibly have to do with George Huguely’s arrest? Or, is the bust-up of a drug ring imminent, causing the need for secrecy? Clearly the LAX team has some issues with alcohol and possibly steroids; it wouldn’t surprise me if cociane were a problem as well. But what would that have to do with Morgan’s death? Were the BIB dealing drugs at the JPJ? Is it all just completely unrelated?
I don’t get all the secrecy surrounding EVERY DAMN THING that involves these cases. Are LE just trying to cover up mistakes? I know it’s easy to lump all LE together in the same basket and criticize them, but let’s get real — there are widely divergent levels of competence within and across all the departments that have touched this case. I think it’s fair to say the VSP was probably handed a big hot mess by U.Va. police in Morgan’s case, and had to play catch-up. The lack of a body for 3 months compounded the problems, as did its decomposition. Charlottesville PD seems to have done a fine job of handling the Love case, but now the court-ordered secrecy eliminates our ability to evaluate anything about it. Thank God Albemarle County PD isn’t all that involved in either case since they’re too busy having booty on duty on the side of the road to take care of business. I am guessing a branch of the VSP had to waste some time investigating the ACPD on that little scandalous matter.
OK, that was rambling, sorry.
I was trying to think about someone’s post regarding the timing of the shirt placement. I think one of two things happened.
Either 1), the Laura Recovery Center searches started to spook the shirt-holder, and they made the bold move of planting it in broad daylight, hoping it lead attention to town instead of out in the county; or 2), Olivia’s scenario happened:
“Olivia says:
May 27, 2010 at 6:34 pm
When I did my own sleuthing to look at the bush (after the C’Ville article came out with the photo) I saw an elderly homeless man digging in the dumpster right across from the bush–which made me wonder if he or someone like him simply found the shirt around there and placed it on the bush–possibly not even knowing its significance??” If that’s what happened, then the randomness of it certainly adds another level of complication for LE in an already difficult case.
OK, my dear friend Observer and godmother (wink, wink) to another bright, shiny, young girl with beautiful eyes on her future. I let her read your posts and the total of the following is not all to you but I answer your post because you are there in the city, on the campus.
You are our legs that walk those “rock of love” to that “bridge of cope”. Maybe you are going to be the one that is called upon to do more, produce more. I do not know you but may I, for a day hang my hat on you? You will help Dr. and Mrs. Dan Harrington?
You do not believe Morgan knew who abducted her. I however, do.
I have always said that I do not care what Morgan did, drank, smoked, shot up, snorted or even looked like that night. Nor do I care what her friends did. Although with saying that I wished that they would have come forward so much sooner with accurate information. They knew what, where, when, why, and how much. They knew what Morgan looked like. Would any of this have found Morgan sooner? This I do not know but I was really, really, really willing to try!
Hundrends of us unskilled volunteers were!
I do not believe Morgan did not know him/them because I believe that when one stands down in that lot where her purse was found and you look up…you are looking up at that bridge. I mean that she knew who they were, in that lot. What I do not know is if she didn’t walk up and down or down and up the embankment. Should I 100% believe those that saw her HH? Hell, even now today, I do not believe much about what I was told, what I read, at the search, and oh yea, the timeline!
I’m gonna question it all. Got too!
I’m even gonna question the dog. Do we know that they hit the last sight. I’m not skilled in this. But how can they track last scent if she had backtracked?
This by the way, is ridiculous to talk about because we are given nothing. Not a thing for a very long time. So we search about scrolls, facebooks, class lists, UVA basketball players and now UVA la cross players, and Jenny Bass’s friends who are so obviously transversing Anchorage Farm property. Then why can’t I, us?
We search other universities and all the while, I know that Lt. Rader must have some idea who did this? Or am I really that stupid and gulliable?
Are we not told, “Oh, a crimescene is needed” Check, got one!
Are we not told, “Oh, a body is needed” Check, got one!
Are we not told, “Oh, a poi(s) are needed” Check, got one!
Are we not told, “Oh, evidence is needed” Check, got one!
Are we not told, “Oh, a community is needed” Check, got one!
You all get my point.
Important here…
I think that there needs, no DESPERATELY needs, some transparency here! Now an open request from me; a stupid, uninformed, could have been psychologically scarred(doubt it though), at times a lame-ass wife, mother, and friend and at times, one of the most loyal, patient, kind, loving, giving and did I say loyal, part of the general public that was called upon to help!
Lt. Joe Rader and The Virginia State Police,
The Federal Bureau of Investigation,
The Albemarle Police Department,
The Charlottesville Police Department,
The North Garden Fire and Rescue Department,
and anyone else that wants to put an iron into the firestorm of an unsolved murder of the following:
PERSONAL AD –
MORGAN DANA
HARRINGTON
Beautiful, smart, funny
20 year old female, single
college student.
Metallica fan, murder victim
I.S.O. JUSTICE/ARREST/
CONVICTION
Call VSP with information
On Morgan’s case @
434-352-3467
2 4 1
By the way, I have seen what death looks like in many ways. I have smelt it, held it, looked into eyes that would never look back at me and I am just to sit here on a blog and just accept Morgan and all the others just die? Die brutally and painfully and unaccounted for?
Do I think that we all, including the departments, parents, friends, and me, make mistakes…YES! YES! YES!
We all do but cannot we move ahead, say I’m sorry, and ask for someone to come out and speak, someone to release reports, someone to do something?
The parents are putting out a personal ad for Christ’s sake! A cry for help. I am proof-positive that I do not know shit from shinola concerning the Criminal Justice System but what I do know that these parents and this brother will not be able to move forward. Even those friends of hers, I worry about. Stress will take it’s fugly toll and will continue. Windows will shut permanently!
This case needs to be solved so that quite possibly, maybe the Blink On Crime site can move onto other cases, other victims that desperately need her attention. SHE OBVIOUSLY supports Law Enforcement and partners with you guys. So help her so in return she can help us. Your public. We do believe in you. We just need your hand. What we do not need is a meaningless soundbite to progress ratings and in return generate greed.
We need the down and dirty job of your hardwork…is it paying off?
Please, let us know.
I know a slight little itty-bit about this. I have one case solved and penance made and another that to this day we wonder about. I have two families with different outcomes and I know the two different mothers. One is dead and one survives. See? Do you see and understand me. I do not write well or even with proper grammer but I write from experience. I write from a place of love and support. I write for some girl I never met that needs it. What skin is it off my nose. I’ll tell you, none.
A girl named Morgan Dana Harrington.
A girl that was plucked and snatched from her life. I do not need to tell you this. You know, you too looked at her lovely bones. You know. So do something.
Don’t make me a doubter, a nonbeliever.
Make me believe and cheer your hard work and that it paid off with handcuffs. Don’t let HER die in vain.
I also want you to know that those above departments are probably trying and trying hard. I know that. I do not debate it nor do I want to. Just keep doing your jobs. Hunting down the absolute monsters that beat the living tar out of this girl and then tried to hide her in a creekbottom. You are smarter than this, than him, than them.
If protecting…Do not! They are not worth it.
Protect and serve all of us.
Moms and Dads with kids that work a ton of hours for a better life, a better community, a safer world.
We all need to be accountable and mistakes were no doubt made. But if we do not acknowledge that and move forward in the direction that needs to be made. They win. They are winning. This should not happen. Not in this case. To many things or clues or whatever LE calls them were provided. Morgan was provided.
Thank you for listening and I’m done. Quite possible for a while. This makes me weep for her parents, brother, the City of Charlottesville, for all of us who have walked in the same and similar shoes or should I say boots.
Lt. Rader, what do you need?
We are here for you.
I know that this is not protocol but
“Kick ass and take names later!”
Maybe just maybe this will help…
“She was placed in a tarp, in a shallow grave near the waterline, and whoever did so, has knowledge of LE recovery strategies, anthropology and indiginous wildlife.
AND
A known connection to AF that would not be considered suspect, imo.
B”
Miss Observer, I apologize for using you as my soapbox.
Blink, I should say post or not. It is up to you. I have totally high-jacked your site. I apologize to you too. It’s just that I feel so deeply about this. Something went wrong.
love, fish.
I do not care if Morgan was impaired. I do not care how Morgan was dressed, which by the way, I don’t see anything wrong with how she was dressed. Observer is 100% correct, none of that is relevant. No one deserves to be a victim of any violent crime, period, let alone what happened to Morgan. I do not understand how this happened. None of it makes any sense. And,I don’t know how they have out-smarted the FBI and State police this long.
Unbelievable….
One SOB preying college students down!!!!
A Nevada man was found guilty Thursday of raping and strangling a 19-year-old student in a string of attacks that rattled the university community in Reno two years ago.
A Washoe County, Nevada, jury convicted James Michael Biela, 28, of first-degree murder and sexual assault in the death of Brianna Denison. He was also convicted of two counts of sexual assault for attacks on two other women. He was also convicted of one count of kidnapping related to one of those attacks.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/27/brianna.denison.verdict/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Environmental contamination is really, really expensive to clean up and by federal law must be remediated prior to development. In the situation of a gas leak, it basically involves removing all the contaminated ground and replacing it with uncontaminated ground. I once did the legal due diligence on a sale of a former auto junkyard to a developer. HUGE expense for clean up and the liability extends after the sale. Any chance environmental contamination and the stigma of a dead body are related?
Very interesting research going on- great work all-
Observer, thank you for describing everyone’s rocks for us- they sound quite beautiful- and seem to capture both Morgan’s shininess and Bocers compassion and artistic might.
I hope everyone will lend their help to Justice and Judy with the quilt- I would love for Gil to have something filled with love, comfort and creativity to warm her when she is feeling down and out.
I can’t imagine the beautiful quilt that would come from such gifted and heartfelt posters.
Dr. Harrington, I think your wife’s ad is great and said so much in a few words- I think this will go a long way in keeping Morgan’s case in the mind’s of those who may not be following as closely as we all are. My prayers to you and yours, Dr. Harrington.
I know some may take offense to this so apologize before-hand but I cannot shake the feeling that it is a UVA student responsible and UVA is trying to protect their image.
Dr. Harrington was a professor at UVA years ago, was he not? Alex graduated from UVA. Yet, this is how UVA treats the Harringtons.
Before anyone bites my head off, I do NOT feel this problem is specific to UVA. I think it happens ar colleges everywhere. It’s just that UVA is the one we’re talking about right now.
I have two sons starting college – one this year, one next year. We toured a college on Tuesday and most of my questions were security related. I was quite pleased to hear real cops partrol the campus, stun guns, real guns, and all 24/7, as opposed to “rent a cops”, and they had blue call boxes everywhere!
Technically, Dr. H is employed by UVA.
B
Blink, you wrote that Morgan last sent a text message at 7:20–is this correct–or did you mean to write 9:20? If it was indeed 7:20–then she was supposedly inside the arena, correct?
Observer, thank you for letting me know that my rock finally made it. I thought it was lost forever. Thank you so much for taking the time to place it on Morgan’s bridge.
yes, text and approximately that time, she was inside the arena
B
Great post fish ,thank you,R
I think it was George who said let’s start at the beginning…something to the effect of…Why go to this show (Metallica), why go see this band?
Answer that question and I’m sure it would lead to more answers.
@Katie
Katie, Pantera is FAR from glam metal. And it was not the lead singer who was shot and killed onstage it was the guitar player. It is very common for people to wear different band t-shirts to a concert.
@jen and taz, great to see sussex county represent! and i think jen had it right regarding the atmosphere of albemarle co., va and sussex co., nj. i think some of those parallels are why i can’t let go of this crime.
some good thought provoking posts recently, on the “known” facts from LE, like the HH and what many of us think are plants.
on the hh line, i’ll offer this. we all believe there are scent hits there. dogs can and have been wrong. she could have walked to the convenience store for smokes and back, before even entering the show.
most of us don’t believe she really was hh. a lot of us assume she was on the bridge thumbing it. what if she was seen by someone else, whom was on the bridge, in a vehicle, with persons not known to her family/friends? could be described as hitching. idk, i just don’t buy the hitching, and i’ve long seen this as a LE fishing expedition.
plants. purse and t-shirt. finders of each must be vetted. i don’t see no mention of lax player finding the purse as too significant yet, b/c GH had not yet murdered Yeardely. why would le need to be lax specific?
i agree, both plants take balls to pull off though. and i wouldn’t doubt the person or persons that planted each item has resentment influencing there choice of location. we are looking for an angry, resenting person that seeks control and power.
In Memory of Gini -
I have bookmarked your article link on sexual violence at UVA so I can read it when I have some more time – thanks for brining it to our attention.
But, to your stated conclusion:
“It seems to me that from the begining, UVA PD and Local LE blamed Morgan. Shame on them for blaming Morgan for how she was dressed, for her state of mind. Where were her protectors?”
… I do not agree. First, releasing what a missing person was last seen wearing is SOP, and other than the info that Morgan was wearing a black T, mini, tights and boots, I have yet to read or infer a modicum of judgment or “blame” on the part of any LE agency involved in this case. (Perhaps you have an example I may have overlooked?)
UVA police (for better or worse…) opened an MP case on Morgan the very day she was reported missing, and VSP were brought in that Monday, along with additional support from Cville and Albemarle County police units. For the entire week of Oct. 19, they conducted extensive ground searches, with air support, and brought out a K9 team; VSP also held several press conferences aimed at keeping the community informed and drawing tips.
And, the case quickly shifted from MP to a criminal investigation with not much more to go one (i.e., no signs of a struggle) than her personal circumstances and patterns.
Were mistakes made? I think it likely. But as with most cases where an individual seemingly disappears without a trace, spotlighting the circumstances leading up to it through the fog of varying witness accounts is extremely difficult. Morgan’s case in particular reflects this description because of theseparate LE agencies attempting to collect and process the initial information and statements from her confused and terrified friends.
Also noteworthy: After more than *two months* of dodging the question, VSP reluctantly released knowledge they had that she was drinking or otherwise intoxicated the night she vanished, and thus not acting rationally.
Except for some pathetically immature and/or compassionless commentors on news sites, and concerned observers such as yourself making these accusations, what you’re actually claiming – i.e., LE blamed MH for her tragic fate and thus failed to follow standard procedures during her high-risk MP investigation – has no basis in reality, IMO.
Thanks for setting that one straight J2K, I wasn’t sure I had the energy.
J2K and everyone, because I’m sure some will read my post the wrong way…I meant that I don’t have the energy to refute old “rumors” that have become “truths” simply because they were repeated at various sites without verification. I definately have the time and energy for Morgan.
Here is some basic information from the UVA site in regard to the RV parking lot. This lot is NOT part of the John Paul Jones Arena “grounds.” It is used for parking for games at the nearby football stadium and soccer field-
RV Parking – Free on a first come first served basis: walk to the stadium via Alderman Road. RV Lot opens at 8 a.m. and closes 2 hours post-game. Overnight parking is not permitted in any University parking lots.
—————————-
Blink,
In one of your earlier threads, you mentioned that the RV lot was not being used the night of the Metallica concert. I don’t remember which thread it was, but would like it if you could confirm or advise again.
TIA
Moonchime you wrote: Moonchime says:
May 28, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Blink, you wrote that Morgan last sent a text message at 7:20–is this correct–or did you mean to write 9:20? If it was indeed 7:20–then she was supposedly inside the arena, correct?
Observer, thank you for letting me know that my rock finally made it. I thought it was lost forever. Thank you so much for taking the time to place it on Morgan’s bridge.
yes, text and approximately that time, she was inside the arena
B
Mom, that response was to the question, if they thought it was a good idea to allow Morgan to go to the loo by herself.
B
—-
Holy smokes- I just had a thought-
Remember how LE said the purse and the phone were not important? This statement always bothered me…Could this be because they know the story behind the purse/phone /battery?
Bear with me, Morgan was sick in the arena- if she went to the restroom with one of her friends- Did she take her purse/phone into the stall with her? Probably not- I would have held on to her purse/phone for her- (also is this the answer to her eremoving her necklace? if she was bent over throwing up- she would have gotten sick all over it- or it would have dipped in the toilet)
if there was a n arguement in the bathroom or if they wanted to play a joke on Morgan– Morgan wanted to leave, they didn’t- they took off- did they take her purse and/or just her phone- the call was from SS to Morgan- easy to call a cell phone yourself right?
Did they take the phone home with them- remove the battery, so they didnt get Morgans calls or her parents- and upon finding out the next day from Dr. Harrington that she was missing, return the purse and or phone to the lot? Or leave it in the lot after Morgan didn’t show up at the car?
“We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t think it would be alright?”
J2K says:
May 28, 2010 at 1:28 pm
“Except for some pathetically immature and/or compassionless commentors on news sites, and concerned observers such as yourself making these accusations, what you’re actually claiming – i.e., LE blamed MH for her tragic fate and thus failed to follow standard procedures during her high-risk MP investigation – has no basis in reality, IMO.”
From http://findmorgan.com/recent-news-updates/victims-joined-by-dan-harrington-to-take-back-the-night”
“Dan Harrington is connected to these victims. He is a victim himself, often defending his dead daughter. People have accused Morgan on blogs and internet sites of dressing provocatively and drinking, implying she was “asking” for crime to happen.
“She had a T-shirt that covered her, she had a mini-skirt, she had leggings and black boots. The only skin showing was her hands and face,” Harrington says.
But the accusations go beyond the web. Harrington tells CBS19 that certain law enforcement officials have suggested that Morgan was dressed provocatively, which is why she was abducted and killed.
Harrington says, his daughter is blamed, much like other victims of sexual violence are blamed for the crimes committed against them.”
sorry for the typos- thinking/typing at same time= bad
Well said J2K…very well said.
Has VSP ever said who told them Morgan was hitch hiking?
I’ll tell you a story. U.Va. used to have a pep band that played wildly irreverent music complete with outlandishly unorganized “formations” at football halftimes. The Pep Band has been banned more than once and is currently banned and disbanded. Back in the day, I went with my sister to a football game at U.Va. against Va. Tech.(each the others’ main rival)and when the pep band shouted their song’s chorus:
“Culture vs Agriculture!”
I couldn’t stop laughing. The whole thing was hilarious, raunchy and obnoxious, and quite indicative of how U.Va. students see themselves vs how they see Va. Tech. students.
I just had the thought that “she was hitchhiking” sounds like something privileged northeastern lacrosse players who matriculated from prep school to what is essentially an Ivy (albeit a public institution), would say about a girl in a black concert tee, miniskirt and spike-heeled boots who went from public high school to a Tech school (albeit, quite an excellent University).
“That Tech chick was hitchin’.”
“Culture vs. Agriculture!”
My opinion has been that, while Huguely’s arrest, the discovery that a U.Va. Lacrosse player turned in Morgan’s purse, and all the secrecy around both cases makes for a compelling argument that Huguely killed Morgan and had another player help him cover it up, I have felt it wasn’t so. But this whole hitch hiking thing has bugged me since it was announced, when I went “What!!!! NO female hitch hikes, ever!! And even though I don’t know Morgan, that’s NOT her style!!!!”
I would like to know just exactly who called the VSP and said Morgan was hitch hiking. And no, I’m not trying to stir up college rivalries. Just havin’ thoughts.
#39 Kitty says:
May 28, 2010 at 9:06 am
Maybe this has already been suggested — but suppose Morgan started to walk across the bridge, then for whatever reason turned around and headed back in the direction of the JPJ. Wouldn’t her scent stop at the point where she turned around? I wonder, maybe she didn’t get into a car on the bridge at all.
is this possible?
Did we ever find out for sure where Morgan’s car was parked? Could it be possible that Morgan did in fact walk over that bridge, maybe even touching the railing, but it was walking TO the concert from her car, and not after she was refused re-entry?
DianaH that must be where inmemoryofgini got her information. My apologies. Maybe Dr. Harrington, if he has the time or inclination, will some day clear that up. Exactly who it was who made a deraugatory comment about Morgan’s clothes, from which agency, etc. From what I’ve seen, at least from public statements, LE has been very respectful of Morgan and her family. Maybe I’ve missed something.
To Observer
To Crime Writer
& BOC Members
I put my rock in the mail today. It should be there Monday or Tuesday. I can’t tell you the pleasure I got from painting it. I felt like I was really giving some comfort to the Harringtons and possibly others on BOC site or even future passerby on the bridge. We just never know how a small act can “touch” someone and make his or her life better. Crime Writer, your video did that for me!
I selected a river rock from Virginia’s New River (which I believe is the only river to flow north in the continental US, and it is, reportedly, the 2nd oldest river in the world.) It is a small rock shaped like a mountain. Because of Crime Writer’s lovely video (that made me cry, but made me feel better), I painted
a rainbow at the end of a valley with a metallic gold path and the 2-4-1 dots, with symbolism as follows:
1) metallic gold – represents our “shiny” Morgan (her personality and golden hair)
2) metallic gold path leading to the rainbow – Morgan’s walk to the beautiful “other side”
3) 2-4-1 dots in metallic gold – we all know what that means….
4) gold path connecting to the gold behind the rainbow and circling around the entire rock – eternity; the path is not broken
5) the shape of the rock – represents the hills, and mountains of VA
Can’t wait to know when it is added the the bridge. Thank you Observer for taking on this project!
Sincerely, RU Mom
localcvillegirl – I hear ya; and, glad to pitch in.
Diana H -
My point stands (for what it’s worth). Nothing in that article indicates to me that LE has failed to find Morgan’s killer(s) or bring her family justice *because* it is widely believed she brought her fate onto herself via her choice of outfit and decision to indulge.
I think Dr. H was addressing a particular “Take Back the Night” issue in the context of the event he was speaking at – i.e., one frame of perception that can taint cases like this is when an independent young women falls victim to a crime of opportunity, and her actions or look becomes the point of focus rather than the perp.
In regard to this case specifically, any callous comment or whispered aside indicating Morgan was “asking for it” that night must be like a sharp punch in the gut for the Harringtons, and deeply infuriating. That said, I do not believe the vast majority of people following this case – or involved in the investigation, for that matter – maintain this perception.
And, quite frankly, I’m tired of this old, lecture-packaged trope being trotted out time and again, because it gives credence to that ridiculous, pointless and offensive viewpoint.
Mom3.0, the purse was turned in before Sarah and Amy ever spoke with Dr. H, so your scenario would not work unless they didn’t go home until the next day. Now THAT’S an interesting thought. I wonder if LE has looked at their cell phone records to see where they were when they spoke to Dr. H? Of course, if they spoke to him on a land line it’s a moot point. The purse was turned in approximately 8 am the morning of the 18th.
Diana:
Your post just reminded me of a question I’ve asked before but I don’t think we’ve ever gotten an answer to. Dr Harrington says every part of Morgan was covered except her hands and face. So was the Pantera t-shirt long-sleeved or was she wearing another long-sleeved shirt underneath it. Could be relevant if she was wearing a shirt underneath, and went to a party or somewhere, she might have taken the Pantera shirt off figuring “I’m not at a rock concert anymore”.
Mom3.0 – that is by far the most logical explanation of the many varied explanations I’ve read here and everywhere explaining . . . . the comments by the friends, the unexplained dismissal of evidence by LE and the inconsistent facts of the phone and purse. Certainly clicked for me. I think you’re Brilliant!
Fish – thank you, thank you, thank you . . . .
Dolce
Thanks Blink and nevermind….. I guess its back to the drawing board and wondering why the purse and phone weren’t considered paramount…..
Diana H. Thanks for bringing that article here…. there are bad apples in every batch (profession) – or at least people who hold on to there own misconceptions to the detriment of all.
21.Diana H. says:
May 28, 2010 at 2:27 pm
——
Thank you Diana H. That is exactly what I am talking about. IMO Local LE and UVA initially blamed Morgan.
# 50 Slowroller
If it were placed by a good samaritan, perhaps he or she does not keep up with the news, etc.
Except for this site, I rarely watch or read the news because it is sensationalized and repeated OVER and OVER and OVER. Media reporting of “news” actually was bringing me down….so I broke the habit of watching or reading daily. I still keep up with the world, but not 24/7. Anyway, when I was in grad school, I NEVER watched tv or the news…I was too busy studying. So, maybe a grad student or someone who is strictly into academics that found the shirt and displayed it. Perhaps he/she still doesn’t know the significance of the shirt. Or, to go a step further, perhaps this person witnessed someone else placing or planting the shirt. So, how can LE reach that person? Well, it may be a little late since many students have left, but maybe our person is a year round student and is still walking by that same bush….totally unaware….but maybe, just maybe if a sign or poster was put near the bush to contact LE….maybe someone would come forward.
I know there are people in Charlottesville as there are in my town (near VT) that still haven’t heard of what happened to Morgan. I know, because whenever I am out I ask others what they think, hoping for a clue. Some tell me they “sort of keep up,” some say they remember hearing about it, then there are a few that don’t what in the world I am talking about.
SO, I am asking, why can’t a POSTER or a sign be displayed all over the area where the shirt was found, specifically asking about the shirt. I would even have a picture of the shirt on the poster and say something like “Have you seen this shirt?” to attract attention.
I just had a thought. Since I don’t live in Charlottesville, maybe it has already been done.
If it hasn’t been done, then DO IT!
OBSERVER: Lovely description of the rocks….I can just see them so clearly. Thanks!
While we ponder how the shirt got on the bush I have always considered a simple theory.
Could it be that somebody used it when washing their car and spread it on the shrub to dry?
We used to do that all the time.
TO: George: You refer several times to traffic cameras. I’m given pause to ask: to what traffic cameras are you referring? [While there may be some, I am unaware of any traffic cameras at/near the intersections of Copeley and Massie.] More importantly, however, you stated “If a car had picked up Morgan going away from the arena the car would have been picked up by the traffic cameras at Copley and Massie before it stopped for Morgan.”
If there were/are traffic cameras at that intersection, how would it possible to successfully identify which vehicle was the one that picked up or transported Morgan going either to or from the vicinity of JPJ? [It may be that you are assuming that a camera positioned at the intersection of Copeley and Massie would be able to discern a vehicle stopped much farther up the road, at the Copeley Rd. bridge past the Lannigan RV lot.]
While I am uncertain about this, I do not think this is possible. Were it possible, LE would have positively identified the vehicle via license plate enhancement and, most importantly, would have vigorously pursued investigation of the driver as the individual into whose vehicle Morgan entered.
It may be that I am missing something here. If so, please clarify and I will be happy to respond as I am able.
TO: In Memory of Gini: After reading the Huffington Post article you asked me to please share the viewpoints of UVA officials, if I might. As I am not an official spokesperson for UVA (but instead am simply employed by this institution) I am not in a position to share the viewpoints of UVA officials. I wish I could offer more insight or perspective, but for a variety of reasons am unable to. I trust you understand and are appreciative of my position in this regard.
Suffice it to say (as I have alluded to in earlier posts), in past years I have personally taken to task UVA for what I considered to be under-reporting of sexual violence on the Grounds of the University. I’ll conclude my brief thoughts on this to say that I harbor very strong feelings about this most important issue.
TO: Juliemooly: Thanks so much for agreeing to take additional Morgan’s ROCKS pictures. Please don’t rush to Monday, though, as it’s uncertain exactly when over the course of the holiday weekend I will be able to place the three new rocks at the memorial on Copeley. I will post here to let you know as soon as I’ve been able to place them there so you can do your “photobucket magic”.
TO: dear, dear fish: May you never feel like you have to apologize to me for “using (me) as your soapbox”. Your words are always so heartfelt, your passion so palpable, and your undying commitment to justice for Morgan so apparent. You, my dear woman (and mother of my virtual god-daughter—wink-wink), have nothing whatsoever to apologize for.
Moi? My only wish is that there was more that I could do. This is what I struggle with. This is what saddens me…that I cannot seem to do more, to make something happen, to bring justice to sweet, shiny Morgan and bring greater comfort to Dan, Gil, and Alex Harrington.
Would that I could…Oh, would that I could…
TO: Judi, re: campus security: I cannot speak to law enforcement agencies on other campuses; I can, however, speak to UVA’s: All sworn officers at the UVA PD are trained and certified law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth of Virginia and receive their training at the Central Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy unless they were previously certified elsewhere at another licensed LE training facility. [I have several personal friends and professional acquaintances that were or are instructors at the academy.] All have the same powers of arrest, etc. as officers throughout the region; all receive the same training.
TO: moonchime, re: your Morgan rock: No worries; you are most welcome! I’ll let you know when I place it at Morgan’s memorial, so juliemooly can take pics and you can actually see its placement there with all the other mementos at the memorial.
TO: J2K, re: your 5/28, 1:28pm post: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Okay, now that i have proven that I do not ascribe to know much about thrash bands
I will take a moment to at least redeem my research skills at least somewhat. Wikipedia says,
“A new vocalist emerges (1987–1989)
Pantera circa 1988. Left to right: Rexx Rocker, Phil Anselmo, Vinnie Paul and “Dimebag” Darrell.
1986 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal albums that would prove influential to Pantera’s developing musical style. Among the most prominent of these were Metallica’s Master of Puppets, Slayer’s Reign in Blood, and Megadeth’s Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?.[4] Terrence Lee’s glam approach did not fit the band’s new outlook and he and the other members parted ways, beginning the search for his replacement. Terrence then went on to form rock group, Lord Tracy.
The band went through temporary vocalists Matt L’Amour and David Peacock before eventually discovering New Orleans native Phil Anselmo in 1987. Anselmo had previously been the vocalist for the bands Samhain[3] (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig’s band of the same name) and Razorwhite. Upon playing with Pantera, Anselmo immediately clicked with the other three members…As with the previous three 1980s albums, Power Metal was released on Metal Magic Records. Power Metal began to reflect the characteristic sound of later Pantera, though it still contained many elements of 1980s glam metal.
So Phil Anselmo was the Heroin addicted Vocalist and I mistakenly said he was the one shot on stage when in fact it was Dimebag Darrel the guitarist.
Hope I have now redeemed myself.
Ask me about Alternative rock and Grunge and i can go on for hours…Sorry for the late night mistake… Point is, they are/were kind of has beens by 2009. I’m not sure that they rank up there with the big metal or thrash bands like Motley Crue, Metallica, Motorhead, Mega Death, Slayer, and the like.
And, more to the point after hours of looking for any FB friends of Morgan’s that may have been into METAL of ANY KIND, the closet I got was Sublime (Not metal and an amazing band) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Again not metal and another amazing band.) So where is her connection to Metal, Heavy Metal and Thrash Metal Bands.
That seems like it would be an important question.
@ juliemooly May 28, 2010 at 11:53 am
Great post! My impression is that there are a lot of small scale investigations going on at the moment. This could be common corruption as well as drug trade. Nothing too serious, just what one would find upon a closer look.
But – I don’t believe this is the reason for the secrecy surrounding both cases, and I am also baffled about it. Maybe they found something at GH’s apartment, and they need more time to investigate. This could be of particular importance if they suspect that more than one person is involved. Or alternatively, they could be waiting for DNA results.
In complete ignorance of the legal situation, when reading about the hearing to have the files released, I got the impression that (a) the judge is trying to buy time at all costs (b) the lawyers of the newspapers don’t know what they are doing. Clearly, this was not the first time in US history someone requested to have files released. But why all those discussions about technicalities?
My gut feeling is that Morgan’s case is far more complex than we know, and that they only made a fraction of all this public. They are working on something, otherwise there would have been another press conference with an appeal for information.
Tonight I was reading and came across this scripture passage. The first part describes the BG and the second part is a prayer for justice. Psalm 10:7-15
His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
He lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call me to account”?
But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
Blink,
In Memory of Gini posted a portion of this article from the Huffington Post to Observer, however I think it’s important to post this in it’s entirety. It also mentions Morgan.
I had the pleasure of meeting Liz Seccuro in April at the Take Back the Night at UVA where she shared her story. I applaud Liz for having the courage to speak the TRUTH! It’s obvious some MAJOR changes need to be made!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-seccuro/a-history-of-violence-not_b_592208.html
A History of Violence
by Liz Seccuro
A Black Eye on the Legacy of Honor
The recent killing of University of Virginia lacrosse player and student Yeardley Love, allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend and fellow lacrosse player and student, George Huguely V, is a tragic chapter for my alma mater. Issues of dating violence, murder, sexual assault and stalking have long haunted the University of Virginia.
In 1984, when I was a freshman, I was drugged and gang-raped by a pack of three members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at UVA. I did not know any of them. I remembered one of the rapes graphically — the violence, the pain. The next day, when I awoke wrapped in a bloody sheet, thrown on a sofa, I went through the man’s mail. I needed to know his name in order to report him. I sat across from the then Dean of Students, Robert Canevari, and told him what had happened to me. With the blood still leaking from me and my face bruised, he asked me, “Are you sure you didn’t have sex with this man and you don’t want to admit that you aren’t a ‘good girl’?”
There was no investigation, no paper trail and no prosecution, although I went to the hospital, Student Health, the Dean of Students, and the University Police and made dozens of reports. I was told by the Dean of Students that the Charlottesville Police had no jurisdiction over Phi Kappa Psi and was ordered not to call them. The deans said that they had spoken with the young man in question and told me “he said it was consensual.” He, the rapist, withdrew from the University and was thus “no longer a danger” to me. I was told, in so many words and actions, to go away. I did not, but my life was diminished. I felt that I did not matter.
Rape and murder are also not considered violations of the University’s Honor Code, established 15 years after Thomas Jefferson founded the school in 1825. The Honor Code’s single sanction of expulsion is reserved for “lying, cheating and stealing.” I would posit that rape or murder most certainly falls under stealing — of a life, of one’s dignity, of the promise of a life well-lived. Most of the time, issues of violence between students are adjudicated by student-run boards and not via law enforcement.
Twenty years later, that rapist wrote to me as part of his 12-Step recovery program. He got my home address by calling the University Alumni Office, which gave it to him with no questions asked. He had been following me via mailing address for nine years, he wrote. He was sorry he raped me. I contacted the Charlottesville Police, who told me that they indeed did have jurisdiction over where my crime had happened and that there was no statute of limitations in the Commonwealth of Virginia on felony rape. My rapist, who was represented by the same two attorneys now defending George Huguely, was charged, arrested and sentenced. He served less than six months for aggravated sexual assault. The others present at the time have evaded law enforcement.
In April 2010, three weeks before Ms. Love’s murder, I was invited to speak at the annual “Take Back the Night” rally at UVA, which highlights the perils of violence against women. My fellow speaker was Dan Harrington, the father of Morgan, a Virginia Tech student who was abducted from a Metallica concert at UVA’s John Paul Jones Arena and murdered in October 2009. No one has yet been charged in Morgan Harrington’s death.
At the rally, I spoke of blame and responsibility. Blame for sweeping crimes against women under the rug. Blaming victims for going to concerts or parties or dating a fellow student. We are, I said, collateral damage, acceptable losses in the University’s now-failed PR campaign that they are one of the best, most elite schools in the United States. A school with the best professors, brightest students and winningest sports teams. A school with well-heeled alumni who contribute handsomely to the endowment fund. A school where behavior like that of George Huguely’s is given a free pass because students clearly do not know how to protect one another due to the fact that the University does not create an atmosphere where speaking up leads to action. Silence is now deadly. University of Virginia’s outgoing President John Casteen’s legacy will now be one of a gruesome murder under his watch.
So much has been made about this being a lacrosse issue, a rich white kid issue, an alcohol issue, an entitlement issue. While there may be a bit of truth there, to me, it’s a University of Virginia issue. Because of the work I have done on behalf of campus survivors of crime, I know that Mr. Jefferson’s Academical Village has a bigger problem than most campuses. Of course, violence is present at all colleges, but the University of Virginia administration’s steadfast refusal to require the students to do anything that is mandatory beyond paying their fees and returning their library books before they graduate now looks like a deadly stance in the name of being a fully student-run University. While there are adult administrators, there is no sense of protection for young students. I spoke with the DA, and unlike many colleges, nothing is mandatory — not even orientation. That’s right: there are no requirements for students to have any education in sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders and depression — all very much present on college campuses today.
This is not to say that there are not wonderful resources and programs available to address such issues at the University. There are. But not one member of the administration is willing to stick their neck out and tell students that they must receive this education.
I think that may change now.
For all of the heated talk about George Huguely’s violent past and who knew or didn’t know, or why friends or coaches did not intervene, the history of violence at Virginia comes down to this: responsibility. The parents, the students, and the administration must work together to ensure that there is a chain of responsibility so that violence never occurs again at UVA. I have no doubt that it will — humans will be violent. But perhaps the numbers will be lower, the response will not be one of confusion and blame, and the Yeardley Loves, Morgan Harringtons and other victims of campus violence may receive the justice and compassion they so richly deserve.
Juliemooly- yeah I know- maybe Morgan still had her purse- and that is why she never called anyone from outside the arena- she couldn’t find her phone?
It was never said conclusively that the phone was found with the purse-
If the friends never went to the BR with her, perhaps a “good Samaritan” helped themselves to her phone and necklace?
What if they also took her purse-?
Thanks Dolce I am so not brilliant- there are alot of holes in my line of thinking- if Morgan had her purse with her, how did the phone get back with the purse? If she didn’t have her purse, this line of thinking works- maybe, but then why would the friends or whomever dump it
argg like I said back to the drawing board…..
Katie-Hi- nice research Let me try to help- I think Morgan liked what she liked- We only got to see her “home” bedroom, not her apartment- we don’t know what posters if any were on her wall there- She was said to have the Pantera shirt for a long while- Pantera now is not the same as Pantera then- with the death of DBD they are immortalized as cool forever- No one thinks Pantera- now -only Pantera then circa- Walk and Cemetary Gates
On Morgan’s wall was Black Sabbath- held by many to be the origin of Metal–
We don’t know what Morgan’s or her friends likes were in HS. but IME,usually girls especially, grow out of their like of Metal-
She was going to the concert with old friends- maybe all of their tastes had moved on, but they were trying to recapture a time and place from their HS years?
Metal does not fit into hulas and Floyd fest, but Morgan’s attitude of freedom and refusing to be put in a box and labeled as a metal head or hippie or whatever does. JMO FWIW
Blink’s response regarding textee:
I do know who the textee is, and have been asked not to reveal his identity publicly, as it is not relevant to the investigation.
B
Fair enough and I accept that he is not relevant to the investigation. *However*, the 7:20 time did give me pause as it was reported he was about 60 miles away, which could equate to a little over an hour’s drive. Didn’t she leave her friends to go to the restroom at 8:20? Was he going to meet up with her at the concert and it didn’t work out? I guess it doesn’t matter if he has been looked into.
I remember VSP asking if anyone let her borrow a phone. Did she call someone to come and pick her up because her’s was lost or not working? Did they agree to meet where she was last seen to avoid the turn around at JPJ and/or any traffic hassles?
As far as HH is concerned, I think this is either a lie or a mistake as she could’ve been signaling her driver as he approached. How long could/would a drunk, wobbly girl stand on one little area of road with her arm out waiting for some random person to decide to stop and offer her a ride. Not long, is my guess.
Ugh. Same questions over and over.
“juliemooly says:
May 28, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Has VSP ever said who told them Morgan was hitch hiking?
I’ll tell you a story. U.Va. used to have a pep band that played wildly irreverent music complete with outlandishly unorganized “formations” at football halftimes. The Pep Band has been banned more than once and is currently banned and disbanded. Back in the day, I went with my sister to a football game at U.Va. against Va. Tech.(each the others’ main rival)and when the pep band shouted their song’s chorus:
“Culture vs Agriculture!”
I couldn’t stop laughing. The whole thing was hilarious, raunchy and obnoxious, and quite indicative of how U.Va. students see themselves vs how they see Va. Tech. students.
I just had the thought that “she was hitchhiking” sounds like something privileged northeastern lacrosse players who matriculated from prep school to what is essentially an Ivy (albeit a public institution), would say about a girl in a black concert tee, miniskirt and spike-heeled boots who went from public high school to a Tech school (albeit, quite an excellent University).
“That Tech chick was hitchin’.”
“Culture vs. Agriculture!”
My opinion has been that, while Huguely’s arrest, the discovery that a U.Va. Lacrosse player turned in Morgan’s purse, and all the secrecy around both cases makes for a compelling argument that Huguely killed Morgan and had another player help him cover it up, I have felt it wasn’t so. But this whole hitch hiking thing has bugged me since it was announced, when I went “What!!!! NO female hitch hikes, ever!! And even though I don’t know Morgan, that’s NOT her style!!!!”
I would like to know just exactly who called the VSP and said Morgan was hitch hiking. And no, I’m not trying to stir up college rivalries. Just havin’ thoughts.”
&&&&&&
Juliemooly, you are so right to question this. I, too, have wondered just WHO initiated the hitchhiking thing. I have never believed it.
I witnessed the UVA Pep Band, too, back in the day. There is a definite cultural disconnect between UVA’s self importance vs. their “peer” institutions. If I may digress further, the farm boys from Tech have risen to whip their a**es in football for quite a few years now! And, Tech is on par to become a much more relevant and modern research institution. Go Tech.
Back to Morgan, the whole hitch hiking herring, lack of focus on BIB’s, wreaks of authorities turning a blind eye, or being led in the wrong direction. Someone/something is being protected. That, or authorities don’t have a clue. I’ve become cynical.
There is a connection authorities can make, if they want to. They’re holding back for some reason, and it doesn’t bode well for bringing the killer/s to justice.
The First 48 Hours is long past, and I’m losing faith that authorities have the will to force any issues in this case. So sad for Morgan and her family, and all who care.
I have to admit Morgan’s case has boggled my mind and deeply disturbs
me.It has gone in so many directions and always leads back to JPJ
and the concert.That is where it all went very wrong.I woke up this
morning thinking about the red camera she had in the arena.Where is
it and why is it missing?Blink do we know if the camera was ever found?
The only reason I would think the camera was taken if it had pictures
of the perp on it,”evidence” which makes me think she knew this person.
My daughter takes pics everywhere she goes,her friends,events,parties,
you name it.I’m sure Morgan would have a lot of pics on that camera.
If her friends had it would they not turn it in?It was more than likely in her purse.Question could that camera be important in this
case.I feel it is.
Her camera has not been recovered to date.
B
Observer,
Thank you, Thank you and Thank you. Rock on Morgan.
Ode
THE STREAM OF COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUNESS?
There were at least three semi-accurate comments posted on the internet in November of 2009 – less than Four Weeks after Morgan’s disappearance from the JPJ Arena. The three predictions were over Two Months prior to the horrible discoveries made at AF in late January of 2010.
Comments were posted November 3, 9, & 15 by three bloggers – I am copy/pasting excerpts from those three interesting predictions. Except for selection of quotes, these paragraphs are un-edited — but they are in reverse chronological order from the sources.
The sources are easy for you to find by googling – UADDIT, and comments following two articles from The Hook.
________________________________________________________________________
…..but she did notice he was heading in the wrong directions and began telling him to just let her out. He told her to shut up etc.etc. She reached for her phone and he knocked it out of her hand, causing it to come apart- which is when I believe the battery fell out. He may have even hit her. Never the less, they ended up at a place that is very wooded and there is also creeks / water / rivers? around……About 10 mins. from the bridge location she was last seen at. I hear the word “Ivy”. I am “thinking” that she carried her purse with her outside, well, because you don’t just leave your purse lying down at a concert…and also, I believe the she did go to the restroom, And “freshened” up while in there. Her phone was in the purse, but her friend had the keys, because my feelings are that her friend drove the car to the concert. Next..
…He proceeded to drag her from the car and she put up very little fight- she was raped and killed by a blow to the head. I see her in a wooded type location. I do not see her in water, but that doesn’t mean that she wasn’t in the water and is now on the bank.
_________________________________________________________________
She is probably not buried or in a very shallow grave, and on the edge of a forest in a field about 6-15 miles away, she may be nude and possibly posed to make it look like something else may have happened. The more I read about her case I can almost suspect the guy drives a red car or some sort of white truck. The perpetrator may live close to where Morgan was laid to rest, she probably was strangled or bludgeoned to death by an object or if they knew each other by bare hands.
___________________________________________________________
Seems odd that a forensic pathologist was unable to rule out being hit by a car , Being struck by a moving object hard enough to cause these fatal injuries would leave dimensional markings at wound sites somewhere on the body.
*********************************************************************
Are those thoughts like the Jungian collective unconsciousness of dreams, or was real-time information floating around Charlottesville from the time Morgan was at the Arena?
@ George May 28, 2010 at 9:20 am
Which cameras are you referring to? There are a few in the Charlottesville area
http://511virginia.org/Cameras.aspx?r=1
These are just the official real time ones – and there are most likely hundreds more cameras that have to be taken into account, just think of CCTV. They have probably spoken to all the shopkeepers nearby, whether their cameras also capture the street. In the direct vicinity of Copely bridge, they are only interested in a very small time frame of about half an hour, and that should be easy to do. Otherwise, I guess, it gets more complicated, since they do not know when Morgan was moved out of Charlottesville, and on which route. My instincts tell me that they didn’t take the direct route, and they didn’t depart straight away. And I believe she was alive for some time, she wasn’t killed immediately after she got into the car.
“I am unaware of any traffic cameras at/near the intersections of Copeley and Massie.”
I make it a point to drive over the Copely Bridge whenever we visit Charlottesville, which is usually once a week, sometimes more often. There looks, to me, to be four traffic cameras at the intersection of Copely and Massie. Morgan was seen on the bridge at about 9:30 so searching thirty minutes each side of that time should be a starting point. I don’t know if the cameras could pick up the bridge (or a person walking from the RV lot) but, coming or going, the car that picked up Morgan should be on the camera. Actually the car should be on two cameras, once from the front as it approached the intersection and once from the back as it drove away from the intersection.
If witnesses actually saw Morgan hitchhiking, I do not believe the statement was made in a derogatory way, aimed specifically at Morgan because she was a Tech student. LE stated that they had various “independent” witnesses saying they saw Morgan (or someone who resembled Morgan, don’t remember the exact terminology) hitchhiking. One UVa student, I believe her name was Maggie Voth (or could be Roth) posted on the 19th that she saw her at 9:30 hitchhiking on the bridge on Alderman. As mentioned in earlier threads, even some of us who are native to the area (me being one) never realized until Morgan disappeared that Alderman Road does not continue across 29 all the way to the intersection at Massie Road (adjacent to U-Hall and the arena parking lots.) I’ve walked Copeley Road, across the bridge many times on the way to either U-Hall or the arena, never realizing I was not on Alderman. The “independent” witnesses have not been identified, but I believe these individuals provided sufficient information, along with the dogs picking up her scent, to make LE confident that Morgan was indeed on the bridge. It’s possible we will never know whether or not she was hitchhiking. I don’t think any of us can say with certainty she was not hitchhiking. It seems out of character with what young people are taught today, but we all know people, young, middle-aged and seasoned (tip of the hat to Observer) do make decisions every day totally out of character with our normal behavior. I agreed to go on a blind date with a young man I knew little about and had never met in person. Totally out of my comfort zone, and probably not a very wise move from a safety standpoint. Today, many happy years of marriage and two kids later, it was the best decision I ever made, but it was out of character. Some, maybe Morgan, make decisions that are out of character, with tragic consequences.
Justice asked, has it ever been confirmed where Morgan’s car was parked. I don’t know that there has been actual LE confirmation, but isn’t it believed the car was parked in the U-Hall parking lot? Wasn’t that where Dave G said he and his group parked beside her car? Apparently the dogs lost her scent on the bridge, on the part nearest to the U-Hall lot if the memorial marks the spot of the last scent detection. This would seem to indicate she never even reached the middle of the bridge, that she was only on the part nearest to U-Hall. Did the dogs track her movements from the arena, across the parking lots, onto the bridge? Would too many scents of departing concert-goers have lessened their ability to track her movements?
With regards to the RV lot, I think Ms. Wood commented very early on that portable lights were in use at the RV lot the night of the concert. There was even a picture on the Hook site of such lights in use (not from the Metallica concert but another event.) I’ve been to events at the arena and have seen the lights in use at this lot. The lot is narrow and deep, so I don’t know how well lighted the rear of the lot would be. In my opinion, the portable lights, in their lighting radius, provide much better vision that the lower impact lights (designed to reduce light pollution) in other parking lots. I would guess there are event attendees who prefer this lot, if it’s not blocked, because it is secluded.
I also have questions about the traffic cameras referred to either by George or Georgie (apologies, I don’t have time to go back and check the name.) Do we know for sure there are traffic cameras at those intersections. I’m not aware that Charlottesville has many, if any, cameras at our intersections. Been a bit of controversy. We’re a city that likes to discuss such things for years before taking action.
George, I’m not arguing with you about the traffic cameras, they could very well be at the intersections you mentioned. The reason I question cameras is that just recently the decision was made to place cameras at two intersections farther out 29. Placement of these cameras has been in discussion for years with howls and protests from locals who felt they were an invasion of privacy, or perhaps their right to run red lights. Similarly, a move to put observation cameras on the downtown pedestrian mall was shelved because of privacy concerns. Most busy intersection do have sensors mounted just above the lights. These sensors can be activated by emergency vehicles to control light operation when rescue squad or fire vehicles have to get through. I don’t know that these sensors actually have cameras.