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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Ok, let me see if I can make this sound like I know what I’m talking about.
I want to go back to…
Anchorage Farm, owned by David and Nancy Bass. I am going to assume that Mr. and Mrs. Bass have cooperated fully with VSP and provided all the names of people who worked and hunted on their land. Including family! I am also going to assume that their daughter, Jenny Bass did as well. Including old boyfriends or girlfriends.
With that being said…
Someone knew this land. Could it be one of the neighbors? Or one of their friends, even if this means they were friends of Jenny in her periphery/house parties? I’ve got to think so. How else does one know to go there.
And, I’ve got to ask your all’s opinions…
Did he/they not know that the Bass’s allowed hunters on their property? Because if they did, why there. Why AF? What a risk to assume Morgan would never be found. What if a hunter found her? He didn’t know that Bass allowed this?
He/they either work there or live closeby in order to make sure she was never going to be found. Even buried in shallow grave.
He/they probably did freak out when Mr. David Bass did come upon Morgan. So I’m thinking that he/they had a change in attitude or even maybe at work. Someone suspects that is not in the business of protecting him. They just suspect something wrong. Maybe his life’s stressers and maybe not even thinking it has anything to do with Morgan Harrington.
TO: Annie T…
I could be with you on the strange sex offender thing but once again, did Bass never write names down that worked on his land? You make me wonder about all the neighbors, though. Who worked on their land and who would not be, as Blink’s stated in her opinion…
“A known connection to AF that would not be considered suspect, imo.
Blink”
Not considered suspect, to me = He thinks he had the right to be there. imo
It is someone that is right in front of the Bass’s faces. It is not a total stranger. If I am wrong, which good possibility I am, then I will eat crow and apologize.
But I’m going to go with the…
Location x3!!!
One more thing…
Dr. Dan and Gil Harrington and to all on this site that work so tirelessly for their daughter, Morgan.
PAUSE, CRY, SCREAM, YELL, DEEP CLEANSING BREATHES.
and let’s get right back at it. You have the word of many that we will not give up BUT it is good for us to know that you know this.
It inspires me with courage, hope, and love.
Houston Mom: says:
May 29, 2010 at 5:51 pm
What did they do? (”If we would have known, we wouldn’t have done it.”)
“We would not have done it” Scenario only: Morgan is acting tipsy, (her doing or someone else) as seen on only video we know of…..Her friends are concerned because of behavior…They take her keys out of her purse without her knowing it…thus “we wouldn’t have done it“. She goes to the restroom not feeling good decides she wants a cig…she gave it up but now she needs one….She still does not know her keys are not in her purse. She decides to go check her car or go across the street to buy some. She ends up outside on her own. Here she may have gone across the street and bought cigs and then realized she did not have the keys… on the way back she starts searching in her bag for the keys…this would look like the witnessing of a young girl having things fall or being tossed out of her purse….could have just been trash or receipts etc she was pitching…She realizes what they did and is pissed. She tries to get back in and can not. Her friends may have been so into the concert they could not hear that they were being texted so….She then starts texting someone 60 miles away to bring her new keys. She text to her friend inside that she had someone bringing her a new set of keys, you pissed me off for taking them, you can find your own way back . In the mean time she runs into 4 MIB…explains her dilemma and one or more say we know of a great party, maybe a camping party, following a bike race going on, Talk her into going. They say we will bring her back for her friends after the concert. She text back to the person 60 miles away and says no problem I found something to do until the concert is over. She thinks of her friends and decides … I will just let them sweat and think I got the keys and left them stranded…payback…thus she failed to tell her friends she was leaving but would be back to meet up and go home and they were surprised to see the car still there. The friend never talk to the person coming from 60 miles away so they are in the dark. The friend 60 miles away thinks everything has gone as Morgan planned since they did not hear back from her. The friends wait awhile and then leave. They may have even at that point called the person 60 miles away and he let them know she went to a party.
The HH story….When the MIB invited her one of them said his car was not parked there but somewhere across the street. He will walk over and get her and pick her up on the bridge. Her HH was only a gesture she made when she saw the car coming . If her friends did the same thing on one of the searches it probably simplifies the fact that they do that routinely with out thinking about it. Just a gesture! It is quite possible several of the MIB walked away to get the car as they confirmed how the rest of the evening may go. They would have had to leave Morgan waiting so they could talk freely. From that point on Morgan had no chance. Things went really, really wrong and I think the frantic young man that ran in to the market (can not remember the name of the market) did in fact have Morgan in the car. He probably was on his way to meet whomever eventually assisted in putting Moran on AF.
.
Saramom: I am still fixated on EMH. Read and research every day, and have never unglued myself from him. Have tried to research more about him – unable to spend the time to dig as deep as I’d like. However, your post struck me in re: to his school experience. I do know that the public schools of VA are legally bound to provide an education regardless of any circumstance. Once in a while, however, a really tricky situation will slip thru the cracks. (ie:if parent is really uncooperative or case worker is unable to find a workable plan.) However, there are so many options (alternative school, homebound ed., even paying for a private institution,) that it is rare for a minor to exit the system.
All that said, I too am curious about this child’s education… Anyone?
Blink, is this man related to Amy Melvin?
Lee Co. SC Sheriff E. J. Melvin
never mind. sorry. mistake
Thank you very much, Mess. I just do not see how we can discount EMH because he offended at such an early age, and then he turned around and reoffended and then failed to register! He is what now, about 20 years of age–he has absolutely NO CHANCES left if he were to be caught again, right? He would “have to murder” to save his own skin. Just short of a miracle, how in the world could he be “rehabilitated?”
Could he be the one hiding in plain sight?
Has the juvenile sex offender treatment program located in Harrisonburgh been made aware of the Morgan Harrington murder. Perhaps some of the docs and specialists there have info or suspicions which might be useful? What about other psychiatrists, social workers, etc. in the area. Might they be able to provide insight? I understand the rights to privacy, etc., but we have a family stuck in limbo because there daughter was murdered.
Houston Mom – The remarks by SS can be heard/seen online here:
http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/state_regional/article/new_search_effort_for_morgan_harrington_begins/60473/
By the way… Have we identified the male who’s with Morgan in the still shot at the beginning of the video?
There’s a Courtenay Stuart article in The Hook, Nov. 15, 2009. Stuart stands out out as a very accurate reporter in Charlottesville.
http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/15/concerned-witnesses-before-hitching-morgan-harrington-caused-worry/
In the article, Stuart, writes: “Those friends, her Blacksburg roommate Amy Melvin and JMU student Sarah Snead, have declined comment to media including the Hook; however Snead spoke with a Roanoke television station during a massive November 6-8 search. She offered no details of the night Morgan disappeared, but defended her and another friend’s decision to leave Charlottesville in Morgan’s car— but without Morgan.
“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.”
So there you have that. SS seems to be defending their decision to leave in Morgan’s car.
I meant assisted in putting Morgan on AF not Moran as I miss typed in my post above.
Since everyone is discussing what aspects of this case they find possible relevent pieces to this puzzle, I thought I would share my thoughts.
I am very interested in your Hardware River photos, Marchmallow. I think the landscape of this area is key to our capture of the monster(s). There appears to be several arms of an overlapping social group, as there is everywhere. I think our perp is educated, but in a particular area, horticulture, planting, healthfoods, herbs etc. He thinks of himself as an outdoorsman, naturesc, anti-establishment.
He has friends that are lowlevel farmhands, drugdealers, artistic,into photography. Now whether one or more of these individuals have a sexoffender background is very possible. But, I think the placing of Morgan was such, that they could creep into the night with ease. I also believe some may have hung from trees to observe her secret placement. There is an overwhelming interest by many for clearing the fields, observing root growth, planting herbs known to diminish bleeding, ie Periwinkle. Ok, I’ll ask, what’s up with that? Is there a market for that?
Also, has anyone ever heard of the fb party from Oct 3, Wizards & sluts? What a boatload of interest that group summed up. Kids from VCU, UVA, VT, RM. I know I am going off track, but I do think we may be circling the drain. I hope so.
I think our perp blends easily in the academic and slightly employed group. ( no offense intended)That is why we are having trouble, unclear pattern/profile. I still think fb, flickr, pb & ms are a great resource of information.
We just learned recently, that the last text Morgan made was at 7:30 she would have been in the concert at that time- Sara called Morgan between 8:20 and 8:30 IIRC- Morgan never called back and she never called a friend or family member and she didn’t continue texting-
Her phone went dead at 9:30- Which coincidentally, is the same time a stolen purse report was made- (is this why there was the question of whether or not someone lent Morgan a phone?) and this was the same time Maggie Voth said she saw her alone on the bridge HH
Why didn’t Morgan call someone, once outside of the arena?- either she didnt have her phone- or after receiving the call from Sara, it was broken-or out of power/ battery- hence the reason it was missing- maybe she was pizzed and threw it? (is this why LE wasn’t that concerned with the battery? or phone)
I agree that Morgan did not have her keys- either DanC never gave them back- because he was gonna drive- or her friends had them for some reason.
We know that Morgan’s purse was found. We have a report it was found by an LAX player and we have a report of when it was found, We know no CC were taken, however we do not know if the contents were spilled out, or if her phone was recovered at the same time, and we do not know the condition of the purse other than the strap was not broken.
We do know Morgan’s phone was found-sans the battery- ( I would like to know if the phone was operational after putting another battery in it? Did it appear to be ran over?, and if it was found at the same time as the purse and in the same location)
We know Morgan’s shirt was found- We know what condition it was in, where and when it was located, and by whom.
We know Morgan’s necklace has been found. Although, we do not know where, how, or what location. We also don’t know what condition it was in- Although Blink has stated that it was not found on AF.
Warning graphic-
We know Morgan’s camera is still missing- We know her socks and boots were not on her, at the time she was discovered, and we do not know if they were recovered with her, or at all.
We know that some clothing, or remnants, were recovered with Morgan, but we do not know what these were specifically.
We know some of Morgan’s jewelry was with her, still, her bracelet, that Gil now wears, however, we do not know what other pieces were recovered.
We know Morgan was found on AF, we do not know when, or exactly where she was first placed, however, we do know that she was found in the field that was a creek overflow (and we possibly know she was either placed in a shallow grave, covered with a tarp and or/ placed under the tree line, she remained hidden until the floods)
We do know that, Morgan’s body, had been in the elements for quite some time. We know AF is within a ten mile radius and we know that inorder to place Morgan there, one would have to be comfortable with the land.
We know Morgan was murdered and her body showed signs of trauma, inflicted before death. (therefore we know, IMO that there would have been blood evidence.)
These are some of the things we know- maybe going over them again will help- it can’t hurt, and maybe I am mistaken- or someone can clarify or elaborate on certain points -times ect-
Off topic
MSL- Thank you for making me feel better about my mistakes- I appreciate you taking the time to say something- and I agree- blogging and writing are different- some days I make mistakes and think oh well, and other days it is like fingernails on a chalk board to read them. I think, Didn’t I just tell my teens that they should know these rules by now?- LOL
Some thoughts on anthropology (studies in humankind) – this term describes two very different disciplines, (a) cultural anthropology, which is similar to sociology or cultural studies and (b) anthropology as studies in the human body, in a non forensic and non medical way.
What UVa teaches is (a). This also includes archaeology, also a project in the Charlottesville area. The classes for undergraduates include an introduction to archaeology; the syllabus doesn’t say whether they are also trained to deal with human remains, but this is usually included. However – archaeologists only deal with remains which are more than 100 years old. They don’t usually do any research into the cause of death, unless they have special funding for that, or if it is obvious. If it looks as if the COD or other life style factors are of importance, they either cooperate with their local medical school in a very informal way, typically this would be a clinician doing scans and x rays on a mummy or a skeleton, which would be discussed together with the archaeologists on a staff meeting; or, they take samples and send them off to labs. Typically, this would be DNA analysis, if they look for pathogens, or an analysis of specimens, lets say to look for traces of heavy metal poisoning. There are only very few labs on this planet who could do an analysis of ancient DNA, and they are expensive.
Sometimes, but very rarely, someone from (b) gets involved. There are actually very few scholars who do this form of research. If someone studies (b), which is often part of a degree in biology or medicine, the person would also be trained to describe decomposition rates and so on.
In brief – (a) is a humanities degree, (b) a science degree, and they are two different animals. They just have the same name.
A certain person who has been discussed in connection with Morgan’s death was an anthropology major. I have no idea about his specialization, but it is certainly possible that he was trained to do an archaeological grid search, work through aerial photographs, and describe human remains. Maybe he knew the basics about methods to extract human DNA in means of palaeopathology. I doubt he was taught about decomposition and forensic evidence.
The only connection between anthropology as taught at UVa and Morgan’s case I can think of is field trips – for students and volunteers. Archaeologists rely on both groups, because they traditionally don’t get much funding. And it is hard work as well.
Hope this wasn’t too academic again!
ps… male in still shot at beginning of video looks like Alex’s chin shape and facial hair, but would like to know for sure. Thanks.
d.
I am reposting what MarchmallowWI said as I think it’s a real possibility and I agree with her:
MarchmallowWI says:
May 30, 2010 at 9:35 am
I think Huguely may have been involved in many more rage incidents. He could have partied with friends at a home in Blandemar.
“A witness who observed the last physical confrontation between Love and Huguely email excerpt to blinkoncrime.com provided on the condition of anonymity:… It was more like he was 2 diff people. You know what I mean? Like a mood swing on crack. DON’T publish I said he was on crack. Roids for sure and there was mention of an 8 the day of the murder. It was almost like he felt like he was insulted when he was around better players than him. He loved the sport but he had no respect for anyone if they were better in the X.”
I hope Charlottesville PD is taking a fresh look at deaths ruled ‘accidental’which have occurred, including former LAX players.
**********************************
I found this article last night and it has a few things about GH that I hadn’t seen anywhere else:
http://mobile.baltimoresun.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=285FEAB6FF21A9E2DD38.873?view=top_stories_item&feed:a=balt_sun_1min&feed:c=topstories&feed:i=53911404&nopaging=1
I am especially interested in these sentences:
>Huguely went to U-Va. to play lacrosse, but he was not the star he was at Landon. He was more the team jester, although his humor could be sharp.He was still cocky but lacked some of his teammates’ discipline. He let his 6-1, 200-pound body go soft. Teammates branded him “Fuguely,” a mashup of his name and a common vulgarity.”You’d see him walk in . . . with other lacrosse players, and you’d think, ‘Oh, there goes a bunch of lacrosse players and some other guy,’ ” said a bartender at a popular Charlottesville bar. “He just seemed like kind of an overgrown big kid.”Huguely went to the teammate’s apartment, where he was sleeping, and pummeled him, according to accounts confirmed by the university. Later, in a tavern with some teammates, Huguely recounted the assault “like some cheesy action movie, where he stood above the guy while he was sleeping and said, ‘Sweet dreams, punk,’ and then just punched him in the face,” according to a bartender who heard the account.But one night in February of this year, Huguely’s mask slipped. At a celebratory party after back-to-back victories by the men’s and women’s teams, Huguely jumped on Love and began to choke her, according to an eyewitness. Three current and former lacrosse players from rival University of North Carolina pulled him off Love. One of the UNC men drove Love, who was shaken by the attack, home to suburban Baltimore for a break from Huguely.<
*********************************************
A young man in a constant state of seething, hidden rage(or sometimes not hidden). Rage towards anyone who he thought was looking down on him; rage towards teammates for giving him that nickname; rage at people who didn’t treat him like he was special 24/7; rage at women, like YL, who did not treat him like he felt he deserved to be treated; rage at someone who had the audacity to break up with him or not give him what he wanted; rage at his parents breakup; and most likely, rage at himself in general, and rage for everyone else for everything else.
It is hard to fathom just how many people might have been hurt by that kind of rage.
I have lived and worked in cities and towns all over the central and eastern united states working heavy industrial construction projects. Most small communities are so laid back that they rarely pay any attention to what is going on around them. Children and young people are not street smart in these small communities and parents do not spend a great deal of time educating them about how to look out for their own safety.
In 1958 I worked a project about thirty miles north of Mississippi State University. I frequently made trips to Jackson to have photos professionally processed. The highway passed through the university campus and I have picked up young students hitchhiking to get home on the weekend. These were always young men, never women.
My oldest grandchild is attending Tarrent County college on the southern edge of Fort Worth. This is an open 300 acre campus with few trees. However, it is bordered on the south with I-20 and Fort Worth is not a real safe city. Recently, the students there told the administration to go take a flying leap with their silly rules about personal safety. Many of the students have a concealed carry permit issued by the State after taking a prescribed course and having a background check. The administration wanted to overrule the State and prevent any concealed carry on campus. To show the administration that they could not trample their second ammendment rights,the students staged a week where everyone wore an empty holster visible with a note in it that said “I left my protection in my car”
Someone posted that the campus police at UVA were certified peace officers and not just “security guards”. What about the security operating at JPJA the night of October 17th? Were these real LE officers or hired “Security”?
I my mind, any person in LE that encountered a young woman that was impaired would have taken steps to protect them where hired security probably would not.
Where were the local police while this concert was taking place? Did they have people on the street and parking lots in the area? If not, why not?
Sometimes LE does a poor job of communicating with the public and they need to be reminded that the people in the community are their greatist asset in solving crimes.
Census figures I have for Charlotsville show about 45,000, but it may include the university population. If it does, then the school is probably half the census total. This means that LE is not very large and may not be really well trained.
Crimewriter: I saw the video of that abduction and the van that passed by barely slowed. People on the street didn’t seem to be too concerned. We as a society have to change our behavior so that type of activity cannot happen without being challenged.
TO: Eloise: You asked: “Does anybody know what the name of a lumber co on rt 250 would be? I looked it up, and none are listed as directly there, likely a cross rd or something. Just a tidbit I am curious about, seems to be a resurfacing topic.”
Many years ago there was a large, family-owned mill in the Rt. 250 West area, toward Crozet. The mill was appropriately called “Yancey Mill” after the family of the same name. Certain members of the family still own property in the area; a friend of mine was once married to a member of the Yancey family.
I hope the above is helpful although I confess that I’m uncertain that there is any connection at all to Morgan’s murder.
TO: Minnie Penney: As others have offered, please do not feel like you need to leave this site or edit your thoughts. We have all witnessed on numerous occasions that we are rarely all in agreement on any one aspect of Morgan’s most difficult case. The only thing we do consistently agree upon is not a singular theory or hypothesis. Instead, the one thing we all share is a common cause to identify Morgan’s murderer and bring him to justice.
Outside of that, we often disagree. We have strong feelings on this aspect or that of this case. We assume much, often based upon the filters through which we view the world. The view through that very personal filter is impacted by our life experiences, our knowledge, our observations, our gut feelings, etc. et. al. Likewise, we are each entitled to our sometimes strongly-held opinions…and opinions they are inasmuch as there are precious few facts available to the public at this juncture.
Though we are rarely of one mind, we make every effort to be respectful in the course of our discord. That said, nerves understandably fray as each day goes by and frustration grows exponentially as Morgan’s murderer remains at large. This is human nature at its very best and, on occasion, at its very worst.
Please know that you are a valued member of this virtual family, Minnie Penny. Your thoughts and ideas are no better and no worse than any of those offered here. Remember: not a one of us knows what happened to Morgan. None of us knows if she hitchhiked or not…if she knew her assailant or not…whether there was one or two BGs involved in Morgan’s murder…if the woman the newspaper lady saw was actually Morgan…what prompted Morgan to exit JPJ at the start…whether she was wrapped in a tarp at any point…how her purse and cell phone came to be where they were found…what her friends knew–or, thought they knew–and/or when they knew it…if her shirt was actually planted on the bush where it was found…etc. Sadly, the list of unknowns far outweighs the known facts upon which we can hang our collective hat.
Please, keep posting and know that, if we occasionally argue or bicker amongst our ourselves, we will ultimately and respectfully agree to disagree. Minnie Penny, your contributions and ideas are valuable; please do not hesitate to share them.
Speaking of lumber…
Anyone know if farmer Bass had income from timber regularly harvested and sold, from the forested areas of AF?
I am going to answer no to that, based on what I know about the zoning and permit history of his land.
However, someone on that property most definitely has access to Logging equipment or facilities.
The bark on that yerta is man-removed in over 6 ft sheets and uniformly cut.
It’s build required many trees/bark, and had to have had the bulk of it’s structure built simultaneously.
B
Mom3.0 says:
May 30, 2010 at 2:25 pm
We know Morgan’s necklace has been found. Although, we do not know where, how, or what location. We also don’t know what condition it was in- Although Blink has stated that it was not found on AF.
- We do? I didn’t know that? When did we know that? Did Dr H say that and I missed it?
Other than being in shock over the above, great post Mom3.
***
AnotherB, thank you for laying the topic of archeology out. I didn’t know anything about any of that. Very interesting.
^^^^^
About our friend George. I agree he has been a time bomb for a long time. I’d like to know who his tight buds were. Did he hang out in the woods of Charlottesville? Besides drinking beer, what did he do in his spare time? I get the feeling there was anger management problems in the family. Wonder why his folks got divorced. That is not an excuse, just curious. This can tie in to my earlier question of, what about secret male attractions Morgan may have had? Did she ever attend a Lax game? Was that an interest of hers?
Here’s another question-where did Alex live when he went to UVA? Morgan certainly went there, who could she have met?
*****
Thanks Observer for the tip! I am really looking at connections to people, not necessarily the perp. I’ll check it out.
^^^^
Lastly, the discussion of evidence left on Morgan. I don’t think there was much left to see. I would think whatever personal items there at the scene had blood evidence on them. And I sadly believe there were external signs of a sexual assault left behind, as well as the broken bones as per Gil. But I dont believe any other tissue etc was left. But I do recall Rader stating there was a wealth of info at the scene. So we only have to hope that was a very truthful remark.
Eloise-
I missed Mom 3.0 noting Morgan’s necklace- IT HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED.
B
“What about the security operating at JPJA the night of October 17th? Were these real LE officers or hired “Security”?
I my mind, any person in LE that encountered a young woman that was impaired would have taken steps to protect them where hired security probably would not.”
This is an excellent point. If UVa is going to get in the entertainment business to make money (and what other possible reason could there be for an educational institution sponsoring a heavy-metal rock band?) then the school needs to expand the UVa law enforcement staff to provide well-trained security at these events.
I am firm in my belief that Morgan may have looked liked she was HH but it was only a gesture..not an intention…she knew, while perhaps only briefly, whose car she was getting in.
Diana H. says:So there you have that. SS seems to be defending their decision to leave in Morgan’s car.
Sarah made a strange smirk as she made this remark.
I am missing something, or I was just ill-informed, I would SWEAR I saw that response attributable to the question about not going with her to the ladies room- anyone else?
I just had a fresh look at the aerial photographs from the crime scene – there are little yellow evidence markers forming a line from the grid search area – presumably where the remains were found – to the cone shaped tree in the corner, close to where the two investigators are standing. This must have been the route on which the body was transferred, already in an advanced state of decomposition, as it was shedding evidence.
another b-
respectfully there is no evidence to that whatsoever. The evidence markers are marking evidence, and it’s location, and that is really all we can say positively about the scene without access to it’s original “state of discovery”. I would offer that based on the grid depth and the manner in which they are recovering evidence from it, that Morgan was there for the duration.
Frankly, her being placed there for me, cements the level of knowledge of the individual putting her there.
She was literally in a triangle of zero access to any vertebrae activity. Wire Fencing to the left, and creekbed and underneath trees to her right.
Animal activity, especially in the period following her disappearance up to Winter, would have drastically increased the chances of her remains being found.
Although, there are many unanswered questions for me, I do not feel comfortable being more specific on here out of respect for Morgan’s family.
B
Nobody knows whether the paper lady actually saw Morgan, but I believe her that she saw someone matching her description on that night with three boys. This is also supported by the account of the “elderly couple” at one of the meetings, who also saw someone matching Morgan’s description with three boys hours earlier in the same area.
Now, the only thing we know for certain is that the paper lady had problems getting hold of LE, and that she feels it has never been followed up properly. I wonder how many people who were less persistent than her never actually spoke to LE. We are only aware of all those who are on the internet. But what about let’s say an elderly couple on their way back from a wedding, who only may have gone to a local meeting, and believed that it was sufficient to speak up in this context?
Someone (juliemooly?) mentioned “divergent levels of competence” or similar in the various agencies investigating the case, and when I look back how the story with the shirt unfolded, there also seem to have been coordination issues. Maybe someone less qualified or informed could have discounted this sighting because the Morgan lookalike wore a jacket and no tights? And then sent subsequent witnesses away, who could support that story?
another B-
I believe the elderly couple and Norma P and her hubby are the same individuals. If true, it made their story change, after they felt they were not taken seriously, which can be a red flag to LE.
It is possible LE was in posession of info at the time that conflicted with their account, and Ms. Parson was not going to be told why- as it is part of the investigation, which is common.
That said, I trust duhanna’s objectivity and I believe that Norma thinks she saw what she saw.
One of the phenomena of witnesses that has to be underlined is that, in general, people have sincere empathy for Morgan and her family. They can also convince themselves they are right, and therefore they feel a further injustice is being done, and they should not be condemned for it- I saw no alterior motives for these people to be deceptive and those that spoke to them that I feel would know the difference agree-
I am confident she believe she believes she saw what she did, but I personally do not believe it was Morgan.
B
Me again, I must feel so chatty because I know my rock is in Virginia now. We know the LE says she was HH. She did not get in a car in one of the lots then. We know LE asked if she borrowed any phones to call someone. She must not have made any calls on her phone, yet she did use it to text. I would text if my friends were in a loud concert and could not answer my call immediately but would eventually see my text. The same would go for a friend 60 miles away if he was unable to answer the call immediately. So we have only text outside by Morgan that we know of.
Why were the friends surprised to see her car? They had to think she took the car. The car with the other party of people parked by Morgan had probably told Morgan’s group they would take them somewhere after the concert because Morgan’s group thought the car was not there. That would explain why the other group saw Morgan’s car leave with only 3 people since they were probably at this point aware of the situation and with Morgan’s group leaving the concert. They were all surprised to see Morgan’s car.
The shirt. It is possible someone did find that shirt in the dumpster while dumpster diving but not wanting to be involved put the shirt on display. I am sure that dumpster divers were aware of Morgan since searches probably disturbed the area. We know that the shirt was found several weeks following the concert. The dumpster was searched and surly dumped of it’s containments several times. The shirt could have been put in the dumpster closer to the time it was turned over to LE. Is it possible someone not involved in the crime found the shirt in the possessions’ of the POS. The “finder” did not want to destroy the shirt because they want the crime solved. They do not want to directly implicate the POS that had the shirt because they do not want to believe the POS could have done it. They place it in the dumpster and pray it is found. Someone else did find it. If the POS finds out what the “finder” did the finder can always claim they “threw it away in the dumpster”. The finder left it to God and I think God took it from there.
What I am about to post is what I have observed and in no way do I state it as knowledge on my part about the training of security at arena events.
I can’t comment on the night of the Metallica concert, but what I have observed at other sporting and entertainment events is a combination of police officers and unarmed security personnel. At the arena, entrances to all of the major parking lots are manned by what appear to me to be police department officers with marked patrol cars or motorcycles, lights flashing. What some may not realize, while the arena and surrounding parking lots and athletic fields are on University property, they are not contiguous to the lawn area and adjacent UVA property. Police officers and vehicles are positioned at Ivy Road/Copeley Rd., Emmet St./Massie Rd. and Massie Rd./Copeley Rd., and probably other routes I have not traveled into the arena area. What I have not paid close attention to is whether these officers are UVA, City of Charlottesville, or Albemarle County PD. I just do not know which department or a combination thereof assumes duties for these public roads during events on UVA property. Perhaps Observer or someone else more observant or knowledgeable than I am knows the answer. I do not know whether or not these officers remain on duty in full force at parking lot entrances and incoming routes while events are in progress. We generally operate on the theory that we pay for tickets for the entire event, and no matter how bad the score or performance, we stick it out to the bitter in. I also do not know whether there are regular patrols through the arena lots during events. At football games at Scott Stadium, there are officers on bicycles, but I do not know that the same is true at the arena. There are uniformed, armed officers patrolling inside the arena with unarmed security personnel and at all entrances/exits before, during and after events. RMC event staff man all entrances to the entertainment area. I do not know, perhaps Observer does, whether or not the armed people providing security are on duty officers. It could be they are off-duty officers from city, county and UVA who hire on to provide security on event nights. Observer posted earlier that UVAPD are not rent-a-cops, they are trained at the same academies as other municipal police forces in Virginia.
MsL.
I think the point was that you need to have a trained UVa LE making judgement about people being impaired at UVa sponsored events. Not goons in black T-shirts with double digit IQs slamming the door in the face of minor-age females because it is “policy”. That this “policy” of the University of Virginia hasn’t been totally rejected and condemned is inexcusable.
George, just for fun I googled “no re-entry policies at arenas and stadiums” and came up with all kinds of information. Most, if not all, arenas and stadiums have a strict no re-entry policy. Here is an article on the NCAA site, and another site with advice from the Dept. of Homeland Security (post 9-11). Dr. Harrington stated somewhere at somepoint that Morgan had been to several concerts at JPJ, so she should have known about this long-standing policy. She was a seasoned concert-goer and almost 21 years of age.
UVa has since implemented a new training program for security at large events, specifically regarding how to treat inebriated attendees who would benefit from medical attention. It sounds like they’ll be treating each case as it comes from now on. There is probably more information on this somewhere…maybe one of the UVa publications?
http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/NCAANewsArchive/2001/Association-wide/the%2Bchanging%2Bnature%2Bof%2Btailgating%2B–%2Beliminating%2Bthe%2B_pass-out_%2Bpolicy%2B-%2B4-9-01.html
http://www.securityinfowatch.com/Cover+Focus/stadium-arena-security
Blink said: “I am missing something, or I was just ill-informed, I would SWEAR I saw that response attributable to the question about not going with her to the ladies room- anyone else?”
Yes – I read that here at BOC and possibly at WS? I was surprised to see Stuart’s take on it.
Courtenay Stuart as you know is pretty reliable and so I went with her characterization, but phrased it “SS seems to be defending their decision to leave in Morgan’s car.”
In essence, whichever it was, SS is defending herself against the idea that there was a real or perceived letting down of her friend on that night. Agree that it’d be nice to know which though, Blink.
George, I have to ask, do YOU know who denied Morgan re-entry? I do not. I personally have not seen any goons in black t-shirts at any events at any of UVA’s facilities. The people I have seen manning the doors at the arena along with the police officers are mostly of retirement age. Do you want to change your comment that perhaps they were senile so did not recognize a young lady in distress? I’m not a defender of UVA, I only tried to tell what I have observed at other events. I know nothing about what happened on the night of the Metallica concert and why Morgan was denied re-entry, but to make such a comment about goons in black t-shirts and double digit IQ’s, to the best of my knowledge, is not backed up with any fact at all.
Blink said – in reply to my query about income from timber harvesting on AF…
“I am going to answer no to that, based on what I know about the zoning and permit history of his land.
However, someone on that property most definitely has access to Logging equipment or facilities.”
Agreed. Or… there may be a company which regularly comes in to cut down mature timber.
For one example, the workers helping farmer Bass with downed trees/limbs on the day that he found dear Morgan’s remains may be with that company.
I’m asking about this because it would be a definitive way to place lumber workers regularly on AF, (most likely) or to show that there is actually this sort of equipment on site at AF. (not likely). Perhaps JB, being a horticulturist, is likely to know someone with this type of equipment.
My friend in a Southern state has many acres, some parts of it forested. He regularly sells off his mature timber and makes money from it. Timber is not my friend’s business at all, however it’s considered to be a responsible land management technique to cut down old growth and plant new. He is also able to take a loss tax-wise when natural events destroy some of his forested areas, even though this is not his business. Not sure that one has to be zoned to be a timber producing forest in order to practice good land management and will try to do some research on that.
“The bark on that yerta is man-removed in over 6 ft sheets and uniformly cut.
It’s build required many trees/bark, and had to have had the bulk of it’s structure built simultaneously.
B”
I agree and this is what got me thinking along these lines. It appears that you would need some very serious machinery to do that job.
At some point did we see farmer Bass’s income from hay, cattle and other? Thought I remembered that. I wonder if income from timber harvesting was in that document as well. Wish I could remember where to find it! Will try more searching.
Thanks Blink. Thanks for all you do, as always.
B: Gonna ask. Don’t have to answer.
Did any of those “evidence markers” mark something that never belonged to Morgan Harrington? Could he/they really have dropped something? No prints or maybe prints that are not in a system any where?
Thanks for clearing up the necklace. I just about fell of my chair. Mon3.0, keep trying and posting a timeline. It helps setting the record straight. I just wish that VSP would come out and give us something, anything. They could clear up so much without jeapordizing “their case”.
Am I wrong to think this???
Fwiw, I think Mom got that from a highly interpretable quote of mine, lol- Her instincts are phenom, I am sure something I said left the non plus, lol
B
I want to clarify, in my original post I referred to unarmed security personnel. I was referring to people who check bags and coats of entrants, scan tickets, and remain at the doors during events. These people, as well as the people who stand at the doors leading to each entrance portal to the entertainment area of the arena, I have learned from previous threads, are employees of RMC Events, the same company providing event staff at Scott Stadium. Also circulating through the arena are event staff with communication equipment. I actually was surprised one evening to recognize a woman serving in this capacity. During the day, she is employed at one of our local banks. These individuals dress in white shirts with a blue vest and khakis. There are other individuals who I do not believe are police officers who perform traffic control so attendees can cross Massie Road. These individuals are in dark uniforms, certainly not in black t-shirts, with a vest stating in large letters, Security. I do not know who hires these people directing traffic. Watching some of the videos posted here of the Metallica concert, there are what I would call floor security dressed in dark clothing surrounding the performance area. These individuals, I assume, are hired by the performers to provide stage security. Again, just my opinion, I do not believe these individuals would have the authority to eject anyone from the arena, or for that matter be able to permit or deny re-entry.
Just my own personal observations and opinions.
Hi Blink,
Some of the UVA lax and former UVA lax have open walls on FB.
Chris Clements
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1230240069&v=wall&ref=sgm
==
wall
Chris Clements “George has my phone.”
February 21 at 5:22pm (2010)
==
Sorry, Eloise, Blink and all- I misunderstood a previous conversation about the necklace-
Thank you for clearing up my error.
My apologies to all.
Sorry, again a clarification, a poorly worded sentence can change the entire meaning. The RMC event staff people manning the doors at arena events appear to be mostly of retirement age, not the police officers.
Happy Memorial Day to all.
Yeardly Love was a friend of Will Barrow. She posted photos to R.I.P Will Barrow 1986-2008 on facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1230240069&v=wall&ref=sgm#!/photo_search.php?oid=35591479429&view=all
Photos added by Yeardly Love start at #42
Will Barrow had been away playing on a professional team, and came back to UVA to finish 3 credits he needed to graduate.
Mom 3.0, I was going to comment about the necklace, but I see others have caught that. But what about the boots? For some reason, I thought that at least one boot had been recovered, but the location had not been disclosed.
Where did I get this impression? Was it something posted here, that was later found to be wrong?
Thanks for the fact-check summary. It is helpful to get everyone back on the same page.
Also, regarding SS’s “we wouldn’t have done it” comment. It was never clear to me to what that referred.
I would like to take a moment to remember all our heroes who gave their lives for our country. I was born at Walter Reed and grew up near Arlington National Cemetary. On the day of President Kennedy’s funeral I took my dogs out for a little walk in our yard. It was very windy that day and I could hear the drums from Arlington. I was fortunate to have the chance to visit it many times. My father served under Patton in WWII and my mother’s brother was in the Navy and stationed at Pearl Harbor – he was on a carrier in the south Pacific off Australia on Dec. 7th. We made many visits to “Where Valor Rests” (great book on Amazon) Arlington House is still there – the home of “Lighthorse Harry” and his son Robert Edward Lee. After the slaughter at Gettysburg President Lincoln seized the estate and turned it into the national cemetary and vowed Lee would never live there again. My great-great grandfather was in Stuart’s Cavalry at Gettysburg. On the third day they charged and were stopped by Custer and his “Wolverines – his Michigan regiment. Stuart and Custer fought all over Virginia – Cedar Creek was the biggest as to number of combatants but Gettysburg saved the Union. Reporters covering the battle stated that the sounds of charging horses hitting each other was the sound of two rocks being smashed together. Custer later captured Lee and then came Appomattox. Custer was given the table upon which the surrender was signed. There are a number of soldiers from Custer’s and Benteen and Reno’s units of the Seventh Cavalry who were in the Little Bighorn battle. Capt. Frederick Benteen was from Petersburg VA but wore blue in the War. Capt. Benteen, his wife and son are buried in section 3 at Arlington. I know some of you have seen photos of the American cemetary at Normandy – I visited that cemetary in 1966. Oh my….that’s something to see….all those markers. Arlington is very special. If you’re leaving DC and crossing the Potomac at night you can see the blue flame on the hill. Jack and Jackie together forever.
16.A Texas Grandfather says:
May 30, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Where were the local police while this concert was taking place? Did they have people on the street and parking lots in the area? If not, why not?
Census figures I have for Charlotsville show about 45,000, but it may include the university population. If it does, then the school is probably half the census total. This means that LE is not very large and may not be really well trained.
*********************************************************************
Texas Granfather,
I am local to Charlottesville and have worked events at JPJ arena so I have a little bit of knowledge about some of your questions and other questions about the security at JPJ arena.
Members of the CPD definitely work off duty at the arena as hired security. The other hired security for these events is Richmond based RMC. Their security staff include those with varied levels of experience and training to include the local teenage music fans to retirees to grandmothers to police officers and more.
The security staff with higher training are assigned to approriate posts as are the lesser trained staff. They are assigned to their posts based on their training, experience and knowledge sort of like triage.
The security teams are also focused on the higher concentration areas, and these areas change during an event as well. Pre and post event they are focused on the parking, traffic and exterior perimeter. During the events they are focused on the interior of the arena, however they never leave any area unmanned.
The on duty CPD also has an active role in monitoring the flow of traffic and the outside perimeter of the arena at all arena events. They have a heavy presence outside the arena before and after all events. During these events they cut that number down, by about 50-75%, as most of the “action” is taking place inside the arena during the event.
They do however continue to monitor the area during all events as do the UVA PD. Remember that the weekend of 10/17/09 was also parents weekend at UVA, bringing another 10,000-20,000 people to the area participating in many social events. I would say that 95-100% of all local LE were on duty that weekend and were likely kept very busy.
On another note, in agreeance with Observer’s comments re: UVA PD. They are definitely real police. While in their jurisdiction they have similar authority as the state police as they are technically state employees at a state University. They are trained alongside all other LE in this area.
Anf finally, about the cnesus information: Charlottesville’s
population is ~ 45,000. This does not include the majority of the student population which is ~ 20,000. And we actually have a high number of police per capita. It is sort of a “townie” joke about the amount of police we have in this little idyllic mountain foothills town. Both the CPD and the UVA PD are highly professional departments with very skilled, able and respected officers in their employ.
(Disclaimer: this may or not always be the case with every single officer–note the ACPD’s semi-recent scandals–but there are always a few bad apples in any environment, and for the most part the above description is accurate in my opinion as a local resident of many many years)
Sorry it’s so long winded…I hope this helped to answer some of your questions!
Most of us don’t believe Morgan was HH, but what if a friendly looking WOMAN happened to drive by Morgan on that bridge? Do any of you think that Morgan might have thrown up her thumb in this scenario?
Whew B, thanks for clearing up the necklace issue. I was already trying my best to find just where it was stated Morgan’s necklace was recovered…So, whomever did this to Morgan, left that beautiful bracelet on her, but her necklace is still missing along with the camera. Trophies or pawned for money to by drugs? Or were they lost during a struggle? Considering her shirt was found where it was, I’d be interested to know if anyone in and around that area also found a camera & or necklace, but decided to keep them instead of calling LE?
I hope to heck LE got names & addresses of ALL the students that lived in that area before they headed home for the summer. I also wonder if there were any “couch” sleepers living in any of the student housing around that area? There’s one in every bunch, the one who thought everybody owed them something, thus they never took time to rent their own apartment or pay for their utilities or food, or they had roommate problems and moved out of their own apartment just to mooch off of everybody else. All that money mom & pop deposited in the bank was strictly for their own selfish use. Drugs, partying, the best of clothes, etc, etc…
It really worries me that school is now out and the students have gone home. In my mind, this whole case just has to connect with a student somewhere along the line. I can’t get out of my mind that UVA Rape site linked a couple pages back. Is it even conceivable that we now have someone who is headed off to be a doctor, or lawyer, or other elite profession, but is really a killer in disguise? I sure hope not…
With respect to the, “we wouldn’t have done it comment…” I believe S.S. meant leave the arena and go home without Morgan. Although, it never made sense because of the “one of our friends is missing” comments and the waiting around period after the concert.
Blink, I never personally associated the comment with the restrooms, but I could be wrong. Didn’t Dr. Harrington address the comment when he was defending her friends? Maybe someone can come up with what he said. I’ve searched, but I can’t find it.
Since there hasn`t been much information been released by LE in a while i like to think there is a lot going on behind the scenes, DNA results are surely back by now and i`m of the opinion that no news is more than likely good news, simply a matter of dotting the i`s and crossing the t`s?
Oh my heavens. What a day.
Like many other Americans, today was for me a very moving and powerful day. First and foremost, we honor both our fallen soldiers and those who serve still today across this vast planet. It is an overwhelming debt of gratitude that we owe these individuals, for it is only through their efforts and their sacrifice that we enjoy freedom from oppression and tyranny.
I remember well the Vietnam War era. I knew people who left and never came back, and those who came back but were unrecognizable in ways we might never have imagined. [A visit to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. always brings tears to my eyes as I look upon those 58,195 names, some of which I know.] I am eternally grateful that my young nephew returned safely after flying missions over Afghanistan last year.
On another note, today I also had the honor and the privilege to place five (5) more rocks at Morgan’s memorial on Copeley. As promised, I placed Moonchime’s shiny, etched rock, Mag603’s painted, perpetual spotlight (it’s lit and working!), and Ode’s amazing black, glittery rock. Also waiting in the post office box today were two more: one from RUMom, with a lovely note that said in part “…the symbolism in the rock “Somewhere Over The Rainbow (thank you crimewriter video) with hope of eternity; the gold path that also symbolizes eternity leading to the rainbow and gold behind it and around the rock (never ending); and shiny gold for our shiny girl, and the 2.4.1 dots.”
The fifth rock I placed there today was from our dear hummingbird–a brightly-hued “…Paua shell from New Zealand, a shiny shell for our ‘shiny’ Morgan; a little piece of the South Pacific.” Hummingbird also sent two CDs and a beautiful note detailing the personal history behind certain of the songs, along with a touching testament to her commitment to end domestic violence.
There is yet another rock at the post office, but that one was too big for the p.o. box so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to retrieve it from the postmaster.
As I placed these five rocks at Morgan’s memorial I was struck all over again by how the life of this shiny young woman has touched so many, and brought so many together. As I walked along Copeley, I gazed once more at the Lanningan RV Lot, and then back into the UHall lot near The Cage where my own vehicle was parked. I wondered anew about Morgan’s steps that evening; how she felt, what she saw, and what she experienced.
Instead of imagining the horror, I instead looked again at her memorial, ever growing slowly but steadily. The rocks, the mementos, the tributes, all bearing silent but profound testament to the wonderful young woman that was Morgan Dana Harrington.
And something tells me that Morgan looked down again at her memorial… and she smiled.
Thank you, one and all. It is such a privilege to place your rocks at Morgan’s memorial; I am humbled by each of you. Thank you for allowing me to contribute in this small way on your behalf.
Rock on, shiny girl!
REGARDING THE SHIRT:
Slow-Roller and Others,
Yes an innocent passer-by could have found the shirt wadded up beneath a bush or whatever–but AFTER 3 WEEKS? It seems unlikely somehow. People were searching all over the place for Morgan, Morgan’s possessions, and any clues during those weeks, right? The guy who found it is sure it wasn’t there when he passed by–but hey, it could have been that he was distracted for a moment as he passed the bush. Not likely but possible. My vote is that the shirt was planted. If so, who planted it? Either someone with firsthand knowledge of the crime or someone who found it much earlier (possibly weeks earlier) and wasn’t sure what to do with it. If you were a homeless person and you found a decent shirt, you might keep it. Then you might realize that it could be significant to a murder investigation. But you wouldn’t want to cast suspicion in your own direction by turning in the shirt to LE. So you’d plant it near where you found it. MAYBE YOU FOUND IT IN THE DUMPSTER that’s near the bush. I doubt that the shirt had any obvious stains on it because the student said he was very surprised that it was Morgan’s once it had been tested–it looked to him unremarkable…except for being like one worn by Morgan Harrington.
“George, I have to ask, do YOU know who denied Morgan re-entry?”
Well, no. All of the door guards, as well as everyone else associated with JPJ Arena security, seem to have lost the power of speech, haven’t they? Hey, It’s only a dead girl.
“but to make such a comment about goons in black t-shirts and double digit IQ’s, to the best of my knowledge, is not backed up with any fact at all.”
There were several comments about people being hustled out of the arena after the concert by the overly-aggressive “security staff”. Several people were temporarily separated from their group. Retirees do not come to mind. My point was that if the University of Virginia is going into the entertainment business and endorse heavy-metal rock bands the very least they can do is staff security with sworn law enforcement personnel. If the University cannot do that then maybe, just maybe, they should not be in the entertainment business?
Blink, How often are you able to talk to Corinne Geller? Are they hopeful at all? Even in their voices? Do they feel close to breaking this? I feel the frustration building up around here again. I just can’t believe these low-life’s are still walking around. The T shirt was a taunt, IMO. The camera is not lost somewhere in the bushes. Why is LE having such a hard time with this? The murderers broke her bones and left no DNA? What is going on?
I have an open dialogue with Ms. Geller, and there is no doubt they are confident they will make an arrest in this case.
B
localcvillegirl,
Thanks for your response and posting the articles. The first deals with Southeastern Conference football games. The second says nothing about denying rentry to stadiums and arenas that I could find. It does, however, say :
“Taking the lead and securing your sport venues with an effective security management system helps sport venues fulfill moral and legal responsibility to protect spectators, competitors, employees, the community and the environment; reduces exposure to civil or criminal liability in the event of an incident; enhances a venue’s image and credibility with spectators, competitors, employees, suppliers and the community; and reduces venue insurance premiums.”
And make sure the camera systems work? And the people manning the doors aren’t brain dead?
Blink, so are you saying you don’t think she was ever in the tree line? Is this a new or different line of thinking for you? How does the location of the grid equate to diminished animal activity? Or was it because she was covered that the animals possibly stayed away?
-OR- was her body placed there at a point far after animals would want to have anything to do with her body?
Also, I’m just going to ask- Looking at the aerial photo of where Morgan’s body was discovered, what is under those little tents? I know I won’t get an answer on that one, so I will rephrase. Why are the CSI’s using those little tents in those specific locations? Is this standard procedure to protect evidence from the elements and/or the media flying over? Did they move them around throughout the investigation? Any insight would be appreciated.
Eloise,
There is another lumber mill right on 250 in Zion’s Crossroads, about 10 minutes East of Charlottesville, just past the Keswick exit on 64 if that helps.