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Author Topic: VA Tech Student Morgan Dana Harrington missing since 10/17/09#1 10/19/09-7/1/10  (Read 748494 times)
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Kat_Gram
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« Reply #1320 on: February 01, 2010, 08:02:21 PM »

Mr. Bass thinks that they came in thru the other road from the subdivision. Wasn't there a fence that she was found close to on his property ? So, if she was running, she would have had to get over that fence in pitch black. Someone running in absulote country dark would have run into the fence.
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« Reply #1321 on: February 02, 2010, 12:12:56 AM »

Hello dear monkeys. Just stopping in to let off some steam.

I cannot stop thinking about Morgan. I think of her as "our little Morgan." 

My daughter (just shy of 17) asked why I was so interested in this case.

Because I could have been Morgan -- so many times. Because Morgan could have been my daughter. Because life is precious and to have it ripped away for no reason is wrong. I cannot turn away. It matters. Morgan matters.

What are we to tell our daughters? I am already at level "trust NO ONE" man or woman, young or old, well-dressed or disheveled, handsome or homely, big or small. Trust NO ONE. I don't care what they say about a lost puppy or knowing your parents or needing help ... run, scream, claw, kick, bite, GET THE HELL AWAY.

I have already told her that if a woman is taken to a second location she will most likely be killed. Fight for your life. Don't be nice.

What do I tell her now? Don't leave the house? Carry a gun? What is left for me to say?

I feel sick.

 



I don't expect to win a popularity contest  with this post.  If you're easily offended, please roll on by.

goodnmad, add to that list: don't drink alcohol (always a choice) or at most 1 drink on a full stomach (live "party poopers" always trump dead ones); always guard your drink when you're outside of your own home (or inside of it if you're having "guests" over); never leave your wingman; and choose your friends wisely.  We've got to point blank tell our children "You've got make good choices because your life may depend on it.".

Long ago (in a far away galaxy ), I'd had a "little too much" at a party in a field far from home when I found myself a few feet from a normally "nice" classmate.  I was both horrified and terrified when said classmate threatened me with bodily harm.  Running anywhere wasn't an option because: I was drunk; in a dark, unknown, rolling field surrounded by woods off the main road; and this person was waaaaaaaaayyyy faster than I was on any given day.  By the grace of God (no joke), I managed to get away and I have never forgotten how close I came. The biggest part of not becoming a victim is not to put yourself in situations that can make you one, particularly in a crowd /parking lot situation.

Having said all that, I just look at Morgan's picture and feel such a sense of loss for all that she was created to be.  I find myself thinking of Dan and Gil in the everyday details of life and praying for them.  I think how overwhelmed Alex must feel.  We know drinking may have impaired Morgan's judgement, but we don't know what (if any) drugs may have factored into this. I just really wish Morgan could have enjoyed that concert minus the alcohol...things may have turned out so differently.  JMO
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« Reply #1322 on: February 02, 2010, 12:23:36 AM »

Having said all that, there is never an excuse to kill someone unless it's self-defense.  Somehow, I don't think Morgan was attacking anyone.      Wish I could fix that gaping hole in the Harringtons' hearts.  I can't, so I'm praying for Morgan's family & friends.

Need to swing, have to be up and at 'em early.  Take good care everyone!
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« Reply #1323 on: February 02, 2010, 08:10:36 AM »

http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=11101808092903167&   
 02/02/2010 - 02/08/2010         (long post)
Local search intensifies as Morgan Harrington's remains are found

A detailed look at the Harrington case, from her discovery to possible new leads

BY C-VILLE WEEKLY WRITERS
More than 100 days after 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington was spotted on the Copeley Road Bridge, leaving a Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena, her remains were found in a 750-acre farm roughly 10 miles away. Since the discovery of Harrington’s body, Virginia State Police and local law enforcement have pursued new leads in a case that primary investigator Lieutenant Joe Rader said VSP considers a “potential homicide.”
C-VILLE Weekly also pursued new information, from interviews with residents of the areas surrounding Anchorage Farm, where Harrington’s body was found, to a tip on 15th Street, where local residents reported being interviewed by investigators who might’ve located Harrington’s shirt. As the discovery of Morgan Harrington’s remains turns to new searches for answers, here is a comprehensive report of the events so far.
"Very atypical," and a last sighting

On October 17, 2009 Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington went missing outside the John Paul Jones Arena after leaving a Metallica concert. Harrington had traveled with friends to Charlottesville from James Madison University, in Harrisonburg, to attend the concert.

The following day, Dan Harrington, Morgan’s father, filed a missing person report after his daughter failed to come home, which he called “very atypical.” According to police statements, Harrington ended up outside of the arena after leaving her friends to visit the restroom.

Morgan Harrington disappeared more than three months ago while attending a Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena.

Harrington was denied re-entry to the concert, a policy regularly adopted by other ACC venues. After being criticized by some for Harrington’s disappearance, the University of Virginia released a statement on October 23, explaining that re-entry typically requires management approval. The policy, according to UVA, aids in crowd control and the prevention of contraband.

Although widely suspected, it took Virginia State Police two months to announce that Harrington was drinking and not acting normally on the evening when she was last seen.

According to a timeline constructed from tips the police received, eyewitnesses place the missing woman outside of the arena conversing and interacting with people before Metallica took the stage. At 8:48pm, Harrington had a phone conversation with a friend inside the arena. Harrington told the friend she would find a ride home from friends in Charlottesville.

Between 9pm and 9:10pm, police say someone matching Harrington’s description was seen walking through the University Hall parking lot, in front of the arena. Shortly afterwards, Harrington was seen at Lannigan Field, close to the UVA track, where her purse and cell phone were later found in the grassy area of the parking lot. According to police, Harrington was last seen hitchhiking for a ride on the Copeley Road Bridge.

In response to rumors that members of the UVA basketball team were somehow involved in the case, UVA spokesperson Carol Wood said in a November 24 statement that players were approached after practice by a female matching Harrington’s description the night she disappeared. “They cooperated fully with law enforcement investigators and, like other witnesses interviewed by the police, they provided information that is important to police efforts to establish Ms. Harrington’s movements,” said Wood.

In November, Harrington’s parents, along with the Laura Recovery Center, a Texas-based group, organized a massive search effort. Over three days, a total of 1,667 registered volunteers combed through nearly 2,600 acres of local land. Ultimately, however, the search didn’t recover any relevant evidence.
"Not a public place at all"

 Dan Harrington believed that his daughter would be found within five miles of the Copeley Road Bridge, where she was last seen alive. In fact, Morgan Harrington was found a little more than 10 miles from the bridge, on a remote portion of David Bass’ 750-acre Anchorage Farm.

David Bass (right), who found Harrington’s remains in a “remote area” of his Anchorage Farm, described the surrounding area as a “[v]ery nice area to live.”

On Tuesday, January 23, Bass fed his cows and began to check his fences for damages from wind and rain two days earlier. Around 8:30am, Bass spotted what he thought was a dead deer.

“’Til I got close,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “And realized that I was looking at a human skull. And that’s when I called 9-1-1.” Bass said that there was some clothing near the remains, and added, “I would not have guessed the sex of the victim myself…it’s very decomposed.”

Bass, who has owned the property since 1985 according to county records, says his visits to that portion of his land are infrequent—“It’s not a public place at all.” Asked if he dealt with trespassing problems, he replied, “No. We get hunters, we get people that hunt without permission. But every farm has that. We’ve had no problem here at all.”
Reports of violence in a secluded area

Bass told reporters that Harrington’s remains were located within 1.5 miles from the entrance to his home. The Anchorage Farm property is partially bordered by a few other roads—Monacan Trail Road in front, roughly two miles of Red Hill Road, and less than three miles of residential roads within neighboring Blandemar Farm and Blandemar Farm Estates.

According to CrimeReports.com—a web site that maps crime data, linked from the Albemarle County Police Department’s web-site—there were two separate assault incidents reported in the month before Harrington’s discovery. The first, dated December 26, 2009, is listed at the 1800 block of Red Hill Road—less than 2 miles from the entrance to Bass’ property. The most recent occurred on January 6, in the 4900 block of Monacan Trail Road, less than 7 miles from the Anchorage Farm entrance. A call to Albemarle Police about those incidents was not returned by press time.



The Virginia State Police’s Sex Offender Registry lists six registered offenders in the 22959 North Garden zip code that includes Anchorage Farm. One offender, listed with two convictions in Albemarle Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court for rape and one for sexual battery in Charlottesville Circuit Court between 2006 and 2008, lives within two miles of Anchorage Farm.

John Ekman, who manages a gas station south of Anchorage Farm, knows David Bass and refers to the Bass family as “nice people.” Asked whether drivers along Red Hill Road could access Anchorage Farm easily, Ekman replied that he doubted it. “Not many places for people to pull over,” he explained.

Many of the homes in neighboring Blandemar Farm Estates sit on lots of 21 acres or more. According to one resident, the majority of Blandemar’s population is either retired or “semi-retired,” with grown children. Several residents claimed they were  unaware of any trouble with trespassing in the area.

“It is secluded, and the lots are expansive,” said one resident. “People live out here because they like their privacy.”

The same resident said that a few bowhunters control the deer population in the community, but “they will always let us know when they are on our property.”

“The grass probably would’ve been at least two feet, maybe three feet tall, at the time of this tragedy,” said a resident about their property. “Anyone going through that field by foot or by car, I would’ve seen the tracks…[A]nd I saw no tracks.”

The resident also detailed the division between Anchorage Farm and their property in Blandemar: a half-mile that includes a ridge (“very steep”), a creek, woods and several rows of barbed wire fencing. “Not that it couldn’t be done. It could be done, but with great difficulty. At night, I’d say pretty much impossible.”

Colonel Steve Flaherty of the Virginia State Police told a crowd last Tuesday that “significant items and evidence” were found with Harrington’s remains on Anchorage Farm.
"Most likely it will be a homicide"

Roughly seven hours after Bass found the remains on his property, Virginia State Police discussed last Tuesday morning’s discovery. “Based on the evidence there that was recovered, we are fairly confident at this time that the remains are those of Morgan Dana Harrington,” said Colonel Steve Flaherty, superintendent of VSP. The remains were transported to the office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond.



Lieutenant Joe Rader, the primary investigator on the Morgan Harrington case, said that while the investigation had been a missing person case, “we have always seen it as potentially a homicide.”

“We still proceed as if it is a homicide, and most likely it will be a homicide.”
"This is known to someone here"

 By the next day, dental records had positively identified the remains as those of Morgan Harrington. During a 1pm press conference at the Copeley Road Bridge, Dan Harrington told reporters: “Even though Morgan has been found, she’s been murdered.” At that time, a cause of death had not been determined.

“This is known to someone here…,” he said, speaking about the location where the remains were found. “And as I’ve said all along, Morgan would be found within five miles of this bridge, and it was probably a local person. And I’m sure I’m 100 percent right.”

Dan Harrington was joined by his wife, Gil, and their son, Alex. Gil Harrington said: “We are very happy to know that Morgan very likely, as Dan has said, did not live through the time of the concert. She was a long time in that field. I am happy that she was not alive long, enduring unspeakable things.” No further details were given to clarify Gil Harrington’s statements.
A new lead on 15th Street?

On Friday afternoon, January 29, several residents of 15th Street, just over a mile from Copeley Road Bridge, reported they were interviewed by investigators who canvassed the area in connection with Harrington’s death.

“About 11:30am, I got a knock on my back door. I opened it up and it’s a guy who flashes a badge and says he’s a detective,” said one resident, who asked to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns. “He just told me that they were canvassing my building, because they had found what they thought was Morgan Harrington’s shirt somewhere in the bushes in front of the building.” Harrington was wearing a black Pantera t-shirt the night she disappeared.

The resident said the investigator, not in uniform, asked whether the resident remembered anything suspicious from the night Harrington disappeared, or since, and recommended that the resident call Albemarle County Police Department’s Crime Stoppers line [434-977-4000] if anything occurred. He did not leave a business card, but reportedly flashed a badge.

A second resident said that two days earlier, “I was going to my car, and there was a woman who was kind of digging in the bush, and there were two guys walking around the apartment across the street. I heard the one guy [say] they hadn’t found anything, so the one guy was like ‘Well, we found her shirt over here.’” A third resident confirmed the reports; both remained anonymous due to privacy concerns.

Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller said she didn’t know whether there was a law enforcement presence on 15th Street. “We’ve gotten a lot of tips and a lot of different leads related to the case. They may’ve been just following up on a tip almost in a process of elimination versus it being some critical aspect of an investigation.”

After Morgan’s remains were positively identified, Dan Harrington (center), with his son, Alex (left), and his wife, Gil, told reporters that “it was probably a local person.” The family has not yet shared plans for a memorial service.
What comes next?

On Friday evening, January 29, members and friends of the Harrington family gathered in Roanoke for a candlelight vigil. The same day, Gil and Dan Harrington told the Associated Press that the site where their daughter’s remains were found held “a wealth of physical evidence,” which echoes the “significant items and evidence” that Virginia State Police Colonel Flaherty reported during the January 23 press conference.

According to Dan Harrington, there are no immediate memorial plans. “We just found out from police that, although they have positively identified Morgan’s body this morning, that the medical examiner will not release her body probably for another five or six days,” said Harrington last Wednesday.

The day that Harrington’s remains were found, an Albemarle High School student created a Facebook group called “R.I.P. Morgan Harrington.” The group currently has more than 10,000 members, and comments appear on the page nearly every hour. Many offer condolences to the Harrington family; one reads, simply, “Justice for Morgan.”—Brendan Fitzgerald and Chiara Canzi

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« Reply #1324 on: February 02, 2010, 08:15:44 AM »

  I think  Morgan touches us because many of us look back and see a time when we were young and vulnerable and could have easily been in her shoes.  I cry every time I read or think about her.  I have a single 24 year old daughter and remind her every time I talk to her to please not go anywhere alone at night.  Please may this perp be caught and brought to justice swiftly.
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« Reply #1325 on: February 02, 2010, 09:13:14 AM »

I think of that very same thing in every single one of these cases. Why/how am I still alive??  I am so sad for her family.   
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« Reply #1326 on: February 02, 2010, 09:26:14 AM »

http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2010/02/01/multiple-riddles-harringtons-body-creates-new-mysteries-angles/
  Multiple riddles: Harrington’s body creates new mysteries, angles
by Hawes Spencer
published 6:40pm Monday Feb 1, 2010
  “I never thought I’d be spending my birthday planning my daughter’s funeral,” says Gil Harrington. It’s Monday, February 1, and she’s at home in Roanoke making arrangements to bury the partially skeletonized remains— still this afternoon in the possession of the state medical examiner— of 20-year-old Morgan Dana Harrington, the Virginia Tech student who disappeared in Charlottesville last October and whose bones were found last week on a remote farm in southern Albemarle.

At a press conference held last week confirming identity of the remains, lead State Police investigator Joe Rader said that evidence, in addition to the bones, had been recovered from Anchorage Farm, and he suggested the focus of the investigation would shift there from Copeley Road Bridge, where Harrington was last seen allegedly hitchhiking during the Metallica concert.
But that doesn’t mean police aren’t continuing to investigate clues in town. A black t-shirt touting the band Pantera— something that Harrington was said to be wearing the night she inexplicably left the concert at the John Paul Jones Arena— was discovered last fall on a bush outside a 21-unit Grady Avenue apartment complex.

In this week’s issue of the Hook, the UVA student who found the shirt clarifies some of the speculation about that. And as shown in a new interactive Hook/Google map at right, the rough and remote site where Harrington’s body was discovered may show, as property owner Dave Bass has tried to explain numerous times, why it’s actually more easily accessed from several places in the adjacent Blandemar Farms Estates subdivision than from the two houses on his own 742-acre Anchorage Farm.

Also, in this week’s cover story, by award-winning journalist Courteney Stuart, police warn the Hook that its reporters could face harassment charges for attempting to interview convicted sexual offenders living near Anchorage Farm. And Mrs. Harrington, an oncology nurse, speaks candidly about dealing with death.
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Good grief! It's Charlie Brown.


« Reply #1327 on: February 02, 2010, 09:38:15 AM »

I think of that very same thing in every single one of these cases. Why/how am I still alive??  I am so sad for her family.   


Exactly how I feel. It makes me think back to the numerous times as a teen I was so drunk I blacked out ... woke up in strange places and sometimes with strange people -- no memory of hours and hours of the previous evening's "festivities." How easy it was for a 14, 15 year old girl to get alcohol. So easy.

It reminds me of one time I was (soberly) walking home from junior high in a bad neighborhood. A mid-40s white man in a "work" van pulled alongside and offered me money to "clean his house." He said he wanted to surprise his mother with a clean house when she got home. I said no thanks and kept walking. It was worrisome then, but now it is terrifying. I think I was 14. What were his intentions? Rape? Murder? Thank God I didn't find out. 

That is just one example ... there are many more that involved alcohol. Not illegal drugs, just plain old alcohol. I was not myself when I drank. Had no control after a point. Wandered away from friends. Had friends leave me. That is scary and not something I ever wish to relive.

I agree with ISpy 100%. Make better choices while you still can!

Oh, and one more note about my drunken days ... I was at a party with underage drinking ... someone said jokingly the police are coming. You know what I did? I threw my purse straight in the garbage can and walked out the door. Why? I have no idea. Alcohol and logic don't go together, at least not for me.

Sometimes I am so angry that it is not safe to be a girl or even a grown woman in this world.
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Good grief! It's Charlie Brown.


« Reply #1328 on: February 02, 2010, 09:39:16 AM »

I don't know how that jack in the box jumped into my post ... not intentional.
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« Reply #1329 on: February 02, 2010, 09:43:00 AM »

trimmonthelake  There is a lot of info in the article.. Thank You
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Good grief! It's Charlie Brown.


« Reply #1330 on: February 02, 2010, 09:45:33 AM »

I'm sure you've seen this, or it may have been in one of the articles our incomparable Trim posted .. but here is what the family asked for in lieu of flowers. Donations to:

Morgan Dana Harrington Memorial Scholarship at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine or to OMNI – Orphan Medical Network International, an organization that provides medical care in Africa. Scholarship donations may be mailed to: Virginia Tech, Attn: Gift Accounting, University Development (0336), Blacksburg, VA 24061, and OMNI donations to 6930 Empire Lane, Roanoke, VA 24018.
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« Reply #1331 on: February 02, 2010, 12:03:47 PM »

http://www.momlogic.com/2010/02/missing_morgan_harrington_the_familys_pain_robin_sax.php

Missing Morgan: The Family's Pain
Tuesday, February 2, 2010

As a mother, I cannot even begin to imagine coping with the horror that the Harrington family now lives with.



Robin Sax:  Morgan Harrington was a 20-year-old Virginia Tech education major who wanted to be a teacher. She spent time working with children and victims of domestic violence. She loved Harry Potter and the Twilight series. Morgan disappeared on Saturday, October 17, 2009, after being shut out of a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena at the University of Virginia. Morgan's remains were found in a field last week.

I had the privilege of being on the "Dr. Phil" show with Morgan's family about six weeks ago. I was impressed with their strength and fortitude. When they appeared on the show, the circumstances behind her disappearance were a mystery, and Morgan was still a missing person, and therefore they were hopeful. They had so much grace, and were tremendously strong in the face of such a difficult situation. Most of all, they still had hope.

The worst-case scenario -- a hellish reality for any parent -- unfolded last week when the Virginia State Police said they were "fairly confident" that skeletal remains found in a hay field were those of Morgan Harrington. Dan Harrington, Morgan's father, posted these words on the family's missing person site:

Morgan's mother, Gil, and I are overwhelmingly saddened by yesterday's discovery, but we are also relieved because our questions can now be answered and we can give our daughter a proper burial. We know that because of the good life Morgan led and the love she created for everyone around her, she is now in a safer, better place. We appreciate everyone's respect for our privacy at this difficult time and we thank everyone who has helped us through this tragedy and helped us find Morgan.

While searching through the family's site, I came across a post by her mother, Gil, that was uploaded just two days before her daughter's body was found:

3 months! Despite the length of time Morgan has been gone I remain hopeful. Part of me is waiting to be surprised. Waiting for God to pull the rabbit out of the hat and bring Morgan home. I remember that the light always returns, it cannot help but return. Will the light of my life return soon? I cannot imagine that all the water of Morgan's potential is to run down the drain and be wasted. Can it really play out like that?

As a mother, I cannot even begin to imagine coping with the horror that the Harrington family now lives with. In cases of murdered children, there will be a range of issues that affect the family: feelings of helplessness, guilt, grief, listlessness, anger, rage, horror, pain (both physical and emotional), and so many more. Many marriages will break up after the death of a child. Unanswered questions haunt the family until the trial of the murderer (if he is ever found). And even then, not all the details will ever be known -- nor would they really want to know them.

In the case of the Harringtons, I do believe that Gil and Dan will be able, somehow, to weather the hurricane of grief. From what I have seen of them, this couple has an inner strength that will help them to cope. Still, life will never be the same.

At least when a child is still missing, you can share in the hope that they will be found alive. When remains have been found, there is no longer hope. The only solace is a sort of closure, and a chance for healing. As Dan Harrington said, they will now be able to give Morgan a proper burial.

Sometimes the ones that suffer the most are not just the parents, but the siblings who are left behind. These children have to live with the absent parent syndrome (their parents are missing in their own way while dealing with the tremendous anxiety and stress of a missing child), and then the trauma of the death.

In addition to the horrific losses that the siblings face -- especially as they go back into society and try to be strong and brave -- they also are shouldering their parents' grief. It can be a huge burden. Dan Harrington said that his son Alex and Morgan were close, and that he is having the most difficult time of anyone. Alex has been in New York City during many of the past weeks and has compartmentalized the situation -- being "busy" with work has been a good distraction. But now that his sister has been found, he will travel back home and face the tragedy (and the new reality of his parents' grief).

I have had the opportunity to meet and speak with many families who have had to endure the various stages and aspects of dealing with this kind of tragic loss, an abduction, or other crime committed against their child. In some ways, it is so much easier to connect to a family that is still searching, still clinging to the hope that somehow, somewhere, their beloved child is simply "missing" and will return home. Cases like Jaycee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart -- as tragic as they are -- are still considered "happy endings."

There are survivors who have done incredible things after the loss of their child. Mark Klaas is such an example. After the murder of his daughter, Polly Hannah Klaas, in 1994, Mark established the Klaas Kids Foundation. Mark has fingerprinted over a quarter of a million children in the last decade, has had tremendous success with his public awareness campaigns, is involved in legislative efforts to strengthen sentences for violent and recidivist offenders, and so much more. I am constantly amazed at what Mark, and many other parents, are able to do following such a tragedy. We can all learn from their strengths.

The Harringtons already have been involved in the legislative process during the time they were searching for Morgan. They asked lawmakers to reauthorize Kristen's Act, which creates a national database to search for missing adults. The 2002 federal law was named for Kristen Modafferi, an 18-year-old woman from Charlotte, N.C., who vanished in June 1997. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children could not help the search at the time because Modafferi was an adult. The House voted to reauthorize the law in February, and it is pending before the Senate. It is activism like this that helps to reaffirm that Morgan Harrington did not die in vain.

Though I cannot say I fully understand the grief or pain the Harringtons feel -- or any family of missing or murdered children, for that matter -- I do know that it is our obligation as a society to unite together to demand that justice prevail: that those who are responsible for these crimes are found, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced for the heinous acts they have committed.

We cannot make sense of a senseless crime. We can only mourn the loss of such a lovely young woman, whose life was tragically ended far too soon. We send our prayers to Morgan's family. And we pray also that something so unthinkable will never happen in our family.

To learn more about keeping your children safe, read Predators and Child Molesters:
A Sex Crimes D.A. Answers 100 of the Most Asked Questions.




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« Reply #1332 on: February 02, 2010, 12:12:11 PM »

I think of that very same thing in every single one of these cases. Why/how am I still alive??  I am so sad for her family.   

What is really scary is to know so many of us feel like we were at one time in our teenage years in danger of being harmed by someone.  What does that say about the number of people in this world who have thoughts of hurting young people?  I too had experiences as a young girl which make me wonder how I lived through them.  As it was said before.... back then these particular would be child molesters creeped me out but now I shudder to think what really could have happened to me!  I could myself luck to be alive as well. 
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« Reply #1333 on: February 02, 2010, 12:13:51 PM »

I think of that very same thing in every single one of these cases. Why/how am I still alive??  I am so sad for her family.   

What is really scary is to know so many of us feel like we were at one time in our teenage years in danger of being harmed by someone.  What does that say about the number of people in this world who have thoughts of hurting young people?  I too had experiences as a young girl which make me wonder how I lived through them.  As it was said before.... back then these particular would be child molesters creeped me out but now I shudder to think what really could have happened to me!  I could myself luck to be alive as well. 

I could myself luck to be alive as well.

Should read ...... I consider myself lucky to be alive as well.

Geesh, I guess I need to proofread my posts better!
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Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me."
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« Reply #1334 on: February 02, 2010, 12:28:23 PM »

rumors or fact ?

Her Shirt ? or not
A Boot found ? or not

We will have to wait to hear what was found and what was not from some professional source.

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« Reply #1335 on: February 02, 2010, 12:55:56 PM »

rumors or fact ?

Her Shirt ? or not
A Boot found ? or not

We will have to wait to hear what was found and what was not from some professional source.


And to add too the list, was Morgan on any footage at the arena? Some say yes, some say no. It can't be both.
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« Reply #1336 on: February 02, 2010, 02:15:41 PM »

rumors or fact ?

Her Shirt ? or not
A Boot found ? or not

We will have to wait to hear what was found and what was not from some professional source.


And to add too the list, was Morgan on any footage at the arena? Some say yes, some say no. It can't be both.

The only footage I remember was a security camera and they were not even sure it was her.
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« Reply #1337 on: February 02, 2010, 02:24:42 PM »

Very frustrating. 
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« Reply #1338 on: February 02, 2010, 02:50:36 PM »

Very frustrating. 
Horribly so  I honestly don't know what is true and rumor, bad reporting, good reporting.
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« Reply #1339 on: February 02, 2010, 04:20:09 PM »

http://www.swvatoday.com/living/article/heart_beat_an_elegy_for_morgan_harrington/6763/
HEART BEAT: An Elegy for Morgan Harrington
By Mark Sage
Published: February 2, 2010
By Felicia Mitchell
We’re not supposed to cry over spilt milk.  It’s all water under the bridge, right?  Substitute a few words.  Brood about blood under the bridge and bones spilled over a hay field.  Think about what you’d believe if hindsight weren’t 20-20 but instead near-sighted, its glasses lost in a ravine.

Once upon a time, a beautiful young woman dressed up to go out with friends to a rock concert and ended up outside, denied readmission to the arena. “Please,” perhaps she asked somebody.  “Let me back in?”

Rule bearers can wear regulations like armor.  Maybe they love power or they’re afraid they’ll get fired if they make exceptions.  “Why let her come inside, this woman alone in the world?” one might have thought.  “She’ll learn to respect the rules.”

I really don’t know what anybody thought, only that somebody wasn’t thinking.  Now I wonder who is feeling remorseful and replaying the same scene, trying for a different ending that won’t ever be written.

Ever since I read that Morgan Harrington ended up on the wrong side of the gates of John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, I’ve been replaying the scene in my own head, imagining a different, happier ending.  I imagine a job where somebody gives himself permission to bend rules.  I also imagine a kind-hearted person picking up Morgan on the road and arranging for her to get home safely.

I hope there’s a statute of limitations on running a stop sign on your bike. In my twenties, hypothetically speaking, I might have done that a few times.  I couldn’t afford a car and either walked or rode a bike or, a few times, trusting or stupid, let myself be picked up by somebody who felt sorry for me out in bad weather.

I often worked until late.  The later it was, the faster I walked or biked.  While I respected traffic, I didn’t always stop at signs or red lights.  I justified what I did when I slowed down yet kept going, wary of my surroundings.
How could I, hypothetically, ignore a red light?  This is what I told myself:  “That rule was made by people who don’t understand the fear a woman feels out alone late at night.”  Fear can make you break rules and accept rides from total strangers.

Once in that same college town I borrowed a car to move from one apartment to another.  En route, I saw a group of men encircling a young woman in over her head.  I stopped the car, opened the passenger door, and yelled, “Get in.”  The young woman got in, and I drove her somewhere safe to sober up.

Women in vulnerable positions often depend on the kindness of strangers, but not all strangers are kind.  Some are predators.  How hard would it been to let Morgan reenter the arena?  To help her find a way home?  Those are questions that make me want to cry my heart out over water under the bridge.  Milk spilt.
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  ~241~ "The Longer You Love,The Longer You Live,The Stronger You Feel,The More You Can Give."
~ Peter Frampton
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