Three weeks after Morgan Dana Harrington vanished during a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena, almost 1,600 volunteers gathered over the weekend to search for any traces of the Virginia Tech student. Alas, the community search parties uncovered no new information, and the case continues to puzzle authorities.
The effort was headed by the Texas-based Laura Recovery Center, which worked with local rescue teams to search in and near Charlottesville. LRC co-founder Bob Smither said he believes the weekend search for Harrington was more extensive than most community searches.
"Law enforcement and search teams have done wonderful jobs," Smither said. "But to get thousands of people out there, you're going to find more stuff than a few [would]."
Friday, search teams covered about a square mile near Copeley Bridge, where Harrington was last seen according to law enforcement officials.
"That's where we started, and that's where we'll probably go back to," Smither said, adding that the groups would be "working outward" from this starting location.
Smither, who has helped with several searches for missing persons since his own daughter was kidnapped while jogging in 1997, noted that scouring the same area for clues is anything but fruitless.
"We did a search for a missing college student [in Utah]. Law enforcement and search and rescue teams looked at an area three times. On the fourth time, same area, they found something, so it never hurts to look multiple times," he said.
While volunteers from Charlottesville and Albermarle were well represented, many volunteers came from across the commonwealth to help the Harrington family members with their search.
"I have a daughter myself, and if this was my daughter I would want all the help I could get," Fluvanna County resident Clarissa Campbell said. "So I'm here to try to help bring closure to the family. I really want to find her. Safe."
Matt Sayre, a Virginia Tech alumnus and Richmond resident with a 21 year-old sister, said he had no problem with "giving up my Saturday afternoon to come and do this," adding that "if it were me, or anyone that I knew and loved, I certainly would want them to do the same for me."
For Gil and Dan Harrington, seeing the sheer number of supporters has given them hope, Smither said.
"The best scenario is obviously if we found Morgan safe and sound, and the worst scenario is that we don't find her," Mr. Harrington said. "There's almost nothing worse than not having closure."
Although that closure did not come as a result of this weekend's efforts, Mrs. Harrington said local rescue teams will now be better prepared to handle similar missing persons investigations in the future.
"Before we had this search, I realized that we may not have a happy ending," she said. "And that the positive ending would be that we had shown and modeled ... a way to reacting to crisis."
Morgan Dana Harrington, last seen Oct. 17, is 5-foot-6 and weighs 120 pounds. She has blond hair and blue eyes, and prior to her disappearance was wearing black boots, black tights and a black T-shirt with the word "Pantera" written across it.
Anyone with additional information about Harrington's case is encouraged to contact Virginia State Police at (434) 352-3467. Tips can also be e-mailed to bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov.
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