WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Items found during Harrington search, but no leads

Items found during Harrington search, but no leads

Volunteers in Charlottesville sacrificed their weekend to search for a missing Virginia Tech student.  About 1,400 volunteers helped with the search.

Morgan Harrington, age 20, has been missing since October 17, when she attended a Metallica concert.  Since then, community members' hope for her safe return continues.  

State police say the search parties did recover various articles of discarded clothing and objects.  But according to a news release, "None of those items has proven relevant to the case.  Investigators are still continuing their efforts to pursue new leads as they come in from the tip line and through email."

Statement by Dan and Gil Harrington

We want to thank the many wonderful people who volunteered their time and hard work this past weekend to help search for our beloved daughter, Morgan. An area of approximately 2,600 acres was searched by teams made up of the 1,667 total registered volunteers. Your selfless generosity and continuing support have touched our hearts during an unbearably difficult time.

We especially wish to thank the Laura Recovery Center, which organized the three-day search for Morgan, augmenting law enforcement’s search and investigative efforts. More importantly, the Laura Recovery Center trained community members to continue ongoing search efforts. While no new information has yet been discovered, we have gained some peace in knowing much ground was – and will continue to be – covered during the search. 

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Volunteers in Charlottesville wrapped up their third and final day of a search for Morgan Harrington.

Harrington is the 20-year-old Virginia Tech student missing since October 17, when she attended a Metallica concert.  Since then, community members hope for her safe return continue.
 
Volunteers by the hundreds sacrificed their weekends to search for Morgan Harrington.

The search itself was led by the Texas-based Laura Recovery Center, an organization created by the father of a girl who was abducted and killed when she was 12 years old. 

About 1,400 volunteers helped with the search.  Search volunteer groups were briefed on things to look for before they headed out with their group leaders.

They looked for things like pieces of the clothing Morgan wore the night she vanished.

Organizers say that even if they don't find anything substantial, it's not a total loss.

"Part of the purpose of searching is to eliminate areas, and they do it in a grid process," says Janice Liggett with Laura Recovery Center.

The goal is to comb through a three-mile radius, and many teams will overlap in their search. It may seem tedious, but teams are determined, even if they aren't immediately successful.

"We don't want anyone to give up hope," says volunteer Jill Siegel.  "We want them to know that we are here for them."