Location Key to Finding Metallica Fan Morgan Harrington’s Killers

During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Virginia State Police Lt. Joe Rader reached out to residents living in and around the area surrounding Anchorage Farm, where the body of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington was discovered in a remote hayfield late last month, because "location is the most important thing in this point in the investigation ... location, location, location."

When asked for a cause and time of death, Rader spoke about the location. He hammered home this message over and over again during an ardent plea aimed specifically at the people who live along the western slopes of Gibson Mountain, near the crossroads known as North Garden. He told reporters that police were exhausting their resources, even calling on criminal profilers, and feel that the location where Harrington was found will be the key to solving the Metallica fan's murder.

"The information that we need is going to come from people who understand the area where this body was located better than we do," Rader stressed. "Educate the police. You know what goes on there. You know the history. You know who comes in and out of that facility. You may not realize it, but you may have information for us that is important."

Rader says the "person responsible for the tragedy of Morgan Harrington may or may not be formally connected to the Anchorage Farm properties," but that investigators are sure that same person "may have traveled, worked, recreated, visited or periodically passed through that particular farm or the area close by. As a result of the responsible persons' past experience with that location or that general area, the person responsible was inclined" to leave Morgan's remains in that place. They believe the "persons responsible have specific knowledge and are comfortable operating in the area where Morgan was located, as it is a considerable distance from the roadway."

Rader wanted people to know that the killers knew this area. They could have chosen an easier, safer location to leave Morgan, who disappeared from a Metallica concert 10 miles north of the farm on Oct. 17. But, even in spite of the high stress of such a situation, they didn't. "The choice of that particular location is different ... [it's] a higher risk location."

It's not the type of area one just stumbles upon, because "it would have been a risk for anyone not comfortable with that setting. It has obstacles, difficult obstacles, fences, defects, terrain that changes. That's a high risk to pick that location to take Morgan unless you are familiar with that area. The persons responsible accepted those challenges with this location. The Anchorage Farms location did not present an unnecessary risk for the person responsible."

Police have established a new telephone number for location-specific tips: (434) 709-1685.