Search Organization Joins Hunt for Missing Metallica Fan Morgan Harrington

The parents of missing Metallica fan Morgan Harrington held a press conference on Jan. 12 to update the public on the search for their daughter, who hasn't been seen since Oct. 17, when the 20-year-old Virginia Tech student vanished from a Metallica concert in Charlottesville, Va. The Harringtons warned local residents that their daughter's case proves the Charlottesville area is not as safe as some may like to think it is.

The Harringtons also revealed that the CUE Center for Missing Persons, a nonprofit that aids in the search for missing children, had agreed to join the hunt for their daughter. The CUE Center, according to reports, will review previous police and community search tactics to determine target areas for future search efforts.

"People don't just vanish," explained Dan Harrington, Morgan's father. "We believe someone saw Morgan. We believe someone took our daughter. Someone in this community was directly involved in her disappearance. It's important to realize that whoever took Morgan is still in this community and, because of that, Charlottesville and Albemarle County are not as safe as they were before Oct. 17."

Police have organized extensive searches of the Charlottesville area, and Monica Caison, who heads the CUE Center, said her organization will work police and community search teams to determine what steps should be taken next.

"It's going to take a few weeks to get everything together," Caison said. "Law enforcement has definitely been open to help and the community has done all they can do. Even if you have a lot of people searching, if they don't know what they're looking for, it's hard to find the right clues."

According to police, Harrington was drinking the night she vanished; she was separated from friends after using the bathroom, and ended up outside the concert arena, which has a no re-entry policy. Police think Harrington may have been drugged or suffered a head injury. She was last seen on a nearby railroad bridge, and police believe she was last seen hitchhiking. The police have asked the public to report behavioral changes in anyone who may have attended the concert, or if they notice anyone showing abnormal interest in Morgan's disappearance.

"We need to find our daughter," Dan Harrington said. "Her being missing puts a hole in our lives that goes unfilled. No one should ever have to go through this."