Va. College Student Vanished, Cops Say

(CBS/AP)  Police searched Tuesday for a Virginia Tech student who hasn't been seen since she was separated from her friends at a Metallica concert Saturday.

Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, was last seen near the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. Her parents said they talk to her every day and her disappearance is very out of character.

"Morgan is a pretty transparent kid, who's had a really close relationship with us," her father, Dan Harrington, said in a phone interview Tuesday. "I don't think there are lots of secrets, so this kind of behavior of (her) missing is not something I think we would expect."

CBS News Correspondent Terrell Brown reported from Charlottesville Wednesday on CBS' "The Early Show" that her parents held back tears as they pleaded for the return of their youngest child and only daughter.

"If Morgan is out there and hears us, please come home," Dan Harrington told reporters Monday.

The opening act of the concert took the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday. Police say just before 8:40 p.m. Harrington left the concert to have a cigarette outside but left her ticket inside. Friends in the arena phoned her and she said not to wait up for her and that she'd find her own ride home. That was the last time anyone spoke with Harrington.

Dan Harrington, who lives in Roanoke, Va., said his daughter had asked him to help her study for a math test and go through the class schedule for next semester on Sunday. He called her friends around 12:30 p.m. when he realized he had not heard from her.

Police said Morgan Harrington, a junior majoring in education, was wearing a black T-shirt with "Pantera" across the front in tan letters, a black mini skirt, black tights and black knee-high boots.

More on Morgan Dana Harrington's disappearance from the Crimesider blog

She has long blonde hair and blue eyes, is 5-foot-6 and weighs about 120 pounds. She was not carrying an identification card or cell phone.

Investigators are treating the disappearance as a missing person case, said Virginia State Police Lt. Joe Rader.

"We have no evidence that a crime has been committed," he said.

Word of Harrington's disappearance has left students on the quiet Virginia campus shaken, Brown reported.

"It's just kind of a shock to realize that somebody's actually gone missing," student Ania Giffin told Brown.

Metallica released a statement last night to its fans. "If you or anyone you know shot video footage or took photos of the concert or audience, please check to see if there is anyone in your photos who might resemble Morgan," the statement said.

A candlelight vigil is planned for Harrington at her former high school in Roanoke Thursday.

[makedrawings]

1. Why would she leave the venue to go smoke? There is a smoking section on a balcony off of the building.
2. Everyone should know that you cannot return into the venue after you have left. It doesn't matter if she had the ticket or not, it was already scanned the first time she went in. She couldn't have gotten back in with that ticket.
I sure hope the girl makes it home safely, but it seems like many things are not adding up here.

[mrs_nuetron]

This is what happens when a woman does not wear Christian appropriate clothing and conducts herself in a Christian appropriate manner.

[stuart-johns2]

So "appropiately" dressed Christian woman (whatever that means) never get abducted? Do appropiately dressed Christian women ever commit crimes?

And where in the Bible does it say that attending a concert is "inappropiate" Christian conduct?

[DSW358]

No doubt a sex trade kidnapping. Young women need to protect themselves at all times. She is a perfect candidate for this type of crime, out of district, young, blonde. This makes me sick and what makes me most sick about it is how little the FBI has told Americans about this crime. They go home to their gated communities and leave the rest of the citizenry uninformed and at risk. ******* bunch of idiots (FBI) (that's what Hoover said the acronym stands for and in this case, its well deserved.)

[SAMTORRES66]

LADY'S PLEASE DON'T GO OUT ALONE - ALWAYS IN GROUPS OF TWO OR MORE AND ALWAYS LET A FEW FRIEND KNOW WITH WHOM YOU HANGING OUT WITH...

[docpeter1953]

From the above article, "Friends in the arena phoned her and she said not to wait up for her and that she'd find her own ride home." and then later, "She was not carrying an identification card or cell phone."

________________________

So exactly how did her friends call her?

Sounds like the "friends" need to be questioned a little more.

[stuart-johns2]

Probably just mis-reporting doc.

[culturechang]

Unfortunately, I think we all know how this is going to turn out. It is sad, but odds are.

Countries like Australia and Japan have a very low crime rate. This is unheard of in those countries.

American's answer to every crime is to dogpile it with punitive measures. But it is not stopping it. For the sake of the victims (and potential future victims), Americans really need to deal with the social problem that is causing poeple to do this.

It is no secret that white males are the predominant sexual predators. Has anyone attempted to understand why that is? NO. Politicians just stack on another prison term or develop another list, but we really dont collectively understand why they do this.

[stuart-johns2]

The problem is a lack of morality. Can the government legislate morality?

[CompletelyFrustrated]

Kudos to Metallica for acknowledging this and for taking action!!

[JMWEAND]

I understood the article to say thather friends called her and she said not to wait up. The after the desciption it says that she doe not have any ID or phone. WHo did they call to talk to her?

[raydernation]

I picked up on that statement also, if she went outside to smoke and left her tickets inside she wouldn't have been let back in. And if her friends called her than she has her phone with her. This is strange, I hope she makes it.