Morgan D. Harrington’s parents, along with supporters, released butterflies Friday on the bridge where she was last seen to mark the 10-month anniversary of her disappearance and death.
Harrington vanished Oct. 17 after leaving a Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena. She was last seen hitchhiking on the Copeley Road railroad bridge at about 9:30 that night. Her bones were found in January in a southern Albemarle County pasture.
Joining the Harringtons were representatives of the CUE Center for Missing Persons, as part of the group’s On the Road to Remember Tour.
The center was working on the case when a farmer found Harrington’s remains.
Harrington’s parents said the event was part of their effort to make something good come from their daughter’s death. Along with a host of issues they are now working on, they want to see her killer caught, not just for justice, but also for the community’s safety, they said.
Harrington’s case has been tied by forensic evidence to a 2005 abduction and sexual assault in Fairfax, according to police.
Police haven’t confirmed that the evidence was DNA, but the Harringtons said that they have found that DNA databanks across the country are a frustrating patchwork.
The Harringtons said police seem upbeat about the case but haven’t shared any specific breakthroughs. The parents said they expect resolution will come, at this point, through solid police work and sifting through evidence, rather than a eureka moment.
On Sept. 3, the parents will meet with the University of Virginia’s new president, Teresa A. Sullivan.
The couple also confirmed that the bridge will bear a plaque memorializing their daughter, and that a movie dedicated to Morgan Harrington will be screened at UVa on the anniversary of her death.
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