More aid in Harrington hunt

One said she has had an uncanny ability to find four-leaf clovers since childhood. Another wanted to find anything that could help.
“I feel like it’s better to do something than just to wait around for something to happen,” said Kelly Giltner, a University of Virginia first-year student, on Friday morning as she hiked through forest and thick layers of leaves near Observatory Hill with eight others.

Hundreds of volunteers searched Friday for clues to the disappearance of Morgan D. Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student who vanished in Char-lottesville last month.
“If I were in the parents’ situation, I’d want all the help I could get from people,” said Gabriella Chase, an Albemarle County resident.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said Friday that there have been no new leads in the case. Crimestoppers is offering a $100,000 reward and Metallica is offering an additional $50,000.

Harrington has been missing since Oct. 17 after she stepped outside the John Paul Jones Arena during a Metallica concert. She is believed to have been seen last at about 9:30 that night on a Copeley Road bridge.
Friday’s search — coordinated by the Laura Recovery Center, a Texas-based organization — began at that spot and worked
outward around UVa and the Charlottesville area. Volunteers will continue to search today and Sunday beginning at 9 a.m., looking for clues that could lead investigators to Harrington.

“The community response has just been terrific,” said Bob Smither, who co-founded the Laura Recovery Center. The organization is named for his daughter, who was abducted and murdered in 1997 and whose remains were found 20 days after she went missing.
On Friday, Smither said, 40 search teams were sent out during the day, with each having up to 10 people.
“There were just some interesting items found,” he said Friday evening, which law enforcement officials then went to investigate.
“Unfortunately, nothing really significant,” Smither said.

Volunteers were instructed to look for anything unusual and other items, including multiple pieces of jewelry that Harrington was believed to be wearing the night she went missing.
Harrington’s parents, Dan and Gil Harrington of Roanoke, were present, though they did not participate.
Morgan’s father said he was grateful for the community support, and Gil Harrington said that seeing hundreds of people come out has given her more strength to deal with her daughter’s disappearance.
“I want everyone to find her today,” she said. “We can stop the search and turn it into a party.”

Harrington is 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs about 120 pounds, is blonde with blue eyes and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with “Pantera” written on the front in tan letters, a black miniskirt, black tights and boots.
Those who wish to volunteer in this weekend’s search must register at the search center headquartered at the Department of Forestry at 900 Natural Resources Drive in Charlottesville. Participants must be at least 18 years old and have a driver’s license or other state-issued ID.

The Virginia State Police ask anyone with information about Harrington to call 352-3435 or e-mail bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov.