RICHMOND, Va. — It was one of the most puzzling missing persons cases that Virginia has ever seen. In October 2009, a Virginia Tech student named Morgan Harrington traveled to Charlottesville for a Metallica concert. She got separated from her friends and vanished without a trace.
Three months later, Morgan’s body was found on a remote part of a nearby farm. But it would take years for her killer to be caught.
In the wake of what happened to their daughter, Dan and Gil Harrington have fought to protect others from suffering the same fate, forming the Help Save The Next Girl non-profit organization and also the Morgan Dana Harrington Memorial Scholarship Fund.
"We both think our lifespans will be foreshortened because of the stress of that loss, but despite that, and because we have been determined not to devolve into hatred, we have navigated and established a great deal of wholeness, and I'm so glad that we were able to do that,” Morgan's mother said Gil Harrington. "It ain’t an easy journey."
The Harringtons joined Catie Beck on the most recent episode of ‘Untold – A WTVR Podcast.’ Beck first interviewed the couple inside their Roanoke home just one month after Morgan disappeared.
"You know, the initial shock of Morgan missing was just overwhelming and horrible," father said Dan Harrington. "It was such a relief that someone found her because we know from previous interactions with parents whose kids or loved ones have never been found, how difficult that is."
Beck and the Harringtons discussed what it takes to get past grief, despite dealing with such an immense loss. They also talked about Docs for Morgan, an annual basketball game fundraiser that benefits Morgan’s scholarship fund. This year’s event takes place January 28.
"It is a celebration," said Gil Harrington. "It's Americana at its best. In these times people are seeking connection and belonging and boy do we have it here with this community. We are so grateful."
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