Harrington vigil
ROANOKE — Neighbors, family and newfound friends filled a Roanoke street corner with candlelight, prayers and music Friday night, trying to help fill the void left by the loss of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.
Related: Gallery of the vigil
“She was a light in the world,” said friend Ashley Honig.
Honig, a sophomore at Virginia Western Community College, knew Morgan Harrington during high school. They went to church together and were in the same youth group.
“She will never stop being loved,” Honig said.
Honig was just one of a multitude of people who have shown support to the Harrington family since Morgan disappeared on Oct. 17 from the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville
The candlelight vigil was planned quickly, bringing supporters to the home of Dan and Gil Harrington just a day after Virginia State Police confirmed remains found on Anchorage Farm outside Charlottesville were indeed those of Harrington.
The Harrington family expressed their gratitude to the crowd of more than 100 and to those worldwide for joining so passionately in the effort to locate Harrington.
Other attendees offered comfort to the Harrington family as they seek closure after spending 101 days searching for their daughter.
“This has been tragic from beginning to end,” said family friend Janet Crawford to the hushed crowd.
Crawford commended those who stood by the Harrington family through the ordeal of searching for their daughter’s body, which was finally located on Jan. 26 in a remote area of an Albemarle County farm, about seven miles away from the arena.
“Their loss has been great, their pain has been deep, their faith has been strong,” Crawford said.
Friends of and those sympathetic to the Harringtons shared prayers and inspirational poems, reminding one another of the Harringtons’ faith that Morgan is now without suffering.
Some have come to the Harringtons’ side after hearing of Morgan’s disappearance.
“I never knew Dan and Gil until the first search took place in the first part of November,” Jarels said. “I was drawn to them, they were just amazing people. From that point on, it was almost like I had this purpose that I wanted to help them bring Morgan home.”
Since then Jarels has grown to know and love the Harrington family. During the vigil, he even joked his next goal is to be adopted by Dan and Gil Harrington. He has become more involved than a simple member of the search team, connecting to people interested in the Harrington case worldwide on the Internet.
“We have a Find Morgan Web site that has drawn a lot of interest, and we have a Facebook group. Prior to coming over here, I think we had about 34,000 members,” Jarels said. “There’s something very special about Morgan, that’s what I hear wherever I go. It’s her personality, her smile and it’s just amazing the support and love she has gotten all around the world.”
Jarels has also served as a liaison between the Harrington family and the Tech community.
An electrical and computer engineering employee at Tech, Jarels said he spends most of his time with the athletics department.
Men’s basketball coach Seth Greenberg wore a maroon ribbon for Harrington last night during the Hokies’ game against the University of Virginia.
Greenberg and other coaches have pitched in to offer their support.
“I’ve got so many items from them I have to give (the Harringtons),” Jarels said. “They’ve been so supportive.”
He said Greenberg, football coach Frank Beamer and women’s basketball coach Beth Dunkenberger have taken special interest in the Harrington family.
“We’ve got great coaches on the field, on the basketball court, but they are even better off the field,” Jarels said. “And times like this, that’s when it shows.”
Harrington’s parents thanked the world for its support in their quest to find their daughter and closure in the case of her mysterious disappearance.
“Thank you so much,” Gil Harrington said. “We have been held up by your love in this catastrophe.”
“We could not have survived without you,” she said.
A version of this article appeared in the Feb 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 17 Comments Write a letter to the editor
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Why does Gil Harrington keep referring to her daughters skeletal remains as being "lovely"? It just seems macabre.
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He doesn't in this article =/ Anyways, if I recall correctly, it's a reference to "The Lovely Bones", a novel about a murder victim and how her family deals with it.
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Yes, you are correct, Hannah. It's a direct reference to "The Lovely Bones". It's not so much a comment that the remains are lovely, it's more a description of the feeling of relief. It's a relief to know that someone is deceased and not suffering.
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Because the love parents have for a child is unexplainable. You love every fiber of their being..and all she has left of her lovely daughter is her lovely bones. If you are not a parent, you will not understand.
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That even viewing her precious daughter in death she saw her as beautiful and "lovely". No one knows how they would respond or feel in that moment of seeing your child like that. My thoughts are with the Harrington's. Morgan will not be forgotten, she will remain in the hearts of so many people forever as she has touched the world with her beautiful light.
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i'm a mom and i dont get it. . .i dont think meredith on the today show did either
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She was saying that Morgan was so lovely, even her bones were lovely; ie she was lovely inside and out, from the outside to the inside and all the way to her bones. There was no part of her that was not lovely.
My Support and Love for Dan, Gil and Alex.
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Exactly, Laura. Not that it makes a difference, but the only thing was referencing was her daughter's beauty inside and out. The fact that she used the term "lovely" to describe her daughter's bones and the existence of a novel/movie named "Lovely Bones" is just a coincidence.... in my opinion.
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I'm a mom of two girls and the lovely bones comment really freaks me out. This mom has seemed a little strange to me from the beginning, not to be mean, but something seems really wierd about the comments she makes.
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It is unlikely there is a killer. The location of the body and the fact that it was on top of the ground precludes it. It was a mile and a half from any road and inaccessible by car.
The farmer had to use a tractor to get to the site. He has said there are creeks and fences to cross getting there any other way.
She had a fugue episode and walked the ten miles to the field dying of exposure that same night.
We will all have to wait for the autopsy report on cause of death to verify anything.
VisionAndPsychosis_Net
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Mr. Tucker, I'm sorry, but you're just plain crazy. Could you please stop all this "fugue" BS and leave? Just leave. Delete your collegiatetimes.com bookmark, and don't come back. Leave us alone.
She was found in a section of the field accessible from a neighboring property that police were able to drive normal on-road vehicles through. Her body was deliberately hidden in the thick grasses. She was murdered, and it's time for justice.
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So, Mr/Mrs Tucker, what's your explanation now that they have confirmed it's a homicide (http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235167)?
Gotta love it when armchair detectives offer their conclusions...
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What exactly is the point of lighting some candles and standing around in the dark? How exactly is that supportive of the family? We sure are good at pseudo-religious expressions here at Virginia Tech!
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Support. It was to show support and love for the Harrington family, to lift them up and to surround them with love in this most trying time. And it was to honor and remember Morgan.
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We're humans who grieve...I don't know what you are.
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Jochebed, you should have attended. It was beautiful.
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I agree. It's become more of a fashion statement now.
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