Volunteers search for Morgan Harrington, missing coed

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 first-year student at the University of Virginia, as she hiked yesterday morning through forest and thick layers of leaves near Observatory Hill with eight others.

Hundreds of volunteers searched yesterday for clues to the disappearance of Morgan D. Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student who vanished in Charlottesville 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 there have been no new leads in the case. Crime Stoppers is offering a $100,000 reward, and Metallica is offering an additional $50,000.

Yesterday's search -- coordinated by the Laura Recovery Center, a Texas-based organization -- began at a bridge on Copeley Road where Harrington was last seen. Volunteers will continue to search today and tomorrow 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.

Smither said that yesterday, 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.

Harrington's parents, Dan and Gil Harrington of Roanoke, were present, though they did not participate.

Rachana Dixit is a staff writer for The Daily Progress of Charlottesville.