Linzie Morgan Missing Person Case

Jan 28, 2026

Jan 28, 2026

Linzie

Morgan

15

15

Black / African American

Male

In the fall of 2009, a sense of unease settled over Charlottesville, Virginia, following the disappearance of 20-year-old Morgan Dana Harrington. A student at Virginia Tech, she had traveled to Charlottesville with friends to attend a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena on the evening of October 17th. At some point during the concert, she became separated from her friends and was last seen outside the arena. Reports from that night indicate that she had told her friends she was going to the restroom and, due to a no re-entry policy, was unable to get back inside the venue. In a final phone call to her friends, she mentioned she would find another way home. However, she never made it home, and the following day her father reported her missing, an act he described as "very atypical" for his daughter. The search for Morgan continued for more than 100 days, a period of immense anguish for her family and the community. Investigators followed numerous leads, and the case garnered significant media attention. A breakthrough, though heartbreaking, came on January 26, 2010, when skeletal remains were discovered by a farmer on a remote 750-acre property known as Anchorage Farm, about 10 miles from where she was last seen. The remains were positively identified as those of Morgan Harrington, and the cause of death was ruled a homicide. Near her remains, investigators found "significant items and evidence" that would prove crucial to the investigation. Among the evidence recovered was a Pantera T-shirt she had been wearing, which forensic testing later confirmed was hers. The investigation into Morgan's murder continued for several years. A significant development came when forensic evidence from her case was linked to a 2005 sexual assault in Fairfax, Virginia, suggesting the perpetrator was a serial offender. The case remained unsolved until the fall of 2014, when another young woman, University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, went missing in Charlottesville. The investigation into Graham's disappearance led police to a man named Jesse L. Matthew, Jr. DNA evidence ultimately connected Matthew not only to Hannah Graham's case but also to the murder of Morgan Harrington. It was discovered that on the night of Morgan's disappearance, Matthew had been working as a cab driver. In September 2015, Jesse Matthew was formally charged with the first-degree murder and abduction of Morgan Harrington. On March 2, 2016, Matthew pleaded guilty to the murders of both Morgan Harrington and Hannah Graham and received four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. The resolution of the case, while bringing a measure of justice, left a permanent scar on the community and served as a tragic reminder of a young life cut short.

Jan 12, 2026

RICHMOND CITY

Virginia

07/09/2026