Body found in Roanoke not Harrington’s

As the case of missing Virginia Tech student Morgan D. Harrington entered its second month, authorities on Tuesday investigated the discovery of a body in Roanoke.

But authorities said the female body discovered on Norfolk Southern railroad tracks shortly after daybreak in Roanoke is not that of Harrington.

Roanoke police detectives and a medical examiner were called to the scene, and authorities determined the female’s death did not appear suspicious. Police on Tuesday had not released a cause of death or identified the body.

Virginia State Police, the lead agency investigating the disappearance of Harrington, looked into the matter Tuesday but determined that the body was not that of Harrington, agency spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.

Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student from Roanoke, has been missing since Oct. 17, when she attended a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena.

Investigators believe Harrington was hitchhiking before she disappeared.

Tuesday’s discovery marks at least the third time investigators have checked into the possibility that a body may be Harrington.

Shortly after Harrington’s disappearance, a body was found along the Blue Ridge Parkway outside Asheville, N.C., and a badly burned female body was found Sunday, this time in Kings Mountain State Park in South Carolina. In each case, authorities found no indication that it was Harrington.

Authorities have also repudiated reports of a link between Harrington’s disappearance and the departures of two players from the UVa men’s basketball team.

Sources have said that some members of the team saw Harrington that evening.

Sophomore center Assane Sene was recently suspended for the first three games of the season for “conduct detrimental to the team,” according to UVa, and senior forward Jamil Tucker has taken an open-ended leave of absence from the team.

“These actions are in no way connected to Morgan’s disappearance,” wrote UVa spokeswoman Carol Wood in an e-mail.

Harrington was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with “Pantera” in tan letters, a black mini-skirt, black tights and knee-high black boots. She had a Swarovski crystal necklace on, with large crystal chain links. She is 5-foot-6 and weighs about 120 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

State police have received about 500 tips and leads. Call 352-3467 with information. Tips can be sent to .

Daily Progress staff writer Ted Strong contributed to this story.