( CNN ) -- Police tentatively identified remains found on a remote farm as the Virginia Tech student who disappeared in October during a Metallica concert . Morgan Harrington , a 20-year-old education major , went to the concert at the University of Virginia 's John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville , Virginia , on October 17 . She was separated from her friends and was the subject of repeated searches . Police said skeletal remains were found after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday by a farmer driving a tractor through a hay field on his 700-acre farm . The area has no public access point , police said . The farm is about 10 miles from where the concert was being held . The farm 's owner , David Dass , told CNN affiliate WTVR that he was out looking for damage after wind and rain knocked down several trees in his yard over the past week . He told WTVR that the area is at least a mile and a half from a main roadway . `` I looked down and saw what looked like a human skull , and my first thought was that it was Morgan Harrington , '' Dass told WTVR , adding that he immediately called 911 . WTVR : State police 'confident ' remains are Harrington . There was significant evidence leading police to believe that the remains are Harrington 's , Virginia State Police Col. W. Steven Flaherty said , though he declined to specify what the evidence was . Police said the area where the remains were found had not been searched during the early stages of the investigation into her disappearance . The girl 's parents , Dan and Gil Harrington , were in town to identify the remains , WTVR reported . Dan Harrington , in tears , told WTVR that `` this is a horrible day '' for his family . Gil Harrington expressed concerns Saturday that there was beginning to be complacency in the search , she wrote in a blog on the Web site set up to help find their daughter . On Sunday , more than three months after Morgan went missing , Gil Harrington still clung to hope . `` Despite the length of time Morgan has been gone I remain hopeful , '' she wrote . `` Part of me is waiting to be surprised . Waiting for God to pull the rabbit out of the hat and bring Morgan home . `` I remember that the light always returns , it can not help but return . Will the light of my life return soon ? I can not imagine that all the water of Morgan 's potential is to run down the drain and be wasted . Can it really play out like that ? '' Now , it appears , the Harringtons finally have their answer . Police say they have now switched their focus to finding out how Morgan Harrington ended up in the remote farm and who put her there . During the concert , Harrington left her friends to use the restroom , police said . When she did not return , they called her cell phone at 8:48 p.m. She told them she was outside the arena and could not get back in because of its policy , police said , but told them not to worry about her and that she would find a ride home . There are restrooms inside the arena , police said , and police do not know how or why Harrington got outside . Witnesses who saw her outside the arena said she did not appear to be with anyone , police said . About 9:30 p.m. that night , witnesses reported seeing a person matching Harrington 's description walking on a nearby bridge , police said . No further sightings were reported . Harrington 's purse , with her identification and cell phone inside , was found the following day in an overflow parking lot near the arena , police said . A friend had driven Harrington 's car to the concert , she said , and was still in possession of the car keys when they got separated . Harrington was reported missing the day after the concert , when she did not show up at her parents ' home to study for a math exam with her father . Working with police and the Texas-based Laura Recovery Center , the Harringtons organized community searches , saying they would not give up hope that their daughter would be found . A $ 150,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Harrington 's whereabouts , police said . Of that , Metallica contributed $ 50,000 . The couple was joined at a news conference after her disappearance by Ed Smart , whose daughter Elizabeth was abducted in 2002 . She returned home nine months later , after police say they found her in the custody of Brian David Mitchell and his wife , Wanda Barzee . Harrington said he reached out to Smart last week to seek advice on how to go through the disappearance of a child . Harrington was wearing a black Pantera T-shirt , a black miniskirt , black tights and black boots when last seen .
NEW : Man tells WTVR he found remains in area more than a mile from main roadway . Police believe remains found on remote farm are those of Morgan Harrington . Student was separated from friends at Metallica concert on October 17 . Harrington 's purse , cell phone found next day in overflow parking lot near arena .