KatherineQ,nnglas said:I personally think that this may be a very viable theory. I remember reading a while back that someone reported seeing a man smoking a cigarette by the car or in the car. I myself have thought that maybe Maura had a male friend with her. That would make her comfortable enough to drive that car in the condition it was in. Also, that would explain why she told the BD that she had called AAA, whoever her companion was could have gone for help.
I also think it could explain the different types of alcohol that she bought. And why she didn't wait for the police. Maybe she was worried about how it would look to her family and friends. It could also explain the phone call to the boyfriend, perhaps she was upset and wanted to explain. And perhaps the person she was with had bad intentions.
I agree that it makes perfect sense IF Maura was drinking to attempt to avoid the police. And I would/could never dispute that she was drinking - I just cannot know. I do know that through emails with locals, they have told me that they just cannot believe that she was intoxicated or she would never have made it the 5-6 miles east of Wells River under the best of road conditions: the road is narrow, dark, and very windy....although, I am not a drinker, I know the difference between drinking and intoxication - also, while I do not know the alcohol content required to be cited for DUI in NH, I do know that in some states it is so low that one is not intoxicated as defined by the medical field.
But that aside, Maura may have been afraid if she had had anything to drink and/or just the fact that she had the alcohol with her. Regardless, it does not make sense to me that she would take all of the alcohol and leave the wine behind. Even if the wine was spilled on the road, I would think she could have tossed the container so that it was not so conspicious.
Because of known inconsistenciences in the police reports to Sharon Rausch, how can we really know that Maura is the one responsible for the missing alcohol???
It has been reported in the newspapers that a NH SP was on the scene when Cecil Smith and Butch Atwood returned from their drive looking for Maura.
It has been reported by a local that when she drove home from work *before* 7:30 that she saw Maura's car at the site she was last scene along the edge of the road and a SUV cruiser marked #1 parked in front of it; locals have also reported that the entire volunteer fire department went to the scene as they were having their monthly meeting; it is also known that Maura's car was towed; this means that in spite of inital accounts that the only LE or other officials at the scene were Cecil Smith and Monahan (sp) NH SP, numerous others were indeed present.
Now, I don't know IF Maura took the alcohol, but it would seem possible that someone else MAY HAVE. It seems odd to me that she would load up BOTTLES of alcohol in her backpack (which could break easily) instead of throwing them into the trees. As a runner, Maura was very strong in her upper body - I don't doubt that she could have thrown them far out of sight. And the possibility that threw the alcohol into the woods is remote because the area was searched by LE on Wed AM 2/11 *before* her family arrived.
One other point to ponder: although LE said that "witnesses" said Maura appeared to be intoxicated, the only known witness that has admitted to speaking to Maura is Butch Atwood.....how reliable his reports are remain questionable, but he told the family and Gary Lindsley of the Caledonian Record that Maura DID NOT APPEAR TO BE INTOXICTED.
So, we are left with questions even when we deal with the facts at hand.
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