I do not subscribe to a suicide theory. There is no more evidence of a suicide than of any other possibility. I do not believe that Maura was suicidal, as I have seen no compelling evidence to suggest such. There were no tracks into the snow. If Maura died as a result of exposure, why has there been no trace of her body or belongings? You can't bury yourself. If Maura died in this manner, her body would have been relatively easy to spot on the various searches conducted both by LE and by Fred Murray himself in the subsequent years, but yet nothing. If Maura did indeed died from exposure, it would have been outside of the search radius, and therefore would suggest that she was attempting to reach a destination before succumbing to the elements. If suicide was Maura's sole intention, then why run off quite a distance to do the job, she could have done the job a half mile up the road.
There is no evidence that Maura was depressed. None of her friends have ever indicated the possibility of suicide. In fact Maura's friends have stonewalled the investigation by refusing to answer pertinent questions in the same manner as Fred Murray. This would suggest that there is something deeper to the Maura story known only by those closest to her. I know of no suicide case that I have investigated where there is no history of depression, hospitalization, erratic or bizarre behavior, drug use, professional counseling, etc. Maura had no history of these things.
The narrative that Maura packed her dorm room prior to her departure from UMASS is invalid. It is unknown as to whether Maura packed her room or simply hadn't yet unpacked upon returning to campus from break. You cannot use that as fodder for your suicide theory. I find it more likely that due to her schedule with nursing school and personal life, she hadn't had the time to unpack. Perhaps initially Maura planned to unpack on Saturday, February 7, but Fred arriving changed those plans. That is pure speculation however.
As far as the second MVA changing Maura's plans, it obviously did so, but I don't share the idea that it accelerated her suicide. That night was bright, and the temperatures were hovering around the freezing point (mild for that time of the year in the Haverhill area), and Maura had a history of preferring to run in cold, adverse conditions. It wouldn't have been a stretch. Maura was unfamiliar with that section of 112, but she had traveled many times on the eastern portion of 112 - to the east of I-93. Maura's ultimate destination remains a mystery, but she would have been physically capable of covering the distance to the next large town, which was right near I-93. There was a credible witness that spotted someone that matched Maura's description running along 112 near the 116 intersection. What would have been Maura's intent to run that distance if she simply desired to commit suicide?
As far as why Maura took the alcohol with her, likely it would have been to get it away from the crash scene. She left with it so to not add fuel to the fire of a possible DUI. If Maura could sober up a bit before claiming the car, she could have explained the spilled wine away fairly easily. Again, Maura did not buy alcohol that would lead to quick intoxication. She bought liqueurs used to make mixed drinks. Does that make sense for someone wanting to commit suicide?
I have delved into this case fairly deeply and I just need more evidence, real evidence, to subscribe to a suicide theory. You may claim that Maura's actions prior to the disappearance to be indicative of suicide, but what about afterward? Where is the body? It should have been within the area of searches performed by LE and Fred Murray. Where is the backpack or bottles of alcohol? Where are Maura's clothes? There would have been evidence recovered by someone.
Those are some very well-thought out posts.
The lack of evidence of a body all these years later doesn't sway me to believe a suicide didn't happen.
Maura went missing in the wilderness known as the White Mountains. All legit searches for her have been done within a close radius of where her car wreck was. That has been a very slim search area covered. Maura could literally have made it to just about anywhere in the park.
The way you are describing how you envision she would've taken her own life (if you had believed the suicide theory) is not how I think it would've went down at all. Afterall, if all she wanted to do was take her own life, she could've saved herself a lot of time and trouble and just taken her life inside her dorm room.
I think she was enamored by the stories in that Not Without Peril Book. I think she liked reading about the survival efforts that dare devil hikers attempted during such brutal weather and overall conditions in the mountains, that I believe Maura wanted to go out with a bang and have one final ultimate adventure.
That is why I think she left late in the afternoon and arrived to the mountains at night. I think she was planning on a early morning (ill-advised alone hike). I suspect she would've mixed her favorite drinks (during the night) in a hotel room as she possibly wrote out some sort of good-bye or suicide letter.
I think (Just guessing on this one) that the Tylenol PM was something she would've taken along with the mixture of alcohol to help restrict her muscle function once she found a final spot (in the mountains) that she would've picked some time on Tuesday and drank herself to death.
Obviously, the wreck Monday night, likely disrupted her plans.
As far as her calling the condo, I contend (just speculation) that the condo was in the area that she actually wanted to go, and she may have called the condo (not to reserve a room) but to get a feel for how active the area was at that time.
I think she would've been smart enough to know to just get a hotel instead of a condo for one night.
I think she had some sort of desire/urge/itch to tackle the white mountains (that had been building up as a hiker enthusiast) and maybe the every day circumstances going on in her life caused her to just throw her hands up and say screw it all, I'm heading for the mountains.
While this is not 100 percent fact, among the clothing Maura did have packed was a black sweater and some gray sweat pants, the very same outfit she wore just a few months earlier while hiking with her father as they tackled several 4,000 footers.
What stands out to me the most, is that Maura had directions to Burlington (VT) and as we all know she ended up at the entrance of the White Mountains.
While those two locations are not so close to one another, Maura and her father had just been to both of those locations in October (four months prior to Maura going missing) hiking different mountains. And during those October hikes, once again Maura was wearing the same outfit that can be seen in the picture of Maura's sister clutching Maura's extra pair of gym shoes that were found in Maura's car after Maura had gone missing.
. The money she spent at the liquor store tells me she is either really impulsive in that moment or she had more money than we traditionally thought.