My opinions only, no facts here:
I have posted extensively here about this case. Having said that, it does not prove that I know anything about the case; it only means that I have posted extensively! However, I place my faith in two fields of practice- deductive reasoning and unbiased research.
Let me start by proposing three possible end-situation scenarios for the Maura Murray mystery:
1) she disappeared voluntarily to another country after her accident on Wild Ammonoosuc Road.
2) she ran down the road and into the forest somewhere, and succumbed to exposure.
3) she was abducted where the (dog) scent trail ended, at the junction of Wild Ammonoosuc and Bradley Hill Roads.
Regarding Scenario #1, I feel that if Maura had fled to say- Canada or Ireland, we would know about it by now. Or at least her parents would. Maura’s father has put very great and sincere efforts into finding his daughter, to this day. In my judgment, Maura’s parents do not know where she is. In addition, Maura’s supposed previous crimes (credit card fraud, etc.) were so trivial that they would have been misdemeanors at worst (the hit-and-run theory is completely unproven). But, people have committed suicide before, because of trivial failures. See Scenario #2, below.
Regarding Scenario #2, I say this without any finding of fault, but there are notable past cases where authorities failed to find a body hidden in plain sight for years and years. It IS possible that Maura is a close distance from Route 112, but miles further east along Wild Ammonoosuc Road from where her accident occurred. She could have run into some random location in the woods and purposefully succumbed to exposure, or even fallen into Ammonoosuc River. This waterway is a trickle by comparison with large rivers, so I judge that even if Maura ended up in this river, she should have been found in a few days.
Regarding Scenario #3, Maura may have been picked up by a “helpful” predator at the junction of Wild Ammonoosuc and Bradley Hill Roads and taken a short distance ESE up Bradley Hill Road. Just a coincidence? Bad luck? Maybe. However, I favor this scenario. Not because it is the correct one, but because it explains why her family honestly does not know where she is AND why Maura Murray has not yet been found at the surface or in a waterway along Route 112.
Nothing has yet occurred to significantly change my opinions since I posted the following on this Websleuths thread on Dec. 25, 2011- [“I would look for someone who was in their 20's to early 30's at the time of the crime, living off and on in the Jaffrey area, and with a prior criminal record that included violence towards women. I would consider the possibility of a link between the Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray disappearances. Because it was winter and the ground was somewhat frozen in both of these cases, I would look for victims in a well, old mine shaft or cave, or under the floor of a barn. The person who grabbed Maura (and possibly Brianna) has likely performed similar actions before and since. One way to break this case would be to examine any 'failed abductions' in the region from the late 1990's to after 2004 and see if witnesses provided sketches of a suspect. If more than one such incidence is uncovered, compare the suspect sketches.”]
Selected updates since my Christmas, 2011 post: when looking for the abductor, also consider that he could have attempted similar crimes just north of the border, in Canada. The abductor probably has served modest jail and prison time. Also, I now acknowledge the victim(s) could be shallowly buried at the edge of a developed property or at the end of a rural road. If Maura was abducted, I believe her remains are within a mile or so from where she disappeared. Brianna, on the other hand, could be many tens of miles east from where her car was found; I would guess at the end of a rural road.
Maura Murray disappeared on Feb. 9, 2004, aged 21 years. Brianna Maitland disappeared on March 19, 2004, aged 17 years (but she looked several years older than her actual age). The distance between the two possible abduction sites is less than 100 miles. Both women had dark hair and noticeably-prominent cheekbones. In both cases the victim’s vehicle was found barely off of the road in an ‘accident-type’ of situation.
I personally believe that the Connecticut River Valley Killer was too old by 2004 to be involved with the Maura Murray or Brianna Maitland disappearances. BUT, the perpetrator in the Maura Murray case (and maybe the Brianna Maitland case), could have drawn inspiration from the Connecticut River Valley Killer’s adventures, in ways yet to be comprehended.
Well, I hope that this gives readers here some things to think about and will help to rejuvenate posting on this Websleuths’ thread about this fascinating mystery.
Everything above represents my opinions only.
Sleuth On!