NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - #13

[Brainy]

Oh, I thought they tracked her to an intersection. Weird.

I think they lost her scent very close to her car.

 

[Brainy]

Maura Murray died that night. Her remains may or may not be discovered, but as long as they are not discovered people will come up with all sorts of wild theories. Remember, chances and the odds are that it's the simplest answer/ theory. Maura wandered off, either got lost in the woods or decided to stay there overnight. Froze to death or died in the process of trying to get out of the woods but never found her way back.

 

[JnRyan]

I think they lost her scent very close to her car.

I thought the dogs lost the scent about 100 yards down the road her car was on. I don't remember hearing that the dogs went into the woods. I do remember that while the road was clear of snow there was some still in the woods but they didn't find any tracks.

 

[Brainy]

I thought the dogs lost the scent about 100 yards down the road her car was on. I don't remember hearing that the dogs went into the woods. I do remember that while the road was clear of snow there was some still in the woods but they didn't find any tracks.

That sounds about right. I think you are right, dogs didn’t search in the woods. Yeah, they didn’t find any footprints in the snow and dogs lost her scent but that’s not really proving anything. If there was additional snowfall that night and the temperature apparently quite cold, those tracks could be easily covered. Finding someone with canine helpers can be helpful in some instances but it is not unheard of when these efforts haven’t produced any successful outcomes, so I wouldn’t just reply on that.

 

[JnRyan]

That sounds about right. I think you are right, dogs didn’t search in the woods. Yeah, they didn’t find any footprints in the snow and dogs lost her scent but that’s not really proving anything. If there was additional snowfall that night and the temperature apparently quite cold, those tracks could be easily covered. Finding someone with canine helpers can be helpful in some instances but it is not unheard of when these efforts haven’t produced any successful outcomes, so I wouldn’t just reply on that.

This is one case where I believe there is just as likely to be another theory besides foul play. With those temps hypothermia is still possible. IF she did run off the road once or twice to avoid being seen, she could have gotten snow in her shoes or her pants. After that her body heat would be enough to melt it and leave her with wet shoes and possibly pants legs. Subsequent trips into the woods in the snow would have made matters worse. A similar set of events happened to me overseas when I was near the Arctic Circle getting in and out of a warm vehicle and walking in a foot of snow. When I got back to where I was staying the medical staff said if I wasn't suffering from hypothermia, I was very close. Had I stayed out longer things would have been much worse.

 

[Dogface]

I had never heard of this case. Found it last night after not being able to sleep because I'm sick. What a very sad situation. I think, logically, she is somewhere nearby, just undiscovered. That seems to be the simplest explanation. It reminds me somewhat of the case of the young man from Louisiana who was in an accident and simply disappeared(forgive me for not remembering his name, I am the worst at recalling names). Honestly, they need to get ATV's out there, people on foot, and search and search and search.

That's what logic tells me.

 

[DakotaMayi]

I have been following the Maura Murray cases for many years and I still have mixed feelings about what really happened. I do not think that she ran away and is living somewhere under the radar. Why? I think that Maura would not have left her family. I do believe that she was in crisis at the time of her disappearance; the criminal charges, the drinking. And I do believe that she was planning on going up to the Mount Washington area for a quick getaway escape. I think that this was an abduction. I know the time line gives an impossibly narrow time for the abduction, but is entirely possible.


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I don't believe that her family life was all that great that she would be determined to stay. From what I have heard, I actually get the complete opposite feeling. (Not saying that's the truth but, you know, you got to believe something you read, right?)

And the criminal charges...if her family support wasn't brilliant then maybe that's not who she wanted to turn too.

We DO NOT know if Maura is dead for definite. Just as we do not know if she is alive. People shouldn't stop caring just because she 'might' be dead.

 

[missgulfsouth]

I had never heard of this case. Found it last night after not being able to sleep because I'm sick. What a very sad situation. I think, logically, she is somewhere nearby, just undiscovered. That seems to be the simplest explanation. It reminds me somewhat of the case of the young man from Louisiana who was in an accident and simply disappeared(forgive me for not remembering his name, I am the worst at recalling names). Honestly, they need to get ATV's out there, people on foot, and search and search and search.

That's what logic tells me.

Shane Fell. Very heartbreaking. Anything in the world could have happened to that poor man.

 

[Caffeine]

That sounds about right. I think you are right, dogs didn’t search in the woods. Yeah, they didn’t find any footprints in the snow and dogs lost her scent but that’s not really proving anything. If there was additional snowfall that night and the temperature apparently quite cold, those tracks could be easily covered. Finding someone with canine helpers can be helpful in some instances but it is not unheard of when these efforts haven’t produced any successful outcomes, so I wouldn’t just reply on that.

There was no additional snowfall at that time so in that aspect it was well preserved.

Also, it's been said the dogs didn't have the best scent profile to work with as the item used may not have been used much by Maura. However, if she was the only scent profile on the item the dogs likely were able to pick something up, but it's hard to say how well the dogs were used or if they had a decent enough scent to reasonably use to track her.

Lt. Scarinza was apparently aware of this discrepancy and mentioned it when he spoke with James Renner. I'm paraphrasing here but he essentially said it's entirely possible either way, either the dogs simply lost her scent and she continued on foot or the scent was gone because she got into a car.

The latter being perhaps the most plausible, IMO.

 

[Ibiz]

I've had a chance to give this some thought and have come to believe that she is not around the crash site. After living in the woods for many years, I can tell you that when animals, or people walk through the snow they leave tracks/footprints and or other evidence of being there.

People that live in these climates are very good at tracking, so if she wandered in to the woods around the crash site it would have been evident. Not to mention by this time at least her backpack and other belongings would have been found. Also, a woman fitting her discription was seen 3-4-miles east of the crash site walking in the road on 112 between 8 and 8:30. I think this was her. She may have ran to this point or hitched a ride, I don't know, but I think at some point after this she found a ride.

Did she except a ride with a stranger and meet with foulplay?

Was she planning to commit suicide, and made it to her suiside destination ?

Was it her sobbing on her boyfriend's voice mail shortly before killing herself?

Why did she have a mountain climbing book in her car?

 

[Brainy]

I've had a chance to give this some thought and have come to believe that she is not around the crash site. After living in the woods for many years, I can tell you that when animals, or people walk through the snow they leave tracks/footprints and or other evidence of being there.

People that live in these climates are very good at tracking, so if she wandered in to the woods around the crash site it would have been evident. Not to mention by this time at least her backpack and other belongings would have been found. Also, a woman fitting her discription was seen 3-4-miles east of the crash site walking in the road on 112 between 8 and 8:30. I think this was her. She may have ran to this point or hitched a ride, I don't know, but I think at some point after this she found a ride.

Did she except a ride with a stranger and meet with foulplay?

Was she planning to commit suicide, and made it to her suiside destination ?

Was it her sobbing on her boyfriend's voice mail shortly before killing herself?

Why did she have a mountain climbing book in her car?

I don’t think a stranger was responsible for Maura’s disappearance. The odds are… the odds are pretty slim that she got picked up by someone else and that someone else killed her.

Well, yeah, if she walked away from the crash and then wandered off, it could explain why she hasn’t been found. The search with the dogs that was conducted wasn’t even that extensive, not to mention that dogs picking up someone’s scent is not a scientific proof of anything… it’s just a method to allow the possibility of things and perhaps provide new information, and that information may or may not mislead investigation.

I suppose she had a mountain climbing book because she was an athletic young woman who had spent lots of time of her life spending outdoors. In fact, her and her family loved going to the mountains. I don’t think the presence of the book is odd.

 

[DakotaMayi]

I've had a chance to give this some thought and have come to believe that she is not around the crash site. After living in the woods for many years, I can tell you that when animals, or people walk through the snow they leave tracks/footprints and or other evidence of being there.

People that live in these climates are very good at tracking, so if she wandered in to the woods around the crash site it would have been evident. Not to mention by this time at least her backpack and other belongings would have been found. Also, a woman fitting her discription was seen 3-4-miles east of the crash site walking in the road on 112 between 8 and 8:30. I think this was her. She may have ran to this point or hitched a ride, I don't know, but I think at some point after this she found a ride.

Did she except a ride with a stranger and meet with foulplay?

Was she planning to commit suicide, and made it to her suiside destination ?

Was it her sobbing on her boyfriend's voice mail shortly before killing herself?

Why did she have a mountain climbing book in her car?

She did love to hike so that could explain the book.

But yes, I happen to believe your theory that she is not near the crash site. Surely some kind of evidence would have been there of her walking.

I like to think of Maura living somewhere new, hiking with her new family. (Call me crazy but, I have hope for Maura.)

 

[Vivette]

Nah, I think Maura's dead. Not sure how or why, but I doubt she's living a new life.

 

[mjk2015]

maura murray was recently introduced in another forum here on websleuths. i did a forum search for her name but didn't see any threads (i also didn't dig too deep or look too hard, it was just a quick glance).

i've read two articles and watched a video but i've somewhat lost interest now because i think she's a psychopath or sociopath who is responsible for her own disappearance.

i picked up on her fear and / or guilt right away when i learned that she allegedly told a bus driver to not call 911 for her. i became suspicious of her father when i learned that he was the one who told her to stuff a rag into her tailpipe, and became even more suspicious of him after i learned that he withdrew $4K from ATM's and had been very difficult to deal with.

the father should have known that stuffing a rag into a tailpipe is an extremely dangerous thing to do. his motive was to evade police (in order to "protect" his daughter from them, in case they wanted to pull her over for a smoking tailpipe). it's bizarre to withdraw money from ATM's the way he did for the purpose of purchasing a vehicle.

she had criminal activity (using a stolen credit card) shortly before a drunken car accident on the day she disappeared.

in looking at this photoshe appears pathological, criminal, violent and dangerous. she must have inherited her criminality and pathology from her father.

image taken from this video: https://youtu.be/6W0lAP5uzRE

i think she took off into the woods and died (sickened by toxic fumes from her malfunctioning car, in addition to being drunk) or she survived and is alive, living on the run.

i do not believe she was abducted or murdered. i think she is responsible for her own disappearance and i think her father is some sort of screwballs.

i might revisit this case if i get bored enough but as of now, i feel repulsed by the image and i've mostly lost interest.

 

[mjk2015]

It's pretty telling that in the last episode (number 17), the hosts confess that seeing the list of items found in Maura's car was the first time they were able to see her humanity - as though the hard-driving, judgmental home life and the subsequent coping through drinking and an out-of-control eating disorder that led her to crash cars and commit petty crimes that someone might notice weren't signs of a tender, desperate humanity crying out for support and love without condition.

Too many people see this case through the lens of story and character rather than basic human empathy. Guess these two are no exception.

i see her as a pathological criminal going through the unmasking and blooming process. i think she's responsible for her own disappearance. she could've went into the woods and died (toxic fumes from her malfunctioning car with a rag stuffed in the tailpipe, plus being drunk) or, she survived and is alive and living on the run as a criminal.

her father instructed her to put a rag in the tailpipe of her car for the purpose of evading the police. that's criminal. it's also extremely dangerous.

this photo of her is a very drastic unmasked face. there's no beauty here. she appears frighteningly violent and pathological.

 

[Ibiz]

How could a rag in a tail pipe keep police away?

 

[mjk2015]

How could a rag in a tail pipe keep police away?

to hide the smoke coming out of her tailpipe.

That weekend, her father came up from his job in Connecticut to help Maura find a new car. Maura’s 1996 Saturn “kind of blew a cylinder” and was “smoking something fierce,” according to Fred Murray. “I said, ‘You can’t drive this car. The cops will pull you over in a heartbeat,’” he recalls. As a temporary fix, Fred says he suggested she put a rag inside the tailpipe to hide the smoke.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/01/28/maura-murray/

 

[Ibiz]

The rag would ether be forced out by back pressure or cause the engine to stall out. Ether way the engine couldn't run if the exhaust was clogged up with a rag.

 

[mjk2015]

The rag would ether be forced out by back pressure or cause the engine to stall out. Ether way the engine couldn't run if the exhaust was clogged up with a rag.

https://truthseekersinvestigationss...-at-all-about-the-rag-on-the-accident-report/

 

[mjk2015]

I still think she walked away, either purposefully or not, and died alone in the woods. But she was also a victim waiting to happen, one who would have been easy for a predator to cull.

if she died, was her death accidental or intentional?

if she died, she foretold her own death (she informed her school of a death in the family, and she was actively making plans to leave).

poisoning from the vehicle, plus drunkenness, could have led her into the woods to die but it's been 13 years. haven't people searched those woods by now?

there was a party two nights before her second accident and disappearance. i read that she wanted to leave the party. maybe she felt sick (poisoning from her car) but didn't recognize or understand what the matter was. she probably experienced the poisoning symptoms as anxiety and then mistakenly attributed the anxiety to personal circumstances. a toxicologist should account for possible poisoning (what the symptoms are and how long the symptoms would persist). i know she drove and crashed her father's car on saturday night but that's why i said a toxicologist should account for possible poisoning. if she drove her car on friday she could've still been sick the next day.

she planned to leave (printed directions to vermont). was the accident part of the plan and she had an accomplice (somebody picked her up, and they drove off to vermont)?

is it true that her out-of-state boyfriend received a voicemail of breathing, crying and a whimper? was it genuine or was she faking?

she was a known liar
she told of a death in the family
she was planning on leaving
she had an accident
she immediately disappeared

it wouldn't be suicide unless she was planning to kill herself in vermont.

if she died, she wasn't lying, and she foretold her own death, and the cause of death would be toxic fumes from the car which, after the accident (which wasn't fake or staged) caused her to head into the woods to die.

or

she was very clever and intelligent and successfully carried out a plan to abandon her life and leave, and never look back.