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

[Steleheart]

I think Renner had a poll on his blog, but his belief is that she ran away, so naturally most of his blog readers do as well.

I think generally most believe she either 1) died from exposure to elements in the woods 2) ran off and started a new life 3) met with foul play or 4) committed suicide

Of course you have other theories that people have mentioned over the years: police involvement, accidental death etc.

It's definitely puzzling, as there's no clear smoking gun here. But generally after a decade, considering the notion of her being deceased from whatever reason isn't outside the realm of possibility.

BBM:
We don't usually go into the pregnancy possibility here but I still have it in my mind. The reason is that she was secretive at times. And to go back to New Year and the party - not mentioning the person named in the past but there could be another person. More than likely sometime during the holiday season, not necessarily New year.

But by the time she disappeared she could have had a Doctor's confirmation that she was. That phone call?

So packing up the dorm then makes sense while she goes off to think about it. Not being sure if she was coming back to school or moving out. Fred could have given her the money which was more than the cost of an abortion, but for housing, living during recovery or starting out new could make sense.

So what is the next thing when in that situation? Contact the father. Let him know your decision?

What if he didn't want it in his life?

He took her somewhere up there. Had a fight. Lost control...

It is all too common.

Just MOO

 

[Caffeine]

Certainly there's no way to rule out pregnancy. We'll never see her medical records...that's if she was far enough along to even see a doctor. Who knows.

The evidence is s bit contradictory here. We have police saying she had search terms on her computer about effects of alcohol during pregnancy. However, she was a nursing student and she did in fact have her birth control in the car when she disappeared...with pills missing.

So it's hard to say.

 

[DakotaMayi]

Glad to see Maura's thread with new posts again

I actually am probably one of the few here that believe she did run off and start a new life. Since being on WS my opinions have crossed slightly over into the succumbed to the elements theory but I just cannot get away from the theory she wanted a new life ESP after reading Renners book - albeit a little one sided.

 

[Caffeine]

Glad to see Maura's thread with new posts again

I actually am probably one of the few here that believe she did run off and start a new life. Since being on WS my opinions have crossed slightly over into the succumbed to the elements theory but I just cannot get away from the theory she wanted a new life ESP after reading Renners book - albeit a little one sided.

I don't think it's totally impossible she ran away, but many times with cases like this we eventually find the missing person deceased...it's unfortunate but generally the odds do favor it.

 

[DakotaMayi]

I don't think it's totally impossible she ran away, but many times with cases like this we eventually find the missing person deceased...it's unfortunate but generally the odds do favor it.

Oh definitely, and usually I try to go with the most likely scenario but this time I just feel different...I dont think I can explain it actually. Either way, hopefully there will one day be closure in Maura's case.

 

[bestie]

I was always intrigued by this case, Maura just seemed to vanish. Like many others I felt she died in the woods, it seems the most likely scenario. If she did start a new life then I would think she would have pursued a career in nursing, i'm sure I recall that's what she was studying. I hope one day we find out what did happen, and like the poster above said some closure for the family.

 

[The Farm]

I also hope that we someday learn of Maura's fate.

 

[Gloria787]

There was a woman who drove past Maura's car on her way home from work. She did call the police a day or two later to report what she had witnessed..... A police SUV #001 passed her with their lights on twice while she was driving home (where did the car stop/pull over that it was able to pass her twice)? When this witness drove past Maura's car, the same police SUV #001 was parked in front of the car, hood to hood. When the witness reported this to the police, they said that was not possible as this police vehicle was "out of commission" that evening. Was it ever revealed who had access to that SUV that evening? This SUV would have been the first LE at the scene, why did they leave? Was this officers name revealed? The other telling event was the phone message Maura's boyfriend recieved while his phone was turned off, someone shivering, crying, and a sob at the end of the voicemail. The bf believes it was Maura....the police said it was a calling card used by the American Red Cross however, I doubt a stranger would leave that type of message.

 

[DakotaMayi]

There was a woman who drove past Maura's car on her way home from work. She did call the police a day or two later to report what she had witnessed..... A police SUV #001 passed her with their lights on twice while she was driving home (where did the car stop/pull over that it was able to pass her twice)? When this witness drove past Maura's car, the same police SUV #001 was parked in front of the car, hood to hood. When the witness reported this to the police, they said that was not possible as this police vehicle was "out of commission" that evening. Was it ever revealed who had access to that SUV that evening? This SUV would have been the first LE at the scene, why did they leave? Was this officers name revealed? The other telling event was the phone message Maura's boyfriend recieved while his phone was turned off, someone shivering, crying, and a sob at the end of the voicemail. The bf believes it was Maura....the police said it was a calling card used by the American Red Cross however, I doubt a stranger would leave that type of message.

Oh wow, I hadn't heard this witness statement before. Yet again, another thing that could add another possible branch in Maura's disappearance.

Cover up?

EDIT... O/T Oh... 500th post in two months...I haven't become WS obsessed at all

 

[awillis0513]

There was a woman who drove past Maura's car on her way home from work. She did call the police a day or two later to report what she had witnessed..... A police SUV #001 passed her with their lights on twice while she was driving home (where did the car stop/pull over that it was able to pass her twice)? When this witness drove past Maura's car, the same police SUV #001 was parked in front of the car, hood to hood. When the witness reported this to the police, they said that was not possible as this police vehicle was "out of commission" that evening.

I fully believe this woman's observance but I don't believe the woman saw Maura. I think she could have seen something similar on another day. Memory is such a weird thing. The first call to police went out less than ten minutes before the arrival of the officer that says the car was abandoned. So, that's a tight timeframe, in my mind. And what are the odds that she remembered the number accurately?

I don't know, I think she thinks she saw Maura, but I'm not thinking she actually did.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DakotaMayi]

I fully believe this woman's observance but I don't believe the woman saw Maura. I think she could have seen something similar on another day. Memory is such a weird thing. The first call to police went out less than ten minutes before the arrival of the officer that says the car was abandoned. So, that's a tight timeframe, in my mind. And what are the odds that she remembered the number accurately?

I don't know, I think she thinks she saw Maura, but I'm not thinking she actually did.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't think she said she saw Maura personally. Just the police car. It's a tight time frame but strange for that car to be there when it wasn't supposed to be.

 

[Gloria787]

The witness was credible and did call the police pretty much right away. She had her phone records where she had called her father on her way home to check in and had told him about what had just occurred. Her interview about that night is on a link in this thread somewhere. I don't believe she saw Maura, just the two vehicles parked hood to hood. Very strange.

 

[DakotaMayi]

The witness was credible and did call the police pretty much right away. She had her phone records where she had called her father on her way home to check in and had told him about what had just occurred. Her interview about that night is on a link in this thread somewhere. I don't believe she saw Maura, just the two vehicles parked hood to hood. Very strange.

Interesting. So what was LE's response? Just that the witness can't have seen that car there? That she was wrong? How sad. Seems to me that witness statement could answer a lot.

 

[Caffeine]

Interesting. So what was LE's response? Just that the witness can't have seen that car there? That she was wrong? How sad. Seems to me that witness statement could answer a lot.

I don't think LE's ever addressed it. I doubt they ever would unless we get some huge bombshell one day.

As for the witness statement about the 001 police cruiser, I just don't know what to think. People can have flawed recollection at times. People can be deceptive...or they could be telling the truth.

Her statement is kind of a wildcard, kind of like how Forcier claims he may have saw her or the claim a cashier saw her with others at the grocery store.

We just don't know.

 

[Captain_Khan]

We often try to imagine what Maura was thinking when she left the car, but I think there could be a very serious complicating factor.

There was a huge crack on the windscreen of the Saturn above the driver's seat. If that crack was caused by Murray's head, she could have a very serious brain injury.

A known complication of serious head injuries includes an inability to remember events before or after the head injury (possibly why she told the bus driver she had called the AA?) and strange behaviour (not calling the AA, leaving the car, getting in with a stranger, any other possibility?)

So we can try to analyse her behaviour as much as possible, but that factor could mean she wasn't operating with any kind of logic.

 

[bluesneakers]

Interesting idea. And what if she walked off the road to vomit or merely felt like she was going to? A bad decision, then she could have gotten lost, or might have kept quiet out of fear.

 

[Caffeine]

We often try to imagine what Maura was thinking when she left the car, but I think there could be a very serious complicating factor.

There was a huge crack on the windscreen of the Saturn above the driver's seat. If that crack was caused by Murray's head, she could have a very serious brain injury.

A known complication of serious head injuries includes an inability to remember events before or after the head injury (possibly why she told the bus driver she had called the AA?) and strange behaviour (not calling the AA, leaving the car, getting in with a stranger, any other possibility?)

So we can try to analyse her behaviour as much as possible, but that factor could mean she wasn't operating with any kind of logic.

This made me laugh a little. I thought you meant AA as in Alcoholics Anonymous...I'm sure AAA is what you meant. [emoji12]

Its hard to truly get inside her head, I tend to think she simply fled the scene which in turn meant getting a ride, likely from a stranger. In fact, seeing a stranded motorist like that she may not have had to even walk...I'm sure someone could have even picked her up next to her car. It could happen pretty quick, at that point I don't think she was about to hesitate getting out of there.

 

[DakotaMayi]

This made me laugh a little. I thought you meant AA as in Alcoholics Anonymous...I'm sure AAA is what you meant. [emoji12]

Its hard to truly get inside her head, I tend to think she simply fled the scene which in turn meant getting a ride, likely from a stranger. In fact, seeing a stranded motorist like that she may not have had to even walk...I'm sure someone could have even picked her up next to her car. It could happen pretty quick, at that point I don't think she was about to hesitate getting out of there.

Hahaha AA in England, triple A in America. Too funny.

I definitely don't think she was in the right frame of mind and I'm pretty confident that it involves another person... whether that means foul play or purposely met someone to get away with I don't know.

 

[Captain_Khan]

Hahaha AA in England, triple A in America. Too funny.

Yes, my Englishness is showing! You're quite right.

 

[dawkins87]

I couldn't agree more. People have tried to find a more sensational, horror movie-like explanation for this case, when seems simply that a somewhat disturbed young woman with perhaps an alcohol problem had car accident while intoxicated, worried when the passing motorist said he would call the police, tried to flee while both under the influence an disoriented from the accident and got lost in the very dense woods. Alcohol counters the feeling of being cold, therefore she didn't realize the risk she was putting herself in by heading further out into the freezing night.