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

[Skigirl]

Truth. I actually have three friends who have become pregnant while on birth control-- one took her pills religiously and still got pregnant, another forgot for a few days one cycle, played catch-up with the dose, still got pregnant, and another became pregnant with an IUD. Crazy, but it definitely does happen.

Anyway, I'm pretty new here but I've been following this case since True Crime Garage covered it a couple years ago. I think the reason it has sucked me in is because we're the same age and I love the White Mountains. My family has been going there for years, The Seasons is one of our regular haunts, and I can't get it out of my head that something so infamous is attached to a place I adore.

I did watch the first episode of the Oxygen series the other night. One thing I'm glad was mentioned was the time discrepancy. It should not, on a smooth traffic day, take that long to get up to the spot where she spun out. That extra hour + really opens up a lot more questions (which is the last thing this case needs).

Her dad seems like the years and sadness have really caught up with him. I felt really bad for him. His mannerisms while he was talking about her were that of helplessness.

I am absolutely shocked the cops never spoke to Julie.

As far as why she went up there? I think she just wanted to clear her head. At that time in my life, I was screwing up a lot of things too, and had I had the means to go elsewhere to reevaluate what the hell I was doing, I would have done it. The story about a death in her family would have served two purposes: she gets out of class with the possible bonus of the profs being more lenient about when work was due. As for her room being packed, it sounds to me like she had just never unpacked from winter break. In my own experience, a full boat of classes would definitely put unpacking on the bottom of my list of pertinent things to do. My memory of the state of her room and why it would have seemed like it was packed up and ready to move is a little fuzzy though, so if anyone has any info as to why it looked like she was definitely going and not just a chronic procrastinator in regards to unpacking, please point it out for me.

Me and the fam when on vacation in Bartlett this past July, and I told them to just humor me while I take the super-scenic route home by taking 112 west the whole way. I wanted to see the accident site. I tell you what, that stretch between the Lost River Gorge area and Bradley Hill Road is desolate. Beautiful but there's just nothing but woods. We drove through that area when the sun was just about gone and there's just so much nothing and no cell phone service. It really did give me the creeps. And then BAM all of a sudden there's a cluster of houses and not nearly as isolated as I pictured the area to be. It did make me think there's no way she got picked up in view of all these houses...but then again, it's not so hard to believe either. People puttering away in their houses, paying attention to their own business, it would take a matter of seconds for her to get into a car on the premise of getting into town where there's cell phone service as well as escaping a possible DUI.

So I'm really leaning towards she got in to the wrong car. If she was buzzed, her judgment wouldn't have been as sharp. Single female in the woods, no cell phone service, impaired judgment...she would have been easy pickings for someone with sinister intent.

I'm curious to see what else the docu-series comes up with.

Yikes, we obviously need to step up sex education in our schools.

Kidding aside, I agree that it's entirely possible that she got in a car. She might have taken off running, realized how cold it was (even though not that cold for that time of year in NH...still very cold to spend hours outside unprepared) and how long she would have to be out of sight to avoid a sobriety test, and with no where to go, she may have gotten into a car with someone who stopped. She may not have intended to do that, but may have felt desperate. I go back and forth between that possibility and the the possibility that she'll be found someday not far from the road, but a way up the road from the accident site.

 

[italianangel2411]

My thoughts, as someone who also struggled in college years, are that she was contemplating ending her life. I think she packed up. Wasn't said the boxes were sitting on her bed. If it was boxes left unpacked from winter break, they'd be shoved to the side of the room somewhere and likely open and dug through. I think she emailed professors to give her a long weekend....and a new excuse in case she decided not to end her life. I think she wanted to go to White Mountains where she had good memories. I think she wanted to drink a lot so as to be drunk when (and if) she decided to end her life. So she stopped and took all her money out, bought a ton of alcohol and headed off. I think she may have been drinking on the drive and likely had to make a few pee stops, this explaining that extra hour. I think she took the wrong exit and was lost...but drunk. So she kept going. I think when she crashed, while drunk, that was the last straw for her. I think she took some booze and whatever method she planned to end her life with (pills, a blade to cut her wrists...) And she ran off into the woods and searched for place to sit and think and drink. I'd think she would have looked for something hidden. Maybe there she died from exposure or she ended her life. Maybe in a drunken, hypothermic state she even crawled in somewhere extremely well hidden.

I'd be more inclined to believe fowl play if she was going somewhere to meet someone and people in her life knew that. The fact that she told nobody nothing tells me what her mindframe was. Even if meeting some secret boyfriend, she likely would still tell acquaintances something....like I am going to a cousins house or I have such and such out of town....some lie. But the extreme secrecy with all the planning....

The phone call before she left that had her crying at work....is it verified it was with her sister? What if it was some West point girl calling to tell her she was sleeping with her boyfriend?

I lean towards this theory myself. There is too much planning involved with this: e-mail to professor regarding death in the family, taking out ALL the money from her bank at the atm, buying a lot of alcohol, and then driving and not telling anyone of her destination. I think she was under a tremendous amount of stress and wanted to end it all, personally. I am not sure why her body has not been found to date in the area by the crash site. I do not believe she is alive today. I think it was either suicide or abduction that led to her death.

 

[Kittycat01]

Does anyone know if the bus driver offered to give Maura a ride? I've heard he offered to call LE, but Maura refused saying she called AAA. I ask because if he did offer why would she turn him down and then within minutes possibly get in a car with someone else? Why would she turn down assistance from one person and a few minutes later take assistance from someone else (if that's what happened). So bizarre.

 

[Deleted member 278]

I'm familiar with this case but haven't dug deep. I just got Renner's book today (read his blog a few years ago). What is everyone's opinion of him?

 

[armywife210]

Well my opinion is obvious. It seems to me that if he doesn't get interviews from people that he wants to interview, he is more than willing to toss them under the proverbial bus and slander their name. He will turn their unwillingness to work with him into blatantly hiding something. He comes in hot and expects open arms from everybody. I wouldn't talk to him either if he were talking crap about my missing child (my oldest is 22, but she is still my baby). In fact, if my daughter went missing and Renner was talking crap about her, I might be facing assault charges for the first time in my life. A lot of what he puts forth as fact is not fact. In the first oxygen episode he says "everybody in this case lies". It reminds me of the little spoiled kid who says to his parent "everybody else is lying, I'm telling the truth. I would never lie". Personally, I have read his blog and I refuse to give him a dime by purchasing his book. Every person is more than welcome to their own opinion, that is mine.

 

[Skigirl]

Does anyone know if the bus driver offered to give Maura a ride? I've heard he offered to call LE, but Maura refused saying she called AAA. I ask because if he did offer why would she turn him down and then within minutes possibly get in a car with someone else? Why would she turn down assistance from one person and a few minutes later take assistance from someone else (if that's what happened). So bizarre.

Two reasons: 1) the bus driver was pretty intimidating-looking, 2) she may have rethought her strategy after a few minutes, realizing that law enforcement was going to be there pretty soon, and that she would have to hide for a long time in the cold to avoid detection

 

[Skigirl]

Well my opinion is obvious. It seems to me that if he doesn't get interviews from people that he wants to interview, he is more than willing to toss them under the proverbial bus and slander their name. He will turn their unwillingness to work with him into blatantly hiding something. He comes in hot and expects open arms from everybody. I wouldn't talk to him either if he were talking crap about my missing child (my oldest is 22, but she is still my baby). In fact, if my daughter went missing and Renner was talking crap about her, I might be facing assault charges for the first time in my life. A lot of what he puts forth as fact is not fact. In the first oxygen episode he says "everybody in this case lies". It reminds me of the little spoiled kid who says to his parent "everybody else is lying, I'm telling the truth. I would never lie". Personally, I have read his blog and I refuse to give him a dime by purchasing his book. Every person is more than welcome to their own opinion, that is mine.

Totally agree. His grandiosity, paranoia, tendency toward elaborate conspiracy theories, lack of critical thinking skills, and absence of emotional intelligence, make him very ill-suited to the task of actually finding out the truth, but apparently some of those traits help him sell books.

 

[Deleted member 278]

Well my opinion is obvious. It seems to me that if he doesn't get interviews from people that he wants to interview, he is more than willing to toss them under the proverbial bus and slander their name. He will turn their unwillingness to work with him into blatantly hiding something. He comes in hot and expects open arms from everybody. I wouldn't talk to him either if he were talking crap about my missing child (my oldest is 22, but she is still my baby). In fact, if my daughter went missing and Renner was talking crap about her, I might be facing assault charges for the first time in my life. A lot of what he puts forth as fact is not fact. In the first oxygen episode he says "everybody in this case lies". It reminds me of the little spoiled kid who says to his parent "everybody else is lying, I'm telling the truth. I would never lie". Personally, I have read his blog and I refuse to give him a dime by purchasing his book. Every person is more than welcome to their own opinion, that is mine.

Thanks for this. I wasn't aware of the fact that he thinks everyone is lying until I saw the Oxygen episode. That's what prompted me to buy the book; to see what he considers the lies to be. I have a huge true crime library so the book will make a nice addition to it regardless of my opinions on it after I read it.

 

[Deleted member 278]

Totally agree. His grandiosity, paranoia, tendency toward elaborate conspiracy theories, lack of critical thinking skills, and absence of emotional intelligence, make him very ill-suited to the task of actually finding out the truth, but apparently some of those traits help him sell books.

Thank you for your view. I'm getting the impression already that this will be the consensus.

 

[chemgirl]

When I taught college chemistry, I required a note from a parent and a copy of the obituary if a student used the "death in the family" excuse...

 

[chemgirl]

I noticed this too - very strange. IMO kids only do that when there is a negative childhood and dislike - i.e. Michael Jackson and all the Jackson siblings call their dad Joseph, and he was abusive to all of them.

I read elsewhere(Reddit?) that Maura's younger brother was born from Maura's mom's subsequent marriage after she divorced Fred? 🤔

 

[Caffeine]

As long as she took them. We don't know her prescription info.

JMO

According to the contents of the car posted by Renner (not sure if this was officially listed in the police report) he birth control was missing pills - not full or empty.

 

[~Boudicca~]

See, I don't really have an issue with her emptying her bank account. If she was planning on being gone for just a few days and she's getting paid on Friday, that $200 something she withdrew would be just enough if it was just her. February is ski season up there and the rates are jacked up, so the amount would probably be barely enough to get a room, some food, and then gas for the way back. I bet she knew that when she went to the bank.

 

[Steleheart]

According to the contents of the car posted by Renner (not sure if this was officially listed in the police report) he birth control was missing pills - not full or empty.

Understood. But we're talking about February 9 when the accident was. No one would have any idea if she missed days in December or January. But if she got pregnant then she would be pretty certain of it by early Feb.

 

[Unscripted]

Whenever I need an objective Maura refresher I go back to the older news reports:

Four-part series of articles written by Maribeth Conway (2007) for the Whitman-Hanson Express: https://www.scribd.com/document/205888064/Maura-is-Missing-A-Special-Report

Older newspaper articles archived/reprinted on Project Jason: https://projectjason.org/forums/topic/350-missing-woman-maura-murray-nh-02092004/

"Will the Internet Find Maura Murray?" By Bill Jensen (2014): http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/01/28/maura-murray/

“Miles to Nowhere” Season 1, Episode 6 (2010) from Disappeared series on Investigation Discovery TV network is out there on YouTube in 5 segments (45 minutes).

 

[Deleted member 278]

I read elsewhere(Reddit?) that Maura's younger brother was born from Maura's mom's subsequent marriage after she divorced Fred? 樂

If you choose to believe Renner, he states in his book that the brother you speak of was the result of an affair Maura's mother had while married to Fred.

 

[U2forever]

See, I don't really have an issue with her emptying her bank account. If she was planning on being gone for just a few days and she's getting paid on Friday, that $200 something she withdrew would be just enough if it was just her. February is ski season up there and the rates are jacked up, so the amount would probably be barely enough to get a room, some food, and then gas for the way back. I bet she knew that when she went to the bank.

:greetings:

Boudicca,


:welcome:

We are happy you are here!!


:websleuther:
​

 

[Rallibella]

The emptying the bank account would mean more if it wasn't $200. That really isn't enough for me to consider planning to go on the run.

 

[U2forever]

The emptying the bank account would mean more if it wasn't $200. That really isn't enough for me to consider planning to go on the run.

I agree, Rallibella, but didn't she also have the cash her father gave her for the car?

 

[Caffeine]

I agree, Rallibella, but didn't she also have the cash her father gave her for the car?

I know Renner has his own thoughts on this, but I don't necessarily think Fred just handed Maura $3 to $4000+ to go buy a used car. They planned to initially do this together, perhaps to guide her and prevent her from a bad purchase; I don't think he'd suddenly decide she's ok to do this by herself and give her a wad of cash, IMO.