NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 #15

[Eddie99]

Just because there is an archeological team on site does not mean someone with decision making authority suspects they are historical remains. They are often used in excavating remains. Probably because of the training, techniques, and tools they possess.

One example I can think if that is fairly recent, is a case outside Buffalo NY. A man's body was found, when hikers found an old boot sticking out of the earth. They knew this wasn't an ancient burial site, because of the modern materials , but they called in the archeological department of a local college to assist.

Anyway, I mapped the best route from Amherst to Loon Lake (I'm not familiar with that area, at all) but I was surprised that it suggested taking the road where her car was found.

I don't know what they mean by "bone fragments" but the image that I have in my mind is that they were shredded or smashed.
If this is her, and her remains were processed to make them easier to conceal. That suggests to me someone needed access to the tools required to do this, which seems to imply a local.

Going back to the bones. Wherever they found these, there must have been something about them that prompted a call to the police. I'm thinking they were in a unusual location, or in some type of container. But something must have been weird enough to call the police.

Lastly, when I looked up loon lake, I found that there was a "theory" posted a few years ago about things associated with this area. I had never seen that before. Could they be correct? I guess time will tell.

 

[Eddie99]

Just because there is an archeological team on site does not mean someone with decision making authority suspects they are historical remains. They are often used in excavating remains. Probably because of the training, techniques, and tools they possess.

One example I can think if that is fairly recent, is a case outside Buffalo NY. A man's body was found, when hikers found am old boot sticking out of the earth. They knew this wasn't an ancient burial site, because of the modern materials , but they called in the archeological department of a local college to assist.

Anyway, I mapped the best route from Amherst to Loon Lake (I'm not familiar with that area, at all) but I was surprised that it suggested taking the road where her car was found.

I don't know what they mean by "bone fragments" but the image that I have in my mind is that they were shredded or smashed.
If this is her, and her remains were processed to make them easier to conceal. That suggests to me someone needed access to the tools required to do this, which seems to imply a local.

Going back to the bones. Wherever they found these, there must have been something about them that prompted a call to the police. I'm thinking they were in a unusual location, or in some type of container. But something must have been weird enough to call the police.

Lastly, when I looked up loon lake, I found that there was a "theory" posted a few years ago about things associated with this area. I had never seen that before. Could they be correct? I guess time will tell.

 

[sony12]

Beginning to think these might be bones that are many hundreds or more years old. Not bones from a missing person within the last few decades.

If they were Maura and they were deep enough to where only people working at a construction site could find them there would be close to a full skeleton remaining.

Bone fragments discovered by construction workers imply something old in my opinion.

 

[MrsWatson]

I'm not getting my hopes up. Those could be Native American bones from hundreds of years ago.

 

[sony12]

Yeah we will have to see but when I heard bone fragments I began to think this was something else. Bone fragments is generally what they find when they discover ancient burial sites.

People have been living on this continent since about 10,000 BC. There are probably numerous human bone fragments around and about under the ground.

 

[minazoe]

bones can be scattered by animals

 

[sony12]

bones can be scattered by animals

True. But if that were the case they would still be at surface level. They wouldn't be down in the ground discovered by construction workers.

 

[minazoe]

dismemberment? mOO

 

[sony12]

dismemberment? mOO

Very slim chance.

 

[sds71]

Murray’s sister Julie said they’ve known about the discovery for a little more than a week, adding that the bones were found at a construction site “on Loon Mountain.”

“My family has experienced these types of situations before but this one feels a little bit different because of the proximity to where Maura’s car was found,” Julie Murray told WBZ-TV Tuesday.

Maura had been to Loon before, according to her sister, and was familiar with the area. Julie Murray also said some people there were questioned by officers early in the investigation.

The bone fragments that were found are “pretty small,” Murray said, and because investigators don’t have much to work with, identifying them could take anywhere from two to several months.

“This is gut wrenching. This is really, really hard,” she told WBZ.

'This Is Gut Wrenching,' Family Of Woman Missing 17 Years Waits For Tests On Bone Fragments Found In New Hampshire

 

[minazoe]

several months? ugh..yes weren't there some guys who didn't show up to work at the ski lodge that following morning?

 

[sds71]

The loon mountain 3 or brothers G

 

[Eddie99]

True. But if that were the case they would still be at surface level. They wouldn't be down in the ground discovered by construction workers.

Did you read somewhere that they were found during an excavation? The only thing I read was they were found by construction workers.

With the state of journalism today, God knows what they consider construction work.

This could be people taking down wallpaper for all I know. Or, a roofer taking a leak in the woods next to the job site, saw these bone fragments.

I want to add that if it was some sort of excavating that was going on, I can't imagine that the operator would spot bone fragments from the cab.

 

[sony12]

Did you read somewhere that they were found during an excavation? The only thing I read was they were found by construction workers.

With the state of journalism today, God knows what they consider construction work.

This could be people taking down wallpaper for all I know. Or, a roofer taking a leak in the woods next to the job site, saw these bone fragments.

I want to add that if it was some sort of excavating that was going on, I can't imagine that the operator would spot bone fragments from the cab.

One of the most common things they do at construction sites is dig holes in the ground. And to add to that the smaller the bone fragments are the more likely they are to be older bone fragments.

 

[Andreee]

Well, considering the walking distance from the car to Loon Lake, IMO that would be a superhuman effort, especially after MM's car crash. However, it could also be that a passerby picked her up after that. But IMO chances are slim that it is her from everything we've heard so far. Hopefully, the process of ID is as fast as possible, for the sake of her family.

 

[Eddie99]

One of the most common things they do at construction sites is dig holes in the ground. And to add to that the smaller the bone fragments are the more likely they are to be older bone fragments.

I understand what you are saying, and agree with you. I'm just stating that the term "construction workers" can mean a lot of different things.

I want to add that the term "fragments" can mean any number of different things.

The term "bone fragment", to me makes me think of the bones being "processed".
I don't want to be graphic in my description beyond that, but something more nefarious let's say.

And again, there had to be something about that scene that prompted a call to the police.

 

[sony12]

Bone fragments are simply just small portions of the bone. If Maura were murdered I really don't think someone would bother with cutting up the bone. They would just find a location to dispose of the body as quickly as possible.

Most of the time when we would find small pieces of bone in the ground it is because the bone has withered away over time. For a skeleton that was only there since 2004 I would expect it to mostly still be intact or at the very least a good number of the bones to be in close proximity to each other.

 

[aim4thestars]

"Criminal activity and taphonomic factors can produce skeletal fragmentation. Blast trauma, gunshot injury and blunt force trauma all can shatter bones and produce fragmentary evidence. Postmortem events involving fire, weathering, animal scavenging and trampling usually fragment bones as well. Crime scene investigators realize that through molecular analysis, recovery of fragmentary evidence potentially can lead to positive identification."

From a 2020 review article (Fragment analysis in forensic anthropology)

The bone fragments could easily indicate more remains in the surrounding area, potential burning of a body, etc and don't indicate the length of time a body has been there. We certainly don't have the full picture here, but 1) I agree with Eddie99 that there was something that prompted workers to call the police, and 2) there must be some reason the Murray family was notified a week before an official statement was released

 

[Shamrock1]

I understand what you are saying, and agree with you. I'm just stating that the term "construction workers" can mean a lot of different things.

I want to add that the term "fragments" can mean any number of different things.

The term "bone fragment", to me makes me think of the bones being "processed".
I don't want to be graphic in my description beyond that, but something more nefarious let's say.

And again, there had to be something about that scene that prompted a call to the police.

Finding bones that the caller suspects could be human prompts a call to police. I don’t think there needs to be an additional “something about that scene” to warrant a call. JMO.

 

[wary]

I understand what you are saying, and agree with you. I'm just stating that the term "construction workers" can mean a lot of different things.

I want to add that the term "fragments" can mean any number of different things.

The term "bone fragment", to me makes me think of the bones being "processed".
I don't want to be graphic in my description beyond that, but something more nefarious let's say.

And again, there had to be something about that scene that prompted a call to the police.

I’d hope that any idea that it might be human bones would be enough to prompt a call to the police.