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

[PezCandy]

I’ve learned here on ws that bones do not have to be super old to become “fragments”.
There’s a ton of things that can cause that to happen such as manner of death, someone trying to conceal, partial cremation, nature and weather in the area, animals, body and bone breakdown, etc lots and lots of reasons, doesn’t have to be old to be a fragment.

I’m curious to see if it is actually her and if it is then I’m glad her family will be at least a step closer to finding what happened and if it isn’t her and someone else I hope something comes of it and can link the dna to a doe so least another family could get closure of a sort.

 

[gnomony]

I’m very familiar with the Loon area. I believe they are talking about a new ski lift area around the Kancamagus Quad at the base of Loon. If you google that pictures should come up. There is a very large parking area, and roads there, but you’d have to go on foot or some kind of snow machine in winter to get to the area I think they’re speaking of. It hasn’t changed all that much over time.

Doesn't make sense that someone would go there to bury a body in February. The ground would be frozen and ski area workers would notice any excavation. Whoever it was, a summertime burial is much more likely.

 

[Mrs..b]

Doesn't make sense that someone would go there to bury a body in February. The ground would be frozen and ski area workers would notice any excavation. Whoever it was, a summertime burial is much more likely.

I agree, it’s not a private area and then add a foot of snow on top, it seems pretty unlikely. And it’s literally surrounded by acres and acres of national forest. I’m wondering if by weather or animals the person was moved over time.

 

[Eddie99]

Let's presume that the remains are Mauras, for a moment.

Let's also presume Maura fled the scene of h her wreck, for whatever reason. And ends up dead/ murdered at the hands of someone with access to the mountian.

Now, from the killers perspective- you have a dead body, and everyone in the world is looking for her. Hundreds if not thousands of people crawling through the woods. Police roadblocks and check points. What do you do?

The most obvious answer is you either utterly obliterate the body, or put it where no one is going to look. Which sometimes would be in plain sight.

No one is going to search a busy ski resort. If you have access to the property, and the equipment. I think it's plausible that under cover of the night, you could excavate an area place the body, and cover it with snow & snow making equipment and within 15 minutes, no one would ever be able to tell anything was disturbed.

I want to add there are several cases where kidnappers/murderers house their victims at their place of employment. Child killer, Mark Christie is just one example.

We don't know the exact chain of events, nor the resources the killer had, in terms of time, logistics and tools. The mountain, nighttime, snow, and privacy may have been the best opportunity to hide what was done.

 

[Alethea]

Just because the body is buried now doesn't mean it was buried then. You have 16 years of leaf litter, plants, animals, bugs, deep snow pack in winter, spring melt, etc. We don't know how deep the bones were found if they were buried at all.

 

[minazoe]

its a strange place for her to have died...even in the throes of hypothermial mania she would have been out in the elements for hours on end, apparently. could you even make it to this place without a vehicle? I feel like she would have been seen by someone..no? so likelihood that she would end up there without assistance is pretty small right? I mean with the alcohol numbing sensation of cold..running up the mountain side or whatever it is right there... on the way up...just seems TOO CRAZY...would she take amphetamines maybe to keep going?

I just don't see it ..I am very much feeling a vibe that it is her...who else might this be? is it a native burial ground
there? docent seem like a hospitable environment for drunks or homeless folks..even with the ski party scene..

I just get a vibe..feels heavy. and NO I am not psychic..

for awhile when I was thinking about it..what if they picked up Maura and they were all partying out there and maybe other stuff was going on..but then Maura died suddenly from her head injury that may not have even been visible?....and they freaked out and hid her body, maybe that is wishful thinking...Drunk girls in the woods, late at night unchaperoned is never ever going to be a good idea.

if they have the skull hopefully they can see if she has a head injury consistent with her car accident.

I hope it is closure and we can solve it..hope all the evidence was treated properly.

fragments... just sounds so bad..mOO

 

[sony12]

its a strange place for her to have died...even in the throes of hypothermial mania she would have been out in the elements for hours on end, apparently. could you even make it to this place without a vehicle? I feel like she would have been seen by someone..no? so likelihood that she would end up there without assistance is pretty small right? I mean with the alcohol numbing sensation of cold..running up the mountain side or whatever it is right there... on the way up...just seems TOO CRAZY...would she take amphetamines maybe to keep going?

I just don't see it ..I am very much feeling a vibe that it is her...who else might this be? is it a native burial ground
there? docent seem like a hospitable environment for drunks or homeless folks..even with the ski party scene..

I just get a vibe..feels heavy. and NO I am not psychic..

for awhile when I was thinking about it..what if they picked up Maura and they were all partying out there and maybe other stuff was going on..but then Maura died suddenly from her head injury that may not have even been visible?....and they freaked out and hid her body, maybe that is wishful thinking...Drunk girls in the woods, late at night unchaperoned is never ever going to be a good idea.

if they have the skull hopefully they can see if she has a head injury consistent with her car accident.

I hope it is closure and we can solve it..hope all the evidence was treated properly.

fragments... just sounds so bad..mOO

People have lived here much longer then just the past 200 years. There are tons of people it could be that were simply alive before the area got developed in anyway.

 

[mainemom376]

Does anyone know how long it may take for ID??

 

[wary]

Does anyone know how long it may take for ID??

If I remember rightly, the McFall bones took an excruciatingly long time—a substantial part of a year, or more. ( Checked it: a year and three months. The bones were about ten months after death.)


Found Deceased - AZ - Jerry, 62, & Susan McFalls, 62, Littlefield, 11 Jan 2018
Found Deceased - AZ - Jerry, 62, & Susan McFalls, 62, Littlefield, 11 Jan 2018

But part of the reason might be that, since they identified Susan McFall almost immediately, it was obvious that the other set of bones was her husband, so formal identification wasn’t a high priority, and other cases took precedence.

 

[minazoe]

like what if someone just gave her a lift to the mountain and she went up there and died? what if they just didn't come forward because she went missing? NAW , because there would be no harm in saying I dropped her off at Loon...look over there......I hope it's soon..

I think every time a body in found in the area it is going to be Maura until proven otherwise..mOO

 

[tigerteeth]

Why are news outlets assuming its maura. Google maura murray and tons.of tsories about these bones come up. Weird? Im wondering of they were dug up during constructions, by dug up i mean buried not just shallow covering due to time.

Right, even if you search for loon or human remains news many of them are using her photo and reporting on the case.

 

[sony12]

People are more likely to look at the article if their is a face and name attached to it. As opposed to just some nameless remains of who knows who and who knows when. That's why they do it.

 

[Andreee]

Prayers for Maura and her family. The vicinity of Maura's car crash to the mountain, plus the fact that they've notified her family of the possibility resonates with me.

"A" is the location of Maura's car crash and "B" is the general location of the recent finding of someone's remains--20.5 miles; 30-minute drive. Walking would take almost 7-hours, according to Google maps.

View attachment 312725

I really don't think she walked that far, especially after a car crash! But it is possible she was picked up, murdered and left there.

 

[Laughing]

I really don't think she walked that far, especially after a car crash! But it is possible she was picked up, murdered and left there.

Keep in mind that this is a stressed distance runner. I certainly wouldn't run that distance, but can accept that a stressed distance runner might.

Running earned her praise & notice as a young teen. Running let her follow her sister to West Point. Running gave her a community at UMass.

Running solved (or addressed) problems in Maura's life, as presented to us at least.

The car accident is a problem. We believe that she wrecked while driving away from a big problem -- makes sense to me that after the wreck, she switched to running away, and could have made 20 miles.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[minazoe]

it shouldn't take so long to identify these bones..of course I say this with no knowledge of what all they will have to do with them..they have to be studied..dna extracted if possible..but to make the family wait so long is cruel..
there should be certain types of cases that get fast tracked. mOO

 

[sony12]

it shouldn't take so long to identify these bones..of course I say this with no knowledge of what all they will have to do with them..they have to be studied..dna extracted if possible..but to make the family wait so long is cruel..
there should be certain types of cases that get fast tracked. mOO

In all seriousness don't be terribly shocked if we never hear about this again and it just quietly goes away. If this doesn't have anything to do with Maura the only people that really need to hear about the results is her family. Just because this case has amassed a little bit of a social media following doesn't mean those people need to be appeased.

Doesn't sound like they had any plans of making a big deal about it anyways until Renner got word of it and put it all over social media.

 

[sds71]

Police have questioned two people near Loon in the past, WGME reported.

Reenstierna said he hopes the public respects the privacy of the Murray family.

“Our first priority is to respect the family and law enforcement,” he said. “Our hearts are with the Murrays and we hope this is one step towards some closure.”


This One Feels Different': Bone Fragments Found Near Area Where Maura Murray Vanished | Oxygen Official Site

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Keep in mind that this is a stressed distance runner. I certainly wouldn't run that distance, but can accept that a stressed distance runner might.

Running earned her praise & notice as a young teen. Running let her follow her sister to West Point. Running gave her a community at UMass.

Running solved (or addressed) problems in Maura's life, as presented to us at least.

The car accident is a problem. We believe that she wrecked while driving away from a big problem -- makes sense to me that after the wreck, she switched to running away, and could have made 20 miles.

jmho ymmv lrr

All due respect, have you been to the White Mountains in February? Never mind the extreme cold that would make any runner useless, the roads are not exactly designed for running that time of year and unless she was equipped with hiking boots with studs for snow and ice, there is just no way she ran or walked 20 miles. Not possible.

 

[Laughing]

All due respect, have you been to the White Mountains in February? Never mind the extreme cold that would make any runner useless, the roads are not exactly designed for running that time of year and unless she was equipped with hiking boots with studs for snow and ice, there is just no way she ran or walked 20 miles. Not possible.

Never been to the White Mountains in February, but have know several serious distance runners over the decades. If your habit is a ten-mile run every morning, rain or shine, heat or cold, that 20 mile distance is achievable.

Doubt that West Point cadets are allowed breaks in physical training for seasonal weather.

Plenty of timed events during the winter in northern states.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Never been to the White Mountains in February, but have know several serious distance runners over the decades. If your habit is a ten-mile run every morning, rain or shine, heat or cold, that 20 mile distance is achievable.

Doubt that West Point cadets are allowed breaks in physical training for seasonal weather.

Plenty of timed events during the winter in northern states.

jmho ymmv lrr

I think you missed my point. It has nothing to do with her capability. There is logistically no way for someone to walk or run on those roads in February. The same ice that caused the crash would have rendered her unable to run. Some of these roads are closed to driving this time of year due to the icy conditions. She had to have had special shoes - either hiking/studded boots or snow shoes (or ice skates) in order to get 20 miles on foot. It is not possible otherwise. Alternatively, she would have had to cross country ski if not hike.

Yes, it is possible to run/walk that distance with appropriate clothing/gear and that includes footwear. There's no indication Maura had that the gear. If she didn't, she would not make it 20 miles. You can't just put on regular walking shoes and expect to walk across ice standing upright or in 5 feet of snow, especially in the forest at night. She would have died long before she got to Loon if she tried such an endeavor.