I have delayed responding to the post by DocWho until I could give it the proper response
unemotionally.
The "plan" theory seeming unlikely to some people for emotional reasons is ok with me.
The quote above was referencing a post by me, however, I was quoting somebody who had posted on Mauras forum. I think it does this person and others who disagree with the theory a disservice to state that they have or may have disagreed for emotional reasons (in fact this poster has not totally dismissed the plan theory). The particular poster being quoted has in fact spent quite a bit of time asking questions, doing research and posting information to Mauras website
not all of which is available to a reader who only read the timeline and news articles.
However the evidence still points to there having been a plan for her departure that night as I have outlined in previous posts and none of those so far who seem opposed to the "plan" theory have managed to account for all the same facts. So far they just keep repeating that she would never leave on purpose and stay gone and that is somehow supposed to wash away the facts that point to a planned disappearance. And that emotional response in some ways may be keeping Maura from being found by them since it causes one to close eyes to the facts.
As far as I can see the evidence points to the fact that Maura had a plan to go to NH or VT.
There is no evidence whatsoever that Maura planned on disappearing. Here, I would note that you also do those who are opposed to the 'plan' theory a disservice by assuming that they reacted with an emotional response and closed their eyes to anything, fact or theory. Presumably, the NHSP have looked at the facts unemotionally and, well after Mauras disappearance, traveled to MA to retrieve Mauras belongings and re-impounded Mauras car and have denied repeated requests for information by the family based on the fact that it is an open and ongoing investigation by law enforcement agencies.
Maura is listed on the National Center for Missing Adults:
NMCO is dedicated to the prevention of abduction and the safe recovery of missing persons with primary focus on adults determined by law enforcement to be endangered due to foul play, diminished mental capacity, physical disability, or suspicious circumstances.
Maura is also listed in NCIC:
Entering adults into the national database (NCIC), is also limited. A report may be taken and an investigator will be assigned to all cases, but there are specific criterion for NCIC. If the missing person has a physical handicap or mental disability, if they are missing involuntarily, if they are a victim of a catastrophe or if they are in some way endangered, then the person can be placed into NCIC.
This stuff about other people who are not Maura being missing seems to me an attempt at implying that most people who are missing are dead and that is just not so.
Thank you for pointing out that my post was not clear to you, though I must say I am curious as to your confusion. You are absolutely correct, not everyone who is missing is dead
and I never meant to imply that in any way.
The majority of missing persons are alive.
As I said, I have not found any statistics that are kept on how many are missing found dead, but your statement is accurate as far as it goes
according to the Las Vegas Police,
The fact is that the vast majority of reported missing persons are found or voluntarily return home within 48-72 hours after being reported. However, according to the National Center for Missing adults:
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Crime Informatin Center (NCIC) there are 47,842 active missing adult cases, with
30,622 missing adults missing one year or more (as of 7/30/04). Maura has been missing for almost two years....
Sadly, I think that your confusion stems from the fact the numbers seem to correspond in the articles I cited. There are 47,842 reported active missing adult cases and there are 40,000-50,000 reported unidentified bodies over 50 years. I in no way meant that fact A equalled fact B, but
.the fact remains that according to the articles I posted there are 40,000 to 50,000 unidentified bodies spread out over the United States
I suspect some died of natural causes that had nothing to do with any crime and will never be identified either because they were homeless or because their belongings were scattered by animals over the years. It would also appear from that Bill Hagmaier states in the article cited that not all of the unidentified bodies are reported
nor presumably are all of the missing reported.
Retired FBI executive Bill Hagmaier, now executive director of the International Homicide Investigators Association, said the failure to report tens of thousands of Doe cases is contributing to the rising percentage of unsolved murder cases. In 2003, the latest year for which records are available, only 62 percent of homicides were resolved, a 30-year low.
The point I was trying to make is that in too many of these cases, the missing cannot be 'matched' to the unidentified because of a lack of reporting as was pointed out in the article and in the blog I referenced.
If it were so then L.E. would treat every missing person report as a homicide & swing into action accordingly. We all know they do not do so.
In fact some law enforcement agencies do swing into action :
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Missing person Detail Investigates all cases of Missing Persons and Runaway Children.
It is the policy of the department to conduct thorough missing persons investigations to ascertain the possibility of a criminal act, to quickly initiate searches to reduce the possibility of harm to missing persons, and to return missing children to their families as soon as possible.
San Francisco Missing Persons Unit
Investigations regarding missing persons present a genuine challenge to law enforcement professionals. Fortunately, public awareness and concern about missing persons continues to grow, especially as it relates to missing children, persons who are mentally and physically impaired, and suspected victims of foul play.
The San Francisco Police Department will investigate all persons reported missing until the person is found or determined to be a voluntarily missing adult.
San Jose, CA Police
The investigation of missing person cases takes priority over cases involving property crime. This is especially true when a case involves a missing person who is believed to be at risk. Every report of a missing person is assigned to a detective for investigation.
And according to the National Center for Missing Children (and if you read it, they are not just referring to children) they should:
National Center for Missing Children - Model Policies and Procedures
it is essential that each response, regardless of what the initial indicators may be, should be governed by an assumption that the person is in jeopardy until significant facts to the contrary are confirmed.
When officers respond with the missing persons safety as their foremost concern, they will be more likely to collect evidence or information that might otherwise be lost during the critical, early stages of an investigation. **
To imply that my posting a theory concerning this case is tantamount to calling for everyone to throw up their hands and allow serial killers to run wild is simply nonsense and such tactics are unworthy of this forum. It certainly sounds as if it is an attempt to silence honest opinions being posted for fear of being labeled as a coddler of serial killers. I certainly hope I misunderstood that part and feel free to correct me if I am wrong about it.
I certainly didnt mean to imply that posting a theory was tantamount to calling for everyone to throw their hands up and allow serial killers to run wild and agree that it is nonsense. The statement I was trying to make was that when we as a society dismiss missing persons as runaways and police dont do investigations because there is no obvious, visible evidence of a crime, evidence is missed or lost. When we as a society, agree that adults have the right to go missing we run the risk of allowing criminals to go free.
As mentioned above some police agencies are starting to take the growing number of missing persons seriously
some are still telling people that they have to wait 24-48 or even 72 hours to report a missing person. The initial actions or lack of action by police in Maura's case
appear to deny the possibility that something untoward happened to Maura..although their initial press release stated that Maura might be suicidal. On February 9, 2004 all the police knew was that a 20ish young woman, who had possibly been drinking, was not at the scene of a single car accident on a very dark rural road in 12º temperatures. To all appearances, they did not even attempt to contact the owner of the car until the next day and had the car towed that night. While it is reported that they drove around looking for Maura in the pitch black, the reports available indicate that there was one direction they did not travel
east of the scene which is where the alleged sighting (not reported until April 29th) of Maura is reported to have occurred. No formal search was done for almost 36 hours, when the dog lost her scent at the scene not where she was allegedly spotted approximately five miles away an hour later. (this quote is from a news article that was not cited: Scarinza said a man, whom he declined to identify, was returning from a construction job in the Franconia area when he spotted a young woman matching Murray's description hurrying east on Route 112, about
an hour after her accident....and this: NH State Police have infomed Fred Murray that a resident of Route 112 in NH has come forward saying that they saw "a youngster dressed in jeans and a dark coat moving at a fast pace, looking away from my car so as not to be seen, traveling east about 4-5 miles east of the accident site at about 8 or 8:15 pm on Monday, Feb 9th."
http://www.truckingboards.com/trucking/upload/archive/index.php/t-7022)
Now many assume she got a ride and that is why the dog lost her scent....the problem with that is that it in no way would have taken someone an hour to go 4-5 miles by car and if she had walked or run that far it seems as though some else including police could have seen her and the dog would have continued to follow the scent....with the plowed snow along the side of the road it would have been very difficult to hide along the road...easy in summer, but not that night....and if she had had an accomplice it would appear that they were pretty far behind.
As I also posted previously, it would seem that there would have been other choices one could make to ditch a car if they were planning on disappearing...especially a car not in good working order...why attempt an almost three hour drive if you have an accomplice....and because the car was registered to her father, chances that would be reported to him were far greater than if it had been left in the school parking lot where it had remained parked for a couple of weeks...why not just take off with the accomplice.
When you read the posts on Maura's website, you also find some contradictions in statements made to the press by those at or near the scene (and I am not entirely ruling out misquotes...except that some of the info is repeated in more than one paper).
The flashers in Maura's car were on...the flashers in Maura's car were off (perhaps at different times) depending on who was interviewed.
The person last known to have spoken to Maura states:
She spun on the curve. She had no lights on, and it was a dark car. I could just about see it. I put my flashlight in the window. She was behind the airbag. All I could see was from her mouth up, Atwood said yesterday as he stood in his driveway and pointed to the accident spot. 2/19/04 sorry I don't have the source.
The problem I have with that is that other neighbors stated that this witness didn't arrive for about 5 minutes after Maura's car was stopped...airbags deflate within less than a second...unless of course they are defective...
This person is reportedly a former police officer presumably trained to observe an accident scene. Although it is true it is reported that he offered to call the police, there are no reports that anything was done to prevent another car from hitting Maura's car, no offer of a blanket until help arrived and no offer to stay with her until help arrived...the person reports staying on the porch, but states that he couldn't see Maura's car and reports that they saw no cars stop...then the person reports going to the bus in 12º degree weather to do paper work where police knocked on the window... It sounds as though he didn't even notice the flashing lights from the emergency vehicles when they arrived.
Again the same contradictions...she was picked up at the scene or seen running an hour later, 4-5 miles away where according to what has been published no help was offered at all...yet this person appears to state that the person seen running was averting her face so as not to be seen??....it seems that some memories may be a bit hazy.
These are some of the reasons I have questions about the 'plan' theory.
