NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - # 4

[czechmate7]

I believe the CW has been and remains a person of interest to investigators.

The five mile radius is a standard search zone for locating both bodies and perpetrators in murders, rapes, etc.

Hasn't there been searches of the area already? Could they be working off of a"tip"?

I know you've probably already stated your opinion on this, but what about the phone call Lt Rausch received a couple of days after the accident; do you believe it was from Maura? Let's say the call WAS from Maura (as the family believes); wouldn't that mean that she had made it out of the area; at least made it past/away from the accident scene? I have a hard time seeing her use a calling card in distress; also calling Lt Rausch vs 911.

 

[hydemi]

I do not know about tips but I believe searching is being concentrated on certain areas within five miles of the site in Swiftwater--probably based on discussions with the PI team and some locals.

It was the Rausches, Sharon and her son Bill Rausch, who said they believed the call was from Maura.

I still credit their initial conviction--they were adamant.

I do not think the Murray family in general puts the same stock in the call being from Maura as the Rausches--but cannot be certain of this as none of them have specifically commented to my knowledge.

A new attempt is being made via database searching with ATT on this call.

If the caller was Maura, and if the call was on Wed am(not delayed in the network getting to Lt R's phone), and if the pin number is found via database search, then yes we have a real lead and an indication of where she might have been on that date--whether still in the crash site area or elsewhere.

And it would be helpful if once and for all we knew the call was not from her.

 

[nnglas]

I haven't posted in awhile because of scheduling conflicts, and family problems. But I did want to mention one thing. Although I have never fully subscribed to the foul play theory, when I first heard of this story my mind went immediately to the CW story, and him possibly being involved. I know others think "why would he even say anything about possibly seeing Maura?" I have a theory. I think if he was involved in her disappearance the reason why he told his story to anyone would be to make them think that she left the area. They were focusing on the accident site and the surrounding areas. Why not try to make the police think she was fine and leaving the area. I don't know just a thought.


As I said I have never really subscribed to the foul play theory, but every angle needs to be investigated.

 

[hydemi]

nnglas--yes, check on my post from April 25th for some discussion of the CW's possible involvement in Maura's disappearance even though all we have are (as usual) lots of unanswered questions.

He was overheard talking about the missing girl, evidently somewhere in the local area--not sure of the location, but a public place. The party who overheard him passed on the info to police. CW on his own never went to police so it seems certain (this was nearly three months later) that on his own he was never going to tell police about passing by the youngster hurrying quickly on 112 sometime after 8pm about four miles east of the accident site.

Initially his story was accepted by Lt Scarinza and Fred Murray.

But Scarinza makes no further mention of the CW story in his June 2004 summary of Maura's disappearance which he gave at the Vermont Police barracks or in any subsequent media story.

And Mr Murray says that both CW and SBD (Atwood) need to be re-investigated in his second letter to the NH Governor's office (Feb 2005 to Gov Lynch, whereas his first letter to Gov Benson in May 2004 treats the CW story as true).

 

[czechmate7]

Does anyone know if CW has a criminal record?

 

[hydemi]

The short answer is that I do not know for certain.

Assuming I had the right name I did for curiosity sake run an Intelius report but it had no criminal record.

 

[nnglas]

HI Hydemi!!


Yeah, I have always thought he (CW) is more suspect then SBD. Whether it be because he wanted the reward of if he was just telling tales out of school.

 

[Ranter]

This is my first time posting in here, but I've researched the Maura Murray disappearance quite a bit and read through this entire thread. One thing seems clear to me. She was definitely picked up at the scene. First, she disappeared in a matter of minutes (assuming the timelines are correct) between the 911 call and the police arriving on the scene. Second, the dog picked up her scent, then lost it suddenly 100 yards down the road.

There has been some talk about the dog only being given a glove to sniff, and only being put on the scent 36 to 48 hours after the accident, but I don't think that's important. Dogs can pick up scent from almost anything, and they can follow trails a lot older than 2 days. I have full confidence in the dog's ability to identify her scent and pick up the trail.

Now, considering how those two facts (disappearing quickly, dog losing scent in 100 yds) reinforce each other, I don't think there can any question she got into a vehicle very close to the accident scene; probably right where the dog lost her scent. That means the CW is either mistaken (quite possible) or untruthful. If untruthful, it doesn't mean he's guilty of anything, but it certainly means the cops need to find out why he is being untruthful. If he owns/owned property in the immediate vicinity (I believe he did, someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong), it needs to be searched thoroughly.

 

[hydemi]

good points from Ranter.

However it is not certain that she was picked up at the scene.

Most of the Maura site posters would agree with you--and of course most of them subscribe to some version of "foul play" for Maura's fate.

She ran every day five to six miles in the coldest weather on her own, and was wearing light sneaker type shoes.

The dog on the scent trail on Wed am 2/11 may or may not be reliable. There had been two windy days and the Atwoods backing their buses in and out of the driveway near where the dog stopped, not to mention the other traffic going through the intersection of the roads (see below).

If the CW arrived home to his trailer on Bradley Hill Rd (even though his address is on Wild Ammonoosuc Rd across the street from where Atwood the SBD lived at the time) right at the time of her disappearance around 7.45pm, he could have been the one to pick her up at the scene.

He refused to allow searchers on his property.

Evidently police did get a warrant later and searched his trailer (he built a new house himself, remember he is a smalltime contractor) after he had sold it to a dealer down the road in Lyme.

As I said above many posts back, I believe CW was involved in some way with Maura but the mix of true and false in his story (see Weeper's posts on the Maura site) is a question which I am reasonably sure has been a huge difficulty for investigators in NH. If they had more evidence on CW or anyone else, I am sure we would know that by now.

 

[hydemi]

See the Maura site for a link to a story in yesterday's Caledonian Record concerning remains of a hiker, possibly Sypek who disappeared Feb 2005, found near Franconia off the regular trails.

The link is in a post by kr.

This story could be added to the stories in Howe's Not Without Peril which was Maura's favorite book, found in her bag in her car two years ago.

 

[czechmate7]

See the Maura site for a link to a story in yesterday's Caledonian Record concerning remains of a hiker, possibly Sypek who disappeared Feb 2005, found near Franconia off the regular trails.

The link is in a post by kr.

This story could be added to the stories in Howe's Not Without Peril which was Maura's favorite book, found in her bag in her car two years ago.

Not sure the meaning behind this post?
Are the remains thought to be Maura's? Sounds as though they have an idea who it is (Sypek?)....

 

[Masterj]

In the Crimes in the news section, the article posted says police believe the remains are of a man.

 

[CW]

Maura thread is getting long so I'm going to close it and start a part 5.