NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - # 8

[McSpy]

Very interesting stuff. In fact, websleuths posts are a part of LE investigation!

http://mauramurray.blogspot.com/

 

[Unscripted]

If she did accept a lift from a passerby, we have no idea if the driver stopped in the east bound lane or the west bound lane. She could have got in a car going west.

True. If Maura was picked up by a vehicle it could have passed by while the school bus was there, turned around, circled back and collected her while going westbound. Although, the bloodhound picked up the scent further east down the road. Unless Maura actually did walk 100 yards east (that's the scent the dog picked up) and the was picked up by a vehicle travelling either east or west on 112.

In the accident report by CS he shows in the drawing tire marks at the crash site (criss-crosses on the diagram) that seem to indicate that Maura's car headed into the snowbank while crashing EB and showing tire marks crossing those possibly indicating that the car had been turned around (and not a result of being forced around by the impact). The Saturn is shown on the report as resting just slightly east of that, facing WB on the EB side of the road. Yes she very well might have moved it and tucked it in a bit so it wasn't protruding and by doing so decided it wasn't drivable for any distance.

But perhaps those tire treads are a second vehicle turning around -- travelling WB after passing by and then turning around. After picking up MM the car does a tight turn in the middle of the road and heads off eastwardly again? Or maybe they're just JKM's tire treads while turning around after his help wasn't needed by CS?

 

[OldSteve]

If she did accept a lift from a passerby, we have no idea if the driver stopped in the east bound lane or the west bound lane. She could have got in a car going west.

Could it be that a woman stopped, offered her a ride, which she accepted, and then dropped her off someplace where whatever happened took place?

Perhaps it's too complicated a thing to really happen, goes against Occam's razor.

 

[McSpy]

Could it be that a woman stopped, offered her a ride, which she accepted, and then dropped her off someplace where whatever happened took place?

Perhaps it's too complicated a thing to really happen, goes against Occam's razor.

Possible, but why didn't that woman ever come forward? I picture Maura running east on Rt. 112 from her car accident. A driver heading east or west on that road sees Maura and in the distance, they see her car with the flashing hazard lights. The driver asks Maura if she wants a ride somewhere. The driver seems friendly and helpful, so she accepts the ride. This occurs where the dogs lost her scent.

 

[OldSteve]

Possible, but why didn't that woman ever come forward? I picture Maura running east on Rt. 112 from her car accident. A driver heading east or west on that road sees Maura and in the distance, they see her car with the flashing hazard lights. The driver asks Maura if she wants a ride somewhere. The driver seems friendly and helpful, so she accepts the ride. This occurs where the dogs lost her scent.

Possible the driver never knew anything happened to her, or didn't want to get involved.... Also a couple might have picker her up....
What I'm thinking is that someone(s) gave her a ride and at some point she asked to be let out of the car... perhaps closer to the mountains, and it's there she sought shelter and drinks what she has ...

But (contradicting this) remember the windshield on her car was cracked. So what kind of shape was she in - would you give a person who appeared to have been drinking with an injury to her forehead or head...
Wouldn't you say wait for police to arrive and if possible stay with her and or call police...
And speaking of waiting for the police to arrive, I can't believe that anyone who lived close enough to see the accident didn't watch her and her car till LE arrived.

 

[McSpy]

Possible the driver never knew anything happened to her, or didn't want to get involved.... Also a couple might have picker her up....
What I'm thinking is that someone(s) gave her a ride and at some point she asked to be let out of the car... perhaps closer to the mountains, and it's there she sought shelter and drinks what she has ...

But (contradicting this) remember the windshield on her car was cracked. So what kind of shape was she in - would you give a person who appeared to have been drinking with an injury to her forehead or head...
Wouldn't you say wait for police to arrive and if possible stay with her and or call police...
And speaking of waiting for the police to arrive, I can't believe that anyone who lived close enough to see the accident didn't watch her and her car till LE arrived.

BBM

Well, if some guy, who was going to take the opportunity to harm a stranded woman, offers her a ride, he is not going to care if she was drunk or hurt. I think she may have accepted a ride out of desperation. She took the risk, because she knew the police were possibly on the way. Also, her cell phone was useless in that area.

I'm not so sure that it is impossible no one saw her get into a vehicle. The area is very dark and by the time she ran towards the east, she could have easily blended into the darkness with her black coat and backpack. Some of the neighbors probably didn't have a good view or vantage point from their windows at that point too. In fact, I don't think they even seen her run off. JMO

 

[McSpy]

Possible the driver never knew anything happened to her, or didn't want to get involved.... Also a couple might have picker her up....
What I'm thinking is that someone(s) gave her a ride and at some point she asked to be let out of the car... perhaps closer to the mountains, and it's there she sought shelter and drinks what she has ...

But (contradicting this) remember the windshield on her car was cracked. So what kind of shape was she in - would you give a person who appeared to have been drinking with an injury to her forehead or head...
Wouldn't you say wait for police to arrive and if possible stay with her and or call police...
And speaking of waiting for the police to arrive, I can't believe that anyone who lived close enough to see the accident didn't watch her and her car till LE arrived.

IMO, this scenario seems highly unlikely. For a passenger to request to be dropped off in the middle of a mountain range at night and during the winter would look like a suicide mission to a helpful driver, who gave her the ride. I can't see any reasonable person forgetting that request and not finding it very weird. A ride to town or a store makes more sense to me, but most people on that side of the mountains (Haverhill) are locals rather than tourists. It is possible a student from one of the colleges, who was not a local (not hearing the news of her disappearance) offered her a ride and never connected it to Maura. Yet, it was a national story early on, so it is hard to imagine they didn't hear about it at some point, even through chit chat at a local bar or coffee shop.

 

[Unscripted]

But (contradicting this) remember the windshield on her car was cracked. So what kind of shape was she in - would you give a person who appeared to have been drinking with an injury to her forehead or head...
Wouldn't you say wait for police to arrive and if possible stay with her and or call police...
And speaking of waiting for the police to arrive, I can't believe that anyone who lived close enough to see the accident didn't watch her and her car till LE arrived.

OldSteve,

Here's a YouTube clip of an intentional airbag deployment on an older model sedan showing a spiderweb crack in the windshield. They're not exactly from the NHTSA! but it lends credibility to the possibility that the airbag cracked the windshield.

Ford Taurus air bag demonstration - YouTube

 

[flightlevel]

Has it ever been actually verified that Maura's family was not permitted to see the surveillance tapes of the bank and liquor store? IIRC her father and family were denied when asking to view the tapes? Anyone know if this is true or not? Wouldn't it be crucial to the investigation to allow them to see the tapes?

 

[McSpy]

Has it ever been actually verified that Maura's family was not permitted to see the surveillance tapes of the bank and liquor store? IIRC her father and family were denied when asking to view the tapes? Anyone know if this is true or not? Wouldn't it be crucial to the investigation to allow them to see the tapes?

Someone would have to identify her and the family are the best judges of that, so I'm assuming a family member had to look at them. This is only a guess though.

 

[thesaint]

After thinking for a few years now that Maura must've met her end that February night in New Hampshire 8 years ago, the recent efforts of Mr Renner ( http://mauramurray.blogspot.com/ ) have me tilting toward Maura didn't know what she wanted that night but somehow ended up voluntarily disappearing.

1. It wasn't that cold that night.

2. Maura was a youthful, conditioned athlete, who likely could've separated herself from
the accident scene and made it to some sort of shelter with relative ease--with
or without anyone else's assistance.

3. Maura had coping and surviving skills that until recently we weren't aware of.
i.e., digging credit card numbers out of dumpsters to acquire basic necessities.

4. Maura drank more than it initially seemed (Bailey's in her morning coffee?)

5. Maura spent a year (or two?) at West Point. Just getting into West Point is a major achievement.

6. Maura's looks:

(a) while for the most part a hyper-generic looking girl
(b) the pictures circulated by her family after her disappearance look different than her
mugshot or whatever it was taken right before she disappeared.

 

[Unscripted]

After thinking for a few years now that Maura must've met her end that February night in New Hampshire 8 years ago, the recent efforts of Mr Renner have me tilting toward Maura didn't know what she wanted that night but somehow ended up voluntarily disappearing.

Pure speculation: What if she was pregnant and approached an adoption agency to be a surrogate mother and decided to start over with the funds she received? She was only 21 at the time and intelligent, talented and resourceful. What have you got to lose if your family is dysfunctional, your boyfriend is allegedly cheating on you and you've had a couple minor brushes with the law? $75,000 and the help of a fresh start by a powerful law firm might help sway you to leave your old life behind.

Yes, one hopes she wouldn't have been drinking, but old habits die hard and NH LE stated that all the alcohol was accounted for. Perhaps the plan was to drive the car to Bartlett, sign the surrogacy papers and leave the car abandoned. But the accident threw a bit of a monkey wrench into the plan and she had to exit quickly with someone who had been accompanying her in another vehicle? Again, just speculative.

 

[The Farm]

I can not remember if I have asked this question before but were any psychics ever involved in this case? Sometimes they are right on the money, not always but sometimes.

 

[Skigirl]

My opinions only, no facts here:

No person has a right to tell others how to think. So with due respect- an anorexic-bulemic person typically does not imbibe alcohol (or sugary sodas) in great quantities, because it is very rapidly metabolized and cannot be as effectively regurgitated as can solid food. Also, Maura did not have the gaunt appearance of an obsessed Hollywood actress trying for size 0. If anything, she looked fairly buff.

I respect your point of view, but the comorbidity of alcohol abuse problems and bulimia isn't a matter of opinion. Those two disorders actually do co-occur quite often (e.g., http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/substance.htm). Furthermore, people with bulimia are usually of normal weight (unlike those with anorexia). If she were bulimic, she might have been damaging her teeth and her skin might have been dry, or she might have had other physical symptoms, but she wouldn't have necessarily been gaunt, and given her sports participation and training, she would have been expected to look, and be, very fit.

 

[OldSteve]

I don't know about MM being as alcoholic as some seem to be saying. Even less so about having an eating disorder. As someone here liked to say, much of our peculation is simply "white noise". I have to admit, much of what I've speculated falls into that category as well.

I don't know if we can ever find an answer as to what happened to her.
Occam's razor leads me to think she either perished from the elements (intentionally or unintentionally) and somehow remarkably has not been found; or she was taken (either willingly or unwillingly) shortly after her crash and again remarkably not been found.

 

[Unscripted]

Regarding the consultation of psychics:

"The Associated Press

HAVERHILL, N.H. --
The parents of a Massachusetts woman missing in northern New Hampshire for two months reacted with skepticism to a psychic profiler's belief that the
young woman was abducted and killed.

Maura Murray's father, Fred, contacted the California psychic and is unsure
if he believes her, but the missing woman's mother says she is disregarding
Carla Baron's belief that Maura Murray was the victim of a serial killer.

"I don't believe her," Laurie Murray, of Hanson, told the Boston Sunday
Globe. "I don't believe in (psychics) at all."

University of Massachusetts nursing student Maura Murray, 21, has not been
seen since she was involved in a one-car accident in Haverhill on Feb. 9.

Police have said there are no signs of foul play, but her family, and now
nationally known psychic Carla Baron say they believe someone picked Murray up after the accident and harmed her.

Fred Murray, of Weymouth, said he's willing to listen to anyone who offers
help because law enforcement officials have been unable to explain his
daughter's disappearance Feb. 9.

"I have no idea whether they know what they're talking about or not," he
said of Baron and other psychics who contacted him. "If they're wrong,
they're wrong. The police seem to be out of ideas and there's no information
coming forward."

Maura Murray abruptly packed belongings and drove to New Hampshire without telling friends of family members of her plans.

Baron, a psychic profiler who helped lead police to finding the body of a
man who had committed suicide in a cornfield in the Midwest, told Fred
Murray that she believes a clean-cut man offered her a ride after her
accident, sexually assaulted her, killed her, and dumped the body, the Globe
reported.

Baron also told him there is another woman's body near his daughter's - a
victim of the same person.

Lt. John Scarinza, who has been in charge of the case, could not be reached
to comment Saturday."

 

[Katrinka]

I was reluctant to bring up my theory that Maura may have a eating disorder, because of the possibility her family reads these posts. I actually feel guilty about it.

McSpy, I understand and admire your sensitivity. If I were a friend or family member of Maura's, it would hurt me to see some of the speculation. With that said, this website is not her family/friend's board, it's to discuss the situation surrounding Maura's disappearance. I have been guilty of my own speculation, but, as much as I feel for them, I can't worry about her family's feelings being hurt.

 

[McSpy]

After thinking for a few years now that Maura must've met her end that February night in New Hampshire 8 years ago, the recent efforts of Mr Renner ( http://mauramurray.blogspot.com/ ) have me tilting toward Maura didn't know what she wanted that night but somehow ended up voluntarily disappearing.

1. It wasn't that cold that night.

2. Maura was a youthful, conditioned athlete, who likely could've separated herself from
the accident scene and made it to some sort of shelter with relative ease--with
or without anyone else's assistance.

3. Maura had coping and surviving skills that until recently we weren't aware of.
i.e., digging credit card numbers out of dumpsters to acquire basic necessities.

4. Maura drank more than it initially seemed (Bailey's in her morning coffee?)

5. Maura spent a year (or two?) at West Point. Just getting into West Point is a major achievement.

6. Maura's looks:

(a) while for the most part a hyper-generic looking girl
(b) the pictures circulated by her family after her disappearance look different than her
mugshot or whatever it was taken right before she disappeared.

Anything is possible, but I think she was unhappy with herself at the time--- not so much with her family and friends. She kept on messing up and she didn't like it. This is just my impression of her. I'm hoping she is still out there alive and well, but I think Maura would have contacted her family by now. I just have a hard time believing she would torture her family this way. Her mom had cancer and died on Maura's birthday a few years ago. This is just my gut feeling.

 

[McSpy]

McSpy, I understand and admire your sensitivity. If I were a friend or family member of Maura's, it would hurt me to see some of the speculation. With that said, this website is not her family/friend's board, it's to discuss the situation surrounding Maura's disappearance. I have been guilty of my own speculation, but, as much as I feel for them, I can't worry about her family's feelings being hurt.

I'm just putting myself in their shoes. I can't imagine what they have been going through all these years and they still don't have any answers. It has to be very hard. I did feel reluctant speculating on Maura possibly suffering from an eating disorder, because her family are real people and Maura is a real person. I could be wrong about my theory too. Sometimes, with all the speculation and analyzing of a mystery, we forget that these are real people we're discussing.

 

[McSpy]

I respect your point of view, but the comorbidity of alcohol abuse problems and bulimia isn't a matter of opinion. Those two disorders actually do co-occur quite often (e.g., http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/substance.htm). Furthermore, people with bulimia are usually of normal weight (unlike those with anorexia). If she were bulimic, she might have been damaging her teeth and her skin might have been dry, or she might have had other physical symptoms, but she wouldn't have necessarily been gaunt, and given her sports participation and training, she would have been expected to look, and be, very fit.

I agree. She was still young too. It didn't take its toll yet. If she continued for years, it would start to show.