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

[McSpy]

I just don't see it that way at all.

I think (Pure guess by the way) that maura was making an attempt to free herself and get out of dodge at the time the SBD approached the accident.

When he approached, she had to freeze her exit plans. I don;t think at anytime whatsover that she was afraid of the SBD.

But in no way would she want him to get the police out there, she would be screwed royally. They would come, she would likely get locked up and very likely her father would've been notified and her whole plans (whatever they were would've been squashed).


I think she fed that story to the SBD, in hopes he would just leave the scene and let her be.

i think she quickly realized, especially when he went to his house which was just a little ways down the road, that she had to get out of dodge on foot and abandon the car because the cops were coming.

I think its highly telling, that she took alcohol with her but left her clothes and valuables behind.

She also had to know that her time-frame to escape (not just neccesairly to go commit suicide but whatever theory you want to believe she was in that area for) was working against her at that point.

By abandoning her car, she had to know that her gig would be up sooner rather than later and that it would get back to her father and family.

Why would she buy snacks and bring her stuffed monkey and jewelry on a suicide?

 

[McSpy]

very good point about throwing caution to the wind.

There is no good reason in the world (that I can come up with) that any person would take a car in the middle of winter that is either on its last leg or about to die and drive hours away into the mountains ... that cared anymore (about their own safety or well-being) especially a young female traveling alone.

Just something to ponder. One of the gazillion red flags that helped me lean towards the suicide theory concerning maura

Once again JUST MY OPINION

Young people can do crazy things when they are troubled and emotional. I witnessed my own sister jump out of a moving car. Fortunately, she was okay (only bruised), but in my mind--- she was acting crazy! What was she thinking!?! She's fine now, married and has a few kids. JMO

 

[Alden Howes Olson]

If she was drunk at the WB curve, how far would she have gone on foot in order to evade police?

 

[McSpy]

I don't normally post here on Maura's thread but I felt the need to say that I believe Maura did have an alcohol problem. I think its evident that drinking was effecting her life....and not in a good way.
What problems led her to drinking? Now that's worth finding out....

I'm not so sure she had an alcohol problem yet, but I do think she had an anxiety problem. This could lead to other problems such as alcohol abuse, bulimia, etc. It is not a fact that Maura had an anxiety problem. This is just my gut feeling and opinion, which can change.

 

[Skigirl]

I've always thought the whole Vasi thing to be pretty fanciful. There are five colleges in the area with upwards of 30K students, and students don't even necessarily have the corner on car accidents or hit-and-runs. Given that there are like 50,000 potential suspects between the students and non-students in and around the Amherst area, just by the stats alone it's pretty unlikely that she was involved -- even if she hadn't been working then.

 

[McSpy]

If she was drunk at the WB curve, how far would she have gone on foot in order to evade police?

The witness who talked to her that evening said she didn't act or appear drunk. She may have been slightly buzzed, because there was evidence she drank. Since she was young and a competitive runner, I believe she could have gone far. Perhaps 10 miles or more. She also climbed mountains for fun, so I feel she had pretty good stamina to make it far. JMO

 

[Skigirl]

Are you on the right thread? IMO, Maura did have successes. She was a champion runner (IIRC, her record in state high school track has not been broken yet). She got into West Point (only the top 5% of high school grads get considered). It is also an appointment-- not just an acceptance. People, in high positions in the federal government such as Senators appoint kids into the military academies. She was on the honor roll at UMass Amherst. IMO, I do think she had a problem----possibly Bulimia or maybe an emotional problem, which drove her actions (cc fraud). I see her as a 21 year old who had some issues that needed attention, which is not unusual for that age. JMO

There is no evidence she was involved in the Vasi accident at all.

I have to say I agree. By the time she disappeared, her accomplishments were arguably greater than most peoples' lifetime achievements.

 

[Alden Howes Olson]

The witness who talked to her that evening said she didn't act or appear drunk. She may have been slightly buzzed, because there was evidence she drank. Since she was young and a competitive runner, I believe she could have gone far. Perhaps 10 miles or more. She also climbed mountains for fun, so I feel she had pretty good stamina to make it far. JMO

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Let me try stating it differently. How far, realistically, would someone travel on foot, starting at the WB curve, for the purpose of evading police? What's a realistic distance for someone, regardless of athletic ability, to go on foot in order to avoid police?

 

[Alden Howes Olson]

The witness who talked to her that evening said she didn't act or appear drunk. She may have been slightly buzzed, because there was evidence she drank. Since she was young and a competitive runner, I believe she could have gone far. Perhaps 10 miles or more. She also climbed mountains for fun, so I feel she had pretty good stamina to make it far. JMO

Just curious. How was it known that the witness - apparently, the only witness (please correct me if I'm wrong) - was talking to Maura Murray?

 

[McSpy]

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Let me try stating it differently. How far, realistically, would someone travel on foot, starting at the WB curve, for the purpose of evading police? What's a realistic distance for someone, regardless of athletic ability, to go on foot in order to avoid police?

It is a very dark area. It is on the edge of a national forest. Street lights are scarce, so she didn't have to go too far to hide in the shadows. One problem though, supposedly there were no footprints found leading off the road into the woods. Although, I think it was possible she could have gone up a driveway and hid on private property close by.

 

[McSpy]

Just curious. How was it known that the witness - apparently, the only witness (please correct me if I'm wrong) - was talking to Maura Murray?

The witness was a school bus driver who came upon the accident. Other witnesses saw him talk to her (they were looking out their windows). Maura had told him not to call the police, because she said that she called AAA by cell phone. He didn't believe she could have got a hold of AAA by cell (no reception in the area). When he got home, he had his wife call police about the accident. He lived close by to the accident. He has been extensively questioned by police and has since passed away.

 

[McSpy]

Maura's case is what lead me to WS. Regardless of what happened in her past (which I absolutely believe lead to her disappearance), she has a family who misses her and wants her back. I believe the reason that Fred Murray refuses to talk about Maura's past is because he wants people to focus on Maura being missing. Not the mistakes she's made. My theory is that Maura was bulimic and was developing a drinking problem and had to steel cc numbers to hide it from her family. UMASS finds out and threatens to expell her. She packs up her dorm room because she knows she's in trouble and probably moving very soon. Then she decides to get away for the week to think about what she's done and make some big decisions. She stocks up on booze and heads to the mountains while drinking alcohol on the way up. She gets drunk, gets in an accident and runs because a dwi is the last thing she needs. Unfortunately, I believe she got lost and succumbed to the elements. This is definitely jmo but after reading everything I could find, this is what I think could've happened.

Maura's case led to my involvement in websleuths too. I was shocked she wasn't found yet after running into a story about her a couple of years ago. I had to know more.

 

[McSpy]

My theory is that Maura was bulimic and was developing a drinking problem and had to steel cc numbers to hide it from her family. UMASS finds out and threatens to expell her. She packs up her dorm room because she knows she's in trouble and probably moving very soon. Then she decides to get away for the week to think about what she's done and make some big decisions. She stocks up on booze and heads to the mountains while drinking alcohol on the way up. She gets drunk, gets in an accident and runs because a dwi is the last thing she needs. Unfortunately, I believe she got lost and succumbed to the elements. This is definitely jmo but after reading everything I could find, this is what I think could've happened.

Sorry about the technical difficulty-was trying to quote up there ^Very concise explanation, and it makes total sense. I find the "running of to Canada with someone" theory implausible. There is really nothing to support it. She was having some trouble in life and needed to step away, and the accident changed her course. There is no concrete evidence that she was involved in the hit and run either.

BBM
I agree. I don't think Maura is living a new life in Canada. I wish she was doing that, but I believe she was either a victim of foul play or succumbed to the elements. I wished she slept on it before heading north. She needed sleep and a new day to have put things in perspective. I doubt she had a good nights sleep the night before she left on her trip to NH. JMO

 

[deca]

After reading about the many MANY disappearances documented here on WS, I don't think MM case is that unusual, unfortunately. She seems like a typical young adult in that she had successes and failures and occasionally made a poor decision or two. I don't think she was self-destructing.

That doesn't mean I don't think her case deserves attention or warrants being solved. All these unexplained disappearances keep me up at night wondering...

I think that after the accident and after turning down offers of help, MM was approached once again by someone offering her a ride. Realizing that she was going to be continually asked, in addition to current conditions on the road, she finally gave up and agreed for a ride into town. I can see her accepting a ride from a female of any age, a couple, a male 16-25 y.o., or someone in a uniform or driving a "company" car with a logo. Someone "safe".

Since this person has not come forward, most likely s/he is the killer. Although it is possible they dropped her off somewhere and she met up with a perp in another location.

I doubt that she succumbed to the elements. Yes, she could have fallen into the river, etc. I am just going to cancel out that possibility because of her scent trail ending.

I hope her family gets answers soon. If I am dreaming about it and thinking about her fate- how horrible must they been feeling?

 

[Alden Howes Olson]

It is a very dark area. It is on the edge of a national forest. Street lights are scarce, so she didn't have to go too far to hide in the shadows. One problem though, supposedly there were no footprints found leading off the road into the woods. Although, I think it was possible she could have gone up a driveway and hid on private property close by.

If the bus driver had never seen Maura Murray before, and if he spoke to her only briefly in a very dark area, then how could he have reliably identified the person he spoke to as Maura Murray?

 

[scoops]

I've always thought the whole Vasi thing to be pretty fanciful. There are five colleges in the area with upwards of 30K students, and students don't even necessarily have the corner on car accidents or hit-and-runs. Given that there are like 50,000 potential suspects between the students and non-students in and around the Amherst area, just by the stats alone it's pretty unlikely that she was involved -- even if she hadn't been working then.

I think the FACT she was a block away from the hit and run, decreases your lists of suspects some. (I'm not saying she was involved. But not quite sure why everyone is so dismissive.

Oh, nevermind I forgot. This forum is about what we hope happened to maura and has nothing to do with actual facts or evidence.

 

[McSpy]

After reading about the many MANY disappearances documented here on WS, I don't think MM case is that unusual, unfortunately. She seems like a typical young adult in that she had successes and failures and occasionally made a poor decision or two. I don't think she was self-destructing.

That doesn't mean I don't think her case deserves attention or warrants being solved. All these unexplained disappearances keep me up at night wondering...

I think that after the accident and after turning down offers of help, MM was approached once again by someone offering her a ride. Realizing that she was going to be continually asked, in addition to current conditions on the road, she finally gave up and agreed for a ride into town. I can see her accepting a ride from a female of any age, a couple, a male 16-25 y.o., or someone in a uniform or driving a "company" car with a logo. Someone "safe".

Since this person has not come forward, most likely s/he is the killer. Although it is possible they dropped her off somewhere and she met up with a perp in another location.

I doubt that she succumbed to the elements. Yes, she could have fallen into the river, etc. I am just going to cancel out that possibility because of her scent trail ending.

I hope her family gets answers soon. If I am dreaming about it and thinking about her fate- how horrible must they been feeling?

Unfortunately, this does seem like a likely scenario. Although, hypothermia can get the best of anyone. It can start out as shivers and then progress to confusion. I fell victim to it once. I couldn't even form words. My mind stopped the connection to my mouth. It was weird. If she was outside for hours, I can see it as a possibilty. JMO

 

[deca]

Unfortunately, this does seem like a likely scenario. Although, hypothermia can get the best of anyone. It can start out as shivers and then progress to confusion. I fell victim to it once. I couldn't even form words. My mind stopped the connection to my mouth. It was weird. If she was outside for hours, I can see it as a possibilty. JMO

Oh, I totally think she could have gotten hypothermia. A common thing that happens in the middle of the confusion is the victim tries to "burrow" into shrubs, under logs etc. making it even more difficult for them to be found.

But, am I wrong in thinking that there were no tracks/scent trail of her past a certain point in the road? Or is that some other case I am confusing with this one? If I am remembering correctly and her scent trail ended- well then I think she was picked up.

 

[McSpy]

If the bus driver had never seen Maura Murray before, and if he spoke to her only briefly in a very dark area, then how could he have reliably identified the person he spoke to as Maura Murray?

I agree that he and we cannot be sure it was her, but logically, I feel it was her. She was captured on video on her way up to NH (ATM, Liquor store), so I'm confident it was her. The bus driver got her height and weight right when he described her. Also, statistically it is extremely rare for a woman to knock off another woman for an old car. More likely a young man would do something like that, in my opinion.

 

[McSpy]

Oh, I totally think she could have gotten hypothermia. A common thing that happens in the middle of the confusion is the victim tries to "burrow" into shrubs, under logs etc. making it even more difficult for them to be found.

But, am I wrong in thinking that there were no tracks/scent trail of her past a certain point in the road? Or is that some other case I am confusing with this one? If I am remembering correctly and her scent trail ended- well then I think she was picked up.

You are correct. Her scent ended about 300 yards down the road (east). Unfortunately, they used gloves, which Maura rarely used as the scent to track. Her father complained that they should have used her track clothes. He didn't have confidence that the gloves were reliable for tracking. Also, I believe the search wasn't done right away, so the scent wasn't strong. In my opinion, there seems to be room for error. JMO