NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - #10

[Lolacat]

Smooth operator- I totally agree. I started off thinking that Maura had left for a temporary break to get away from it all, but I feel like I am becoming more convinced that she was intent on suicide. That said, it doesnt preclude the idea that she could have succumbed to foul play, after the wreck that messed up her plans. If she was in fact, suicidal, then it makes her even more vulnerable because she might have been taking risks that she normally would not (e.g., hitching a ride etc) due to her fragile mental state.
Its also true that it would be extremely unlikely for her to come across a "serial killer" within that time frame. Serial killers are predators, but not all predators are serial killers. Serial killers have a rare pathology (thankfully) whereas other predators (eg. rapists, controlling men, violent men, men who abuse their wives and/or children, drug addicts etc) are more common. I believe its perfectly possible that she could have been picked up miles down the road, several hours later by one of these predators, it doesnt necessarily have to have been a "serial killer".

 

[scoops]

How does a scent just disappear though? The dogs that were brought to the scene lost her scent after 100 yards.

An investigator (private) into Maura's disappearance who has experience with search dogs and training officers to work with search dogs (if I recall) has said that before the dog searches even began looking for Maura that they thought they would get about 100-yards (in any direction) before the dogs would lose the scent.

So it was a foregone conclusion that they were going to lose the scent even before the dog search began.

The reasons given had to do with the cold temperatures and the type of search dogs used And most importantly, the time that had passed which I believe was like at least 48 hours or more from when Maura actually went missing.

As I understand it, the type of search dog used (in the instance where Maura's gloves were used as a guide) was a ground-scent dog.

Ground scent dogs have to follow a trail and when that scent trail ends, the dog stops. Scent trails in the winter time don't take long to disappear (Plus cars passing over and wind also disrupt the scent trails and displace them).

Had they used an air-scent search dog, that kind of dog sniffs for death and decaying flesh and that kind of dog doesn't need a trail to guide it to the subject.

So basically as I understand it, the type of dog used to find Maura (even if Maura had been off to the side of the road just a few feet away covered by leaves or snow, the ground scent dog would not have found her if the trail it was sniffing didn't break off and go off to the side.

However, an air scent dog would've found Maura if she was off the side of the road.

What they did get from the search dogs that were used was that Maura did start off going east from her car before the dog lost the scent.

 

[scoops]

Also on the dog(s) search for Maura:

As I understand it, the search dogs did not stop right in front of the driveway of the school bus driver's house like it has been sloppily implied elsewhere.

The dogs went past the SBD house and made an abrupt stop right at the intersection of Bradley Hill Rd and Rt. 112. (Which is past the SBD house)

It seemed like a logical place for the dog search to end (again based on the cold weather, cross-winds etc.)

 

[OldSteve]

Regarding use of tracking dog, this post in another thread might be of interest:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225966&page=14

 

[JamesRenner]

Check out our fundraising effort over on the blog. We're hoping to raise enough money to buy billboards and newspaper ads for the 10th anniversary of Maura's disappearance.

 

[neverletgo]

:bump:

Does anyone want to post their odds/guesses on the cause of Maura's disappearance from the scene of her accident on the night of February 9, 2004?

For example, just throwing some random numbers/scenarios out:

I feel that she:

45% - was abducted from accident scene or nearby
40% - left accident scene and succumbed to elements
10% - left accident scene to start a new life
4% - left accident scene to commit suicide
1% - other

Happy holidays, everyone! :snowflake:

 

[Lolacat]

Merry Christmas everyone


I seem to change my mind daily but sadly, I believe that Maura is no longer alive. I believe she left for the mountains to *possibly* kill herself, the plan went terribly wrong and she either succumbed to the elements or was abducted by a stranger. If she is still alive I would be utterly gobsmacked, but also really happy

I was thinking about another missing case recently that also seemed to make no sense whatsoever, no matter which way you looked at it. It was a complete riddle. Then, some information came to light and BOOM, everything made total sense. I believe and hope that this will happen in this case too. It only takes one small grain of information for this to happen. I truly hope so.

 

[EmiLove832]

I can't decide what I think Maura intended to do which makes me think she may have considered leaving school hence packing up or possibly suicide then decided not to make any decisions until she returned from her trip.

The alcohol she bought doesn't imply she was drinking with a male, white russians are girly drinks.

That leaves me with two options:

A. Someone was meeting her or driving in tandem with her and picked her up after the crash. Maybe the accident was overwhelming enough for her that she decided it wasn't worth going back and started a new life somewhere.

B. She left the scene to avoid LE and succumbed to the elements. With this theory, I would think her body would have been found by now.

So I always go back to A. I prefer to remain optimistic!

 

[scoops]

70 % -----Maura took her own life
20 % ----- Maura succumbed to the elements
10 % -----Maura picked the wrong house to get help from and was murdered


The fact her body hasn't been recovered isn't puzzling to me at all.

Very little searches have taken place for her and the ones that have were close to where her car was found (which a typical car accident that would make sense to search that area) but for someone with issues going on and hints of making life changing decisions left behind, searching right around the car doesn't make as much sense.

So much wilderness where Maura went missing. Wild animals also may have played a part in scattering her remains.

 

[Dixie811]

70 % -----Maura took her own life
20 % ----- Maura succumbed to the elements
10 % -----Maura picked the wrong house to get help from and was murdered


The fact her body hasn't been recovered isn't puzzling to me at all.

Very little searches have taken place for her and the ones that have were close to where her car was found (which a typical car accident that would make sense to search that area) but for someone with issues going on and hints of making life changing decisions left behind, searching right around the car doesn't make as much sense.

So much wilderness where Maura went missing. Wild animals also may have played a part in scattering her remains.

BBM

I agree very much with the above bolded!!

 

[JamesRenner]

80% started a new life.
15% murdered by someone she knew
5% other

 

[Love Coco]

Why would a predator be cruising Rt. 112 at 7:10 p.m. on a Monday night looking for young females stranded?

...

But why would they be working Rt. 112 at evening instead of in the daylight?

Isn't it rather obvious though, that a killer/abductor/even a first-timer would more likely prowl, hunt, and attack during the night, than in the middle of the day?

A person (Maura) going through a downward spiral and on top of it, experiencing quite a bit bad luck with multiple car wrecks and breakdowns at work (all in the span of a few days) is all of a sudden going to run into the worst ultimate luck possible on top of everything else by meeting up with a predator.

What kind of karma does Maura have? She would have to be the unluckiest person to ever live.

Perhaps it was a person who can sense vulnerability in people?
The same way in which victims of rape are more likely to be raped again; or a bullied child can move to a completely new school, and still be the victim of bullying.

Or as I mentioned already in an earlier post, the state she was in - possibly even suicidal - could have made her take and engage in riskier choices and behaviors that day, such as later getting into a car with a stranger, even if in a different situation, on a different day, she might not have.

 

[scoops]

Isn't it rather obvious though, that a killer/abductor/even a first-timer would more likely prowl, hunt, and attack during the night, than in the middle of the day?


Perhaps it was a person who can sense vulnerability in people?
The same way in which victims of rape are more likely to be raped again; or a bullied child can move to a completely new school, and still be the victim of bullying.

Or as I mentioned already in an earlier post, the state she was in - possibly even suicidal - could have made her take and engage in riskier choices and behaviors that day, such as later getting into a car with a stranger, even if in a different situation, on a different day, she might not have.

No, it's not obvious at all.

You don't go looking in the middle of the wilderness at night for a college-aged female to victimize.

You might go to a shopping mall, a college parking lot, a bar, ride through a college dorm residency block.

If you are sitting and waiting for some action at the entrance of the white mountains in February after 7 p.m. at night, you aren't going to be a very good predator and might want to find a new-line of work like clip-on tie sales on a street corner or something.

 

[Love Coco]

Them pulling up to a stranded motorist that they had no idea was going to be there in the first place, means they are just taking a blind 50/50 chance that when they stop for this stranded motorist, the stranded motorist is just going to happen to be a young female by herself and possibly intoxicated. The criminal in this situation has no preview of the situation beforehand. the ideal to commit a crime is not going to take place from just seeing a stranded motorist or a silhouette of a figure walking down a dark road in dark clothing.

The criminal has nothing to lose in that 50/50 situation. If it is indeed a woman on her own: they've just got 'lucky'. If it's not? Well, all they have to do is help the people in the best way they can and they're a good Samaritan.

 

[Love Coco]

No, it's not obvious at all.

Well, as a small, young, single female, I certainly feel safer walking alone during the daylight (when I can see clearly, and there are more people around me if I needed help), as opposed to night - where my senses aren't as strong, there are far more hiding/lurking places, and no-would would be around to see, or help. An abductor would use all of that to his advantage.

You don't go looking in the middle of the wilderness at night for a college-aged female to victimize.

You might go to a shopping mall, a college parking lot, a bar, ride through a college dorm residency block.

If you are sitting and waiting for some action at the entrance of the white mountains in February after 7 p.m. at night, you aren't going to be a very good predator and might want to find a new-line of work like clip-on tie sales on a street corner or something.

The problem with what you are saying is that the criminal might not have planned on 'picking up' someone that night. He may have happened to come across Maura (the opportunity) on his way home from work, and attacked.

Or, if the person was prowling, he might have set his eyes on Maura much earlier, such as at a gas station or drink stop, (possibly even doing something to her car), and followed her, waiting to be the car that 'helps'. (basically the Red Truck abduction theory).

 

[scoops]

The criminal has nothing to lose in that 50/50 situation. If it is indeed a woman on her own: they've just got 'lucky'. If it's not? Well, all they have to do is help the people in the best way they can and they're a good Samaritan.

I don't really want to get back into predator vs. crime of opportunity/destiny.

My best guess is that a predator has a particular victim in mind (college age female/young child etc.) and because they typically do a lot of pre-planning, I just don't see a predator playing the 50/50 game. It would be a waste of their time.

Maybe Maura happened upon a first-time criminal, a person whose hamster wheel began turning inside their head when they pulled up on a stranded motorist and decided to turn from good samaritan to Charlie Manson.

I just don't buy it.

I don't believe the whole boogey man theory as it pertains to this case.

I believe it (the boogey man theory) was a red herring added to this situation without a single clue backing it up.

 

[Love Coco]

I don't really want to get back into predator vs. crime of opportunity/destiny.

My apologies if it has been discussed ad nauseum; I am catching up on the thread, replying as I go.

I believe it (the boogey man theory) was a red herring added to this situation without a single clue backing it up.

Fair enough, if that is your opinion.

As for mine, I obviously believe that abduction is one possibility. :twocents:
'Boogey Man' makes it seems like it's a made-up silly scenario to scare, but abductions and attacks aren't as rare as they seem. They happen all the time. (If this forum wasn't proof enough).

 

[scoops]

Fair enough, if that is your opinion.

As for mine, I obviously believe that abduction is one possibility. :twocents:
'Boogey Man' makes it seems like it's a made-up silly scenario to scare, but abductions and attacks aren't as rare as they seem. They happen all the time. (If this forum wasn't proof enough).

You hit the nail on the head.

I believe it was intentionally brought into the equation of Maura's disappearance to put a scare into the local community that their police force were sitting on their hands while a killer was on the loose.

And the exact phrase used by Maura's father was "Boogeyman."

A frustrated father whose daughter is missing and believes police didn't do enough to try and find her in the first 48 hours ... IMO, will say anything to try and force action and shine a spotlight on accountability.

If there really was a boogeyman, where was the family's plea to that "boogeyman" to let go of Maura and let her return home?

It never took place.

All of the families pleas were to Maura. And they were for her to return home, so they could work through whatever issues were bothering her. They were never pleas made to an abductor of any kind.

 

[Lolacat]

Fair enough, if that is your opinion.

As for mine, I obviously believe that abduction is one possibility. :twocents:
'Boogey Man' makes it seems like it's a made-up silly scenario to scare, but abductions and attacks aren't as rare as they seem. They happen all the time. (If this forum wasn't proof enough).

I feel the same way. I have pondered whether this is due to the fact of being a female. I am hyper aware of the risk of being alone anywhere at night, especially in isolated, quiet areas. The risk of being attacked is always lurking there, at the back of my mind. I have also met my fair share of sleazy characters that could have turned into potentially sinister encounters had things not turned out differently. Perhaps this is why I cannot rule out this possibility completely.

 

[KenShabby]

All of the families pleas were to Maura. And they were for her to return home, so they could work through whatever issues were bothering her. They were never pleas made to an abductor of any kind.

I hadn't seen the lack of a plea to the "boogeyman" pointed out before. It's a good one.