NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - #12

[Fireweed]

Well many think that she was driving in tandem or somehow got a ride, or that she crossed later. Maura's case was very "local" the first few days. There would have not been a BOLO at the border. Plus, Maura was an adult who was free to go to Canada. She was not wanted for any crime. I do not think that she would have been reported to the Canadian authorities, as there would have been no legal justification for doing so.

I do not think that anyone who supports the Canada theory thinks that Maura walked there that night.

 

[syntaxkid]

I agree, the credit card issue was a petty crime and was up to get thrown out and this would not have alerted border patrol to stop her....there are only a couple crossings though in New England....there is one in Maine, and there was a border town in Vermont.......I guess my next question is: did she take her passport with her? Did she take her cell phone with her?

After 9/11 you definitely needed a passport to cross, not just your license and a birth certificate.....

Do people believe someone could have smuggled her across, like in a trunk???

 

[syntaxkid]

I find it hard to believe she coincidentally was met with the fate of a serial killer although I suppose it could be the case.......I want to know how far she intended to travel and what was taken with her...or alternatively, left behind, that might help provide a clue as to where to look

 

[Fireweed]

You did not need your passport in 2004 to cross to Canada.

I actually think that if Maura wanted to go to Canada, it would have been a simple thing for her to arrange and would not have required much guile.

 

[syntaxkid]

Interesting......I do think one would have needed an ID AND a birth certificate, no?

 

[Fireweed]

I find it hard to believe she coincidentally was met with the fate of a serial killer although I suppose it could be the case.......I want to know how far she intended to travel and what was taken with her...or alternatively, left behind, that might help provide a clue as to where to look

We have been discussing this for years, constantly going back and forth on this issue. There are two "probability" issues that come in this regard. On the one hand, we can say that on one Monday February night in rural New Hampshire, the likelihood that a predator (maybe not even a "serial" killer) is out on the prowl must be practically nill. On the other hand, we can say that when a young, pretty woman who does not associate with "riff-raff" just disappears without a trace, then the there is a very high likelihood that a random stranger predator is involved.

 

[Fireweed]

Interesting......I do think one would have needed an ID AND a birth certificate, no?

No just a driver's license.

 

[syntaxkid]

did her footprints lead to a body of water or back to the road?

 

[Fireweed]

did her footprints lead to a body of water or back to the road?

There were no footprints. A dog lost her scent about 100 yards east at Bradley Rd. This is one reason the "other driver" theory is popular. The scent just suddenly vanishing speaks to Maura getting into a car.

On the other hand, many, including myself, point out that scent hounds are not an exact science. However, I still take this as good evidence that Maura got into a car (not proof, mind you).

 

[syntaxkid]

I see.....I'm going to talk with some friends that are good with computers...they know how to use linux kali and the software that goes along with it....internet face recognition, etc....see if there's any way to find her on the web at all......in the meantime, I can answer anything about Umass during those years....I lived in multiple dorm areas and was also a resident assistant for 2 years....check in soon, goodnight!

 

[Fireweed]

Come back! Tell your friends to check out stuff associated with hiking and running. People tend to not change their hobbies when they start a "new" life.

 

[scoops]

There were no footprints. A dog lost her scent about 100 yards east at Bradley Rd. This is one reason the "other driver" theory is popular. The scent just suddenly vanishing speaks to Maura getting into a car.

On the other hand, many, including myself, point out that scent hounds are not an exact science. However, I still take this as good evidence that Maura got into a car (not proof, mind you).

There were footprints right next to Maura's car (on the embankment in which her car got stuck). The road surface itself was clear that night and would not have left footprints.

The search dog used that lost her scent wasn't a big revelation, because the dog handlers knew (going in to the search) the dog would only be able to track for about 100 yards in any direction and that is exactly what happened.

the search gave investigators a starting point in that they knew Maura headed east from her wrecked car.

 

[Fireweed]

syntaxkid was asking about footprints that may have indicated where Maura went after the crash so that is the question I answered. The scent ending could either indicate that the dog was unable to trace her scent after 100 yards or that Maura got into a car.

 

[syntaxkid]

What else did Maura do for fun? Was she a skier? Did she like a particular type of music? What sort of clothing/fashion did she like?

On another note, it seemed she had some issues with impulsivity, and I think it's unlikely that would change overnight...does anyone know of a way to search Canadian courts, police departments or records of charges that might be in the public domain?

 

[syntaxkid]

Also, back then Facebook was just getting started and a lot of Umass people had another social networking account....I think it was called Friendster....Also there was myspace....someone should try doing a web crawl and see if they can turn up anything...if not about Maura, but perhaps about the people she knew

 

[scoops]

What else did Maura do for fun? Was she a skier? Did she like a particular type of music? What sort of clothing/fashion did she like?

On another note, it seemed she had some issues with impulsivity, and I think it's unlikely that would change overnight...does anyone know of a way to search Canadian courts, police departments or records of charges that might be in the public domain?

Her favorite movie (according to her work friend) was Bottle Rocket and she loved to visit the Onion website.


Syntaxkid, you say you were a resident assistant, is that like a dorm monitor where you are checking IDs?

If so, what kind of shifts did you work and did you get breaks (if so for how long)?

Also, were u allowed to park your car in the designated parking lot in front of the dorms for security personnel being that you were a dorm monitor?

 

[Fireweed]

Also, back then Facebook was just getting started and a lot of Umass people had another social networking account....I think it was called Friendster....Also there was myspace....someone should try doing a web crawl and see if they can turn up anything...if not about Maura, but perhaps about the people she knew

People have tried those things over the years. I am the same age as Maura (as are you and your GF I assume) and it seemed like Maura was about one year behind the real social media explosion. Just one more year and she would have had a strong digital trail.

 

[Fireweed]

What else did Maura do for fun? Was she a skier? Did she like a particular type of music? What sort of clothing/fashion did she like?

On another note, it seemed she had some issues with impulsivity, and I think it's unlikely that would change overnight...does anyone know of a way to search Canadian courts, police departments or records of charges that might be in the public domain?

It seems like Maura was a jeans and t-shirts type girl. She would likely still be dressing like that. As to her impulsivity, I sometimes lean to her "troubles" being more planned out than it appears.

 

[syntaxkid]

Resident Assistants were given a dorm room waiver and about 70 dollars a week to watch over the floor, hold educational and wellness events, and enforce the dorm policies.....most RA's did not typically work as door check monitors and this was so because the work-study pot of money needed to be evenly distributed so that other non-RA students could have work study.

The job that Maura had (monitor) was to sit at a desk inside the main entrance of the dorm and as people came in, would require them to show ID that they lived there...if friends came along, they had to show ID and sign in as a guest on a log sheet.

Since I never worked as a monitor, I'm not sure what the break schedule was......

Now, the parking....there were not designated parking spots for monitors...there were spots in the front for RD (Resident Director) and 15 minute parking spots that were only used by food delivery people and students who were moving a piece of furniture in or whatever....

If you had an OWL sticker, you were designated to a certain parking lot and not necessarily close to your own dorm....However, on weekends, you could park closer to the dorms on a first come first serve type of basis.

Most monitors worked in the dorm area in which they lived, so driving wasn't necessary...most people on campus walked to whatever class or job they had, Umass is like it's own little city

 

[syntaxkid]

I was just looking through that Supreme Court Docket on the bloodspot, it seems as though LE has a lot of info pointing toward her having become a victim and that they have a POI.....they're probably stuck without the body