Has UM ever featured the case of Maura Murray?

[ChrissySnow]

That is one of the most baffling cases I have ever heard of!

This girl just disappeared.

Any thoughts on this case?

[1990 UM fan]

It says she disappeared February 9, 2004, so she wasn't featured on the original Unsolved Mysteries since they stopped original production in 2002. However, her case might be in the new production's work but we'll have to see (if we even get to see new episodes).

[TracyLynnS]

They think there's a remote possibility that her case is connected to the Brianna Maitland disappearance. http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...d_brianna.html

IMO, though, I think Brianna was abducted (she was supposed to testify against someone who had previously attacked her or something like that) and Maura... I don't know what to think about her case.

It's similar to the Kristi Krebs case in that she had wrecked a car previously, three days prior, and then disappeared from the scene of this accident. Like Kristi, she was also working two jobs (plus going to nursing school, doing well enough to be on the dean's list).

One thing that's definitely different, tho, is that Maura spoke with a witness immediately after the accident, but didn't stay around to wait for the police to show up ten minutes later. She also emailed her professors in advance, lying and saying there was a death in the family so she would be out of school for several days.

I can't decide if she left the scene and was abducted by a passing motorist, if she had a Kristi Krebs type mental breakdown and disappeared because she is unstable, or if she planned the whole thing.

[Caffeine]

Intriguing case and had it occurred during the last leg of UM, it would have made a nice addition to the show's catalog.

If you've followed the case over the last 11 years, the story is ripe with different theories and possibilities. Personal issues prior to disappearing, another car accident beforehand, alcohol use, heading north on a road trip and telling no one etc.

Maura's Dad as well as police who have spoken publicly on this all seem to think she was picked up after the accident by a "bad guy". I tend to agree.

She crashed her car and almost immediately sent the closest neighbors to her aid, simply by loud sound alone. She seemed OK, despite deployment of the airbags, but asked for the police NOT to be called. Neighbors did anyway.

Police arrived 15 minutes after the first call but she was gone.

People have speculated she ran away, went off into the woods. Scent dogs and lack of footprints seemed to dispute this. Plus, it was February in NH. If you aren't prepped for the cold you will not survive out there. Its hard to fathom after 11 years if she traveled by foot, nothing was found.

So she had to have picked up in another car...and quickly.

Question is, was it a friend or stranger? Would a friend or acquaintance she was traveling with ultimately abduct her? Doubt it.

Would a driver passing by seeing a young girl in distress jump on the opportunity to get her in her vehicle and have his way with her. You bet.

Maura's car was described as having a strong alcohol smell inside. She just purchased liquor before her trip, she was a college kid who drank. She was probably intoxicated and wanted to flee as quick as possible before police arrived and asked questions. At that point she was probably willing to take a ride from anyone...

[SPD Yellow]

I feel this discussion wouldn't be complete without a link to James Renner's blog on the case. I honestly don't know enough about the case to assess whether all the information on the blog is entirely accurate, though I do agree that while you understand why Fred Murray tries to paint Maura as a plucky good as gold college girl, got to agree that his stubborn refusal to pursue the possibility that his daughter was in an emotional tailspin and might have done something stupid at the time, really hampers the case.

[dynoguy88]

Now THIS is a case that will make your head spin. Baffling is an understatement.

[88keys]

People have speculated she ran away, went off into the woods. Scent dogs and lack of footprints seemed to dispute this. Plus, it was February in NH. If you aren't prepped for the cold you will not survive out there. Its hard to fathom after 11 years if she traveled by foot, nothing was found.

Not really. The woods are deep and vast. People disappear or wander off and die in the woods all the time, and often no trace of them is found. Or sometimes their remains are found years later, near the area where they disappeared, even though the area was searched many times before. Not finding her in the woods doesn't mean she didn't go there. I think that is the most likely explanation- she wandered off in the woods and died of exposure and/or cold. Or maybe she did it on purpose. There is some speculation that she was suicidal.

I feel this discussion wouldn't be complete without a link to James Renner's blog on the case. I honestly don't know enough about the case to assess whether all the information on the blog is entirely accurate, though I do agree that while you understand why Fred Murray tries to paint Maura as a plucky good as gold college girl, got to agree that his stubborn refusal to pursue the possibility that his daughter was in an emotional tailspin and might have done something stupid at the time, really hampers the case.

Renner's blog is definitely an interesting read, though I think he stretches things a bit and brings up things that may not really be relevant to the case. And I was very turned off when he started posting pictures of random women he found on Facebook who may or may not be Maura, and then became suspicious of them when they wouldn't answer his messages. Dude, if you accused me of being a missing person and sicked all of your followers on me, I would ignore you, too. Doesn't mean I'm Maura.

[Caffeine]

As far was wandering into the woods, its possible, but I don't find it probable.

Had this been August, I'd admit, she would be in a great position to make some serious distance from her car on foot. But it was February in NH. It was dark. Cold. How far could she possibly make it? Simply stepping away from the road, you'd likely be planting your foot into a 2 foot snow bank. Reportedly, she didn't even seem to have a proper jacket, wearing sneakers. She didn't seem to have much of anything with her that would facilitate a long trek into dark and snowy woods that night.

Trudging though areas of deep snow, in 20 degree temps with socks and tennis shoes, your feet would be wet and numb in no time.

To me, it would be remarkable to effectively wander blindly in the snowy woods on foot, with virtually no supplies to speak of and make it far enough away and die in a manner that would conceal your body for over a decade, in an area where hiking is extremely popular.

[88keys]

Originally Posted by Caffeine

Trudging though areas of deep snow, in 20 degree temps with socks and tennis shoes, your feet would be wet and numb in no time.

To me, it would be remarkable to effectively wander blindly in the snowy woods on foot, with virtually no supplies to speak of and make it far enough away and die in a manner that would conceal your body for over a decade, in an area where hiking is extremely popular.

But that's the point- you wouldn't have to go that far to be concealed. The woods are deep and remote enough that she wouldn't have to go that far to be completely enveloped by the forest. And the popular hiking was probably done on the trails, not in that particular part of the forest.

Also, she had been drinking, possibly to the point of being pretty intoxicated. She very well could have been high on liquid courage. And coupled with the fact that she was a runner in good shape, she may have thought she could make it in the woods when she really wasn't prepared.

Finally, there are some who thought she was leaving to commit suicide. That's actually the first thing Fred Murray said when he found out she had run away. "She's gone up there to drink herself to death like an old squaw." What an odd thing to say when your daughter is missing. So I think it's possible she went into the woods knowing she wouldn't survive and not caring.

I think it's possible that she was abducted or left with someone she knew, but to me, the most likely scenario is that she wandered off and died in the woods.

[tarheelslim]

It is like a case that would be featured on UM in that there are all these strange details from around the time of her disappearance, but like some of those UM tales the truth about what happened is probably very simple: she ran out into those woods (and it is not surprising at all that her remains haven't been found yet).

The likelihood that it went down any other way is remote IMO.

[Caffeine]

That's the intriguing thing about the case, I'll admit just about every scenario out there is plausible, outside of alien abduction. Nothing is clear cut at all...especially when you compare it to Brianna Maitland. That seems to be a more straight forward indication of foul play, to me.

One big detail that was never clearly addressed was the several bottles of alcohol she purchased on the way to NH. Vodka, Kahlua etc. I think about 5 bottles total. Plus the boxed wine, but that was found in her car and was clearly on the police report.

Renner said all the alcohol was left in her car. Others seem skeptical of that claim.

A clear answer would definitely be helpful.

[jjmcgr]

Renner's blog is good reading although I disagree with his theory that she ran off to Quebec. As for her wandering off, it is a possibility. Obviously the state she was in could have resulted in unclear thinking on her part. However a semi-suspicious character lived within sight of the accident. Maura's scent went towards his house then stopped. My working theory is that she encountered the character at the last gas station she passed (her car was full of gas so she had to have just filled up). The character was considered a friend and regular by the couple that owned the gas station. MM must have seen to be very vulnerable to anyone who saw her both before and after the accident. I think the character came across the accident and picked her up to drive to his house to use the phone (cells didn't work there) MM took the ride because she had just seen the guy at the gas station (what are the odds so guy she just saw would be a bad guy?) and his house was within sight. She was never seen again
(ps the character's ex later claimed he murdered her; pps he wouldn't let the cops into his house/trailer; ppps the character suddenly claimed a month later that he saw a girl running along the road an hour after the accident about 7-8 miles away but forgot about it even though when he got home he would have clearly seen the bruhaha down the street)

This case was greatly hindered early on by the police not knowing if they had a crime on their hands or an adult woman running away. If they had treated it like a crime and investigated the houses right near the scene I think they may have found something.

Also not all the alcohol was left in the car as wine was splattered all over the front, apparently from the boxed wine she had bought. She was apparently drinking it from a coke can as she drove. oFcourse most of the booze was still in the car because if she had drunk even a quarter of it she would have been passed out or crashed long before.

[jjmcgr]

my favorite UM trope, which would clearly fit the Murray case is
that some piece of evidence is found AFTER a search of that area, like the hat of a guy who was later found in the bottom of a pond in a crashed car... sometimes they even use this for bodies (two people killed in a car crash in Minn)... as presented it means oooh oooh the killer came back and planted the evidence to taunt the police. In reality it means the original search was not well done. This has happened enough times in crimes or accidents that were eventually solvedthat the latter point is obvious.

[Caffeine]

Originally Posted by jjmcgr

Renner's blog is good reading although I disagree with his theory that she ran off to Quebec. As for her wandering off, it is a possibility. Obviously the state she was in could have resulted in unclear thinking on her part. However a semi-suspicious character lived within sight of the accident. Maura's scent went towards his house then stopped. My working theory is that she encountered the character at the last gas station she passed (her car was full of gas so she had to have just filled up). The character was considered a friend and regular by the couple that owned the gas station. MM must have seen to be very vulnerable to anyone who saw her both before and after the accident. I think the character came across the accident and picked her up to drive to his house to use the phone (cells didn't work there) MM took the ride because she had just seen the guy at the gas station (what are the odds so guy she just saw would be a bad guy?) and his house was within sight. She was never seen again
(ps the character's ex later claimed he murdered her; pps he wouldn't let the cops into his house/trailer; ppps the character suddenly claimed a month later that he saw a girl running along the road an hour after the accident about 7-8 miles away but forgot about it even though when he got home he would have clearly seen the bruhaha down the street)

This case was greatly hindered early on by the police not knowing if they had a crime on their hands or an adult woman running away. If they had treated it like a crime and investigated the houses right near the scene I think they may have found something.

Also not all the alcohol was left in the car as wine was splattered all over the front, apparently from the boxed wine she had bought. She was apparently drinking it from a coke can as she drove. oFcourse most of the booze was still in the car because if she had drunk even a quarter of it she would have been passed out or crashed long before.

She didn't seem to be in the right frame of mind to formulate an elaborate plan to run off and start a new life. That takes careful preparations, planning, and resources. Even so, what a bizarre way to do so...intentionally crashing, deploying the airbags with wine and booze in the car? I just can't imagine that as a possible outcome.

The guy with the house/trailer who lived nearby, says he possibly saw Maura running that night and had the Ex saying HE killed Maura...As far as I know he's been cleared. He did act pretty odd, though. Ultimately, once he sold that property police swooped in immediately and searched the house and the outside property and found nothing. I think he Ex claimed he dumped Maura into a lake. I think police explored it and seemed to conclude she was just falsely implicating him. But who knows?

But you're right. Police were lax very early on with this and may have very well botched the investigation.

Fred Murray made an interesting comment when he did the Montel show in 2004 that Maura was 'just 200 yards down the street when police arrived and if they simply drove down the street they could have picked her up'.

Very peculiar statement that could mean a number of things. Did he think she voluntarily ran away? Did he police tell him this and he let it slip? Did he conclude this from the lack of found footprints and her scent vanishing? It's just an odd thing to state so factually, without prefacing that it was of his own opinion.

As far as the alcohol, despite conflicting reports, it seems like at least some of it was gone, excluding the box wine in the car. This still baffles me because seemingly she took some bottles with her, yet left other personal belongings behind. Which could indicate a number of things, but overall I think some of the confusion here might be from senseless decisions and irrational behavior.

[jjmcgr]

Originally Posted by Caffeine

She didn't seem to be in the right frame of mind to formulate an elaborate plan to run off and start a new life. That takes careful preparations, planning, and resources. Even so, what a bizarre way to do so...intentionally crashing, deploying the airbags with wine and booze in the car? I just can't imagine that as a possible outcome.

The guy with the house/trailer who lived nearby, says he possibly saw Maura running that night and had the Ex saying HE killed Maura...As far as I know he's been cleared. He did act pretty odd, though. Ultimately, once he sold that property police swooped in immediately and searched the house and the outside property and found nothing. I think he Ex claimed he dumped Maura into a lake. I think police explored it and seemed to conclude she was just falsely implicating him. But who knows?

But you're right. Police were lax very early on with this and may have very well botched the investigation.

Fred Murray made an interesting comment when he did the Montel show in 2004 that Maura was 'just 200 yards down the street when police arrived and if they simply drove down the street they could have picked her up'.

Very peculiar statement that could mean a number of things. Did he think she voluntarily ran away? Did he police tell him this and he let it slip? Did he conclude this from the lack of found footprints and her scent vanishing? It's just an odd thing to state so factually, without prefacing that it was of his own opinion.

As far as the alcohol, despite conflicting reports, it seems like at least some of it was gone, excluding the box wine in the car. This still baffles me because seemingly she took some bottles with her, yet left other personal belongings behind. Which could indicate a number of things, but overall I think some of the confusion here might be from senseless decisions and irrational behavior.

The problem with Renner's theory was your first point. She wasn't very good at elaborate planning under the best of conditions. She wasn't much of a criminal-- stealing a CC number and having her ill-gotten gains delivered to her room-- and of course if she was disappearing it was a criminal enterprise because she'd be evading her court appearance. I think Renner believes she had an associate who she was meeting and being helped by but who would this be? No one else disappeared at the time, etc.

As for the contractor, I do not think the cops ruled him out per se. I think they just still have no evidence that a violent crime was committed and approached the guy with that attitude. The police actually stopped the guy's trailer as it was being transported somewhere else after he had sold it and inspected it. But too much time had passed by at that point.

Suspicious points.
1. The Ex's comments. Granted exes may make bad comments after a break-up but would your ex no matter how mad she was at you claim you murdered someone? There is some smoke on that fire...

2. The guy's siting/alibi.... this came a month after the disappearance and gave the guy an alibi (it was an hour after the accident and miles away from it). What is suspicious is that the claim was made a month afterwards. The guy claimed to be at his house about an hour after the accident yet did not notice the commotion or the searches and news reports over the next few days? I bet the cops started asking him questions and he then came up with the siting.

3. The refusal to allow a search of his trailer.

If he threw her into a lake with weights attached, she'll never be found.
If she were hiding in Canada, she'd have screwed it up somehow and been found years ago. Oh and BTW Canada is not Afghanistan. I think it would be hard to get into the country these days with a fake identity and she was not clever enough to maintain one IMO anyway.