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Post by Sher on May 31, 2005 10:13:49 GMT -5
Maura Murray - Missing since Monday Feb. 9th
Age: 21 Height: 5 feet, 7 inches Weight: approx. 115 lbs Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue/Green Last seen wearing: Jeans and a dark colored coat
Footprints in the snow By Brian McGrory, Globe Columnist, 2/27/2004
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Post by Sher on May 31, 2005 10:14:14 GMT -5
HAVERHILL, N.H. -- They say the hardest thing that any parent can ever be called upon to do is bury their child.
But standing amid the glorious scenery of the White Mountains this week, where an uneven layer of snow coated the meadows like vanilla frosting on a homemade cake, I had to think there might be something even worse. And Fred Murray is living it right now.
Murray is from the South Shore. His daughter, Maura, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, vanished into the thin air of the northern New Hampshire wilderness this month. She had a minor car accident along a pitch black stretch of rural road on Feb. 9, and in the 10 minutes it took police to respond, she was gone.
Her cellphone hasn't been used since. Her credit cards haven't registered any purchases. She left most of her clothing in a suitcase in the back of the disabled car. And her father, her sister, her brothers, her friends have no idea what they're supposed to do now.
Immediately, they descended upon this hamlet en masse. They scrambled through the dense woods nearby. They drove a hundred miles in every direction, tacking fliers to telephone polls and bulletin boards of local stores. They stopped at bus stations in hopes that someone might have seen something. "I followed footsteps through the snow," Fred Murray said this week. When he saw a set of prints, he took off after them.
This much is known: At UMass, Maura received a call on the evening of Feb. 5 that reduced her to tears. A couple of days later, she told professors she'd be gone for a week for a family emergency. On Feb. 9, she left her boyfriend of three years, an army lieutenant in Oklahoma, an e-mail and voice mail in which she indicated nothing wrong, packed her car, and headed north.
The next time she was seen was in this tiny valley town, by Butch Atwood, a 58-year-old local school bus driver who passed her car as it sat in the snowbank. He said he stopped and asked if she needed help. She declined. He drove the 100 yards to his house and called the police. When they arrived, she was gone.
Authorities sent a heat-seeking helicopter along the treetops as recently as yesterday. They used dogs to try to trace her steps away from the accident scene. They dispatched cadaver-sniffing canines into the forest, all to no avail.
Eventually, life continues, bills need to be paid, and last weekend Fred Murray had to get back home. "The worst part was driving home alone," he said. "Then I stopped in her room at UMass, and that was pretty awful."
The two were uncommonly tight since she was a young girl. Both avid runners, they trained together. They hiked regularly in New Hampshire. "I was looking for some hint that she might have left for me, something that I'd understand that would say goodbye," he said of her room search. "But there wasn't anything."
"We weren't strangers; we were very close. I can't see her not saying goodbye to me. That's why I suspect foul play."
Her father acknowledges that she was fleeing school for reasons that he said are still unclear. He also believes that once she crashed, only two scenarios remain: She was picked up on the road by someone who wanted to help her or by someone who hurt her. If it was the former, they would have already come forward to let authorities know where she went.
Butch Atwood, the last witness to see her, has been questioned several times by police. Worried that he should have helped more, he told me outside his cabin this week, "I have some sleepless nights now."
If Maura Murray is alive and well, she ought to know that hearts are broken. She should know that no mistake is insurmountable. People forgive. Time and attention heal feelings and wounds.
These days, when Fred Murray's phone rings, he jumps. Minutes drag like hours. Shady psychics and gumshoes keep offering help. "I just want to get my little girl back," he said.
Hopefully, there's a happy ending. It's just tough to see it now.
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Post by Sher on May 31, 2005 10:14:49 GMT -5
A family waits and wonders: What happened to Maura?
WELLS RIVER, Vt. - Kathleen Murray scatters the belongings on a motel room floor like pieces of a puzzle. The bag of stuff is what her sister, Maura Murray of Hanson, left behind when she was last seen Feb. 9 in Woodsville, N.H. - clothes, CDs, makeup and a copy of ‘‘Not Without Peril,'' journalist Nicholas Howe's story about people who died hiking New Hampshire's Presidential Mountain Range.
For Kathleen Murray, the book is unnerving because it talks about the rural region of northern New Hampshire where Murray was last seen.
‘‘My father gave it to her. I don't know what it could mean,'' the Hanover resident said.
The conditions couldn't have been worse for 21-year-old Murray when she disappeared. It was dark and freezing on the stretch of Route 112 that runs along the Wild Ammonoosuc River near the Vermont border. Police believe Murray was on her own. Nobody knew she left the campus at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she was a junior studying nursing.
Then she crashed. The only roadside help was a 350-pound man named Butch Atwood, an imposing figure whose presence wouldn't be that welcoming to a young woman in the dead of the night, according to his wife.
Murray's family has lived in a nearby motel ever since, trying to piece together the mystery of her disappearance. After two weeks, there are few good leads. All they have are the bag of items she didn't take with her, wherever she went.
‘‘I know she was up here on her own will, but something altered her plans along the way and it could've been foul play. Nothing else makes sense,'' said Fred Murray of Hanson, Maura's brother.
The scene of the accident in the Woodsville section of Haverhill, N.H., is at a sharp bend of Route 112, which is marked by an old red barn that at one time was a gift shop for summer travelers visiting the White Mountains. Police believe Murray left UMass that afternoon, possibly upset over cracking up her father's car days earlier, or for some other reason nobody knows about.
It's not certain if she was going west on Route 112 toward Vermont, or east into New Hampshire, but the car went off the road into some brush at about 7 p.m.
The accident couldn't have been that bad. One little nick on a tree is all that marks the scene other than the ‘‘missing'' posters family and friends stapled up. Damage to the Saturn sedan was minimal, but Murray's head cracked the windshield. The front of the car was pushed in.
Bus driver Butch Atwood was coming around the bend in his school bus after dropping off a group of skiers who had been in North Conway for the day. He stopped, offered Murray help, and kept going when she said she had called AAA. Atwood parked the bus at his home, about 100 yards up Route 112, walked inside and told his wife Barbara what happened.
Another neighbor called police, who arrived within minutes. They found the bag, some bottles of alcohol, and that was it.
Maura Murray was gone.
Police searched the area for days but there were no obvious clues. There were no footprints and a bloodhound lost a scent on the road near the Atwoods house. Ever since, Fred and Kathleen Murray and other family members have been staying at a motel in Wells River, a town just over the border from New Hampshire.
Police are treating the disappearance as a missing persons case, and a stagnant one at that. The only significant lead turned up in Burlington, Vt., but it went nowhere. Authorities said Murray had downloaded Internet directions to Burlington. Fred and Kathleen Murray say they're growing frustrated but won't give up.
The chapter of Howe's book titled ‘‘A Question of Life or Death'' is book-marked with a Hallmark card and a photograph of Maura's brother Kurtis in a Little League uniform. Kathleen Murray got emotional looking it.
‘‘We have to find something just to get this going again. We need every lead followed up,'' she said.
For the family, trying to find the clue that will escalate the search is literally like trying to find a needle in a haystack in such an open, rural area. Every morning Murray family members search snowmobile trails, snowy fields, general stores and frozen ponds to look for footprints, and people to talk to. They're looking for anything.
It's all anyone's talking about these days around the area, and everybody has a theory.
‘‘Without fail, everybody who comes in here asks, ‘Have they found her yet?' One kid came in telling me, ‘They found her in Berlin (N.H.).' I would've known that if they did,'' said Bill Matteson, owner of Swifthingyer Stagestop, a general store on Route 112, close to the accident scene.
Many people who live in this part of the state are ‘‘immigrants'' from Massachusetts, who came here ‘‘to get away from stuff like this,'' said Jeannette Wrigley, a Dorchester native and manager of the McDonald's in Haverhill.
‘‘Personally, I think somebody picked her up,'' Wrigley said.
Butch and Barbara Atwood are from Raynham and Taunton, respectively. They consider Haverhill much safer than where they grew up in Southeastern Massachusetts.
‘‘I might be afraid if I saw Butch. He's 350 pounds and has this mustache,'' Barbara Atwood said.
But she said there would have been no reason for Murray to fear anyone in an area where people know and look out for each other.
Said ice fisherman R.O. Richards of Lisbon, N.H., in his ice shanty on French Pond in Haverhill, ‘‘We have some thieves that might steal the teeth off a billy goat, but maybe that's it.''
Matteson said people know not to ‘‘mess with each other'' in this part of rural New Hampshire. Nearly everyone has a gun, he said. Matteson said he thinks that Murray walked away on her own, and got lost in the woods. It has happened before, according to locals.
‘‘An armed society is a safe society, that's why we have no crime,'' Matteson said.
‘‘In my opinion, it's a numbers game. On a Monday at 7 at night, maybe three cars went by here, at best. What are the odds that one is a predator?'' he said.
Locals are conditioned to deal with the weather, but wandering off could be fatal for a tourist. This week it was considered mild, even though the temperatures were below freezing and even colder with fierce winds. Without a good jacket and supplies ‘‘good luck,'' log cabin builder Mark Hesseltine said.
‘‘Not if you're not from around here, no way you're going to survive,'' Hesseltine said.
New Hampshire State Police and FBI agents in Massachusetts are now focusing on Murray's reason for leaving school. Nobody is thinking harder about Murray's state of mind than her sister Kathleen, one of her closest confidantes. The Saturday before Murray left school, she and her father, Frederick Murray of Weymouth, were shopping for a new car in Amherst because her Saturn was running on three cylinders.
It is also known that Murray got a phone call the Thursday before she left that disturbed her to the point that she needed to be escorted to her dormitory room by a supervisor. Friends in Amherst told the family they don't know what the call was about. Her father didn't think she seemed upset that weekend.
Looking at her sister's personal effects, Kathleen Murray wondered what went wrong.
‘‘She always told me everything. At school she had a few friends, but the people she was closest to was her boyfriend, or me, or my sister Julie. We would've known,'' Kathleen Murray said.
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Post by Sher on May 31, 2005 10:16:19 GMT -5
Where could Maura be?
[The mystery continues to deepen around Maura Murray, the nursing student who vanished in New Hampshire three weeks ago after she slammed her car into some trees on a dark, rural road.
Investigators have determined the origin of an unusual telephone call that Murray received a few nights before she fled the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The conversation upset her so much that she had to be escorted from her job to her dorm room.
The call, according to UMass police Lieutenant Robert Thrasher, came from one of Murray's two sisters. But Thrasher said police have yet to receive an explanation of what was so upsetting.
Yesterday, Fred Murray, the girls' father, said he was told that Maura's sister called her to talk about a "monstrous" fight with a boyfriend. "But I don't think that would upset her all that much," Murray said.
The more details are revealed, the more baffling the case becomes, police acknowledge. Yesterday, Thrasher said that Maura had fastidiously packed all her belongings into boxes before she left school, even removing the art from her dorm room walls. Meanwhile, one UMass friend has seemingly withheld information from police, saying she didn't want to get Maura "in trouble."
UMass investigators, who have interviewed dozens of potential witnesses and combed through Murray's computer, shared an in-depth timeline that preceded the disappearance. Murray received the call on Thursday evening, Feb. 5. On Saturday, Feb. 7, Maura and a girlfriend had dinner with Fred Murray, who was visiting Amherst. Afterward, the father returned to his hotel, and the two young women attended a campus party.
At 3:30 a.m. Feb. 8, Maura crashed her father's new Toyota into a roadside post. She told her father about the accident later that morning. Just after midnight on Monday morning, Feb. 9, she conducted a MapQuest search of the Berkshires and Burlington, Vt., on her personal computer.
At 3:40 p.m. Monday, she withdrew $280 from an area ATM, then stopped at a liquor store. Surveillance cameras at the bank machine and in the store show that she was alone.
Maura was next seen at 7 p.m. in the White Mountains hamlet of Haverhill, N.H., an area where she had hiked and camped with her father. Schoolbus driver Butch Atwood came across her car in an embankment, he said, and stopped to ask if she needed help.
When she declined, he drove the 100 yards to his cabin and summoned police. By the time authorities arrived seven to 10 minutes later, she was gone. Her bank card, credit cards, and cellphone have been dormant since.
Authorities are exploring four scenarios, all of which they say contain flaws. Least likely is that she committed suicide. She left no note. Her grades were excellent. Her medical records showed no issues, and her relationships appeared sound. One investigator characterized her ongoing e-mail exchange with her boyfriend, an Army lieutenant in Oklahoma, as "sappy."
Second unlikeliest is that, intoxicated, she ventured into the woods and was overcome by the elements. But dogs couldn't trace her scent, there were no footprints in the fresh snow, and helicopters equipped with heat-seeking devices were no help.
Third is that in the brief window of time, she was picked up by someone who abducted or killed her. But authorities believe the odds of a violent criminal coincidentally coming across her on the rural road are as remote as the location itself.
Fourth is that she was picked up by a passerby, taken to a bus station, and fled the area, possibly with little idea of the anguish she has left behind.
This may have started innocently, with a confused young woman needing a break from the pressures of student life. But it isn't ending well. Maura, if you're alive, if you're able, come home.
And if she's not, there's someone, somewhere who has some idea of what happened that night.
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Post by Sher on May 31, 2005 10:17:03 GMT -5
University of Massachusetts student Maura Murray, 21, disappeared in New Hampshire nearly one month ago.
NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported that Murray's family, frustrated by police efforts to find her,, say they plan to search on their own in northern New Hampshire.
In Duxbury Thursday, a small group of Murray's mother's friends held a Mass to pray for her safe return.
The simple service, led by a priest, was small, prayerful and emotional. Murray's mother and grandmother sat in front.
Murray was last seen Feb. 9. After she left her UMass dorm, she had a car accident in Haverhill, N.H. But before police arrived to help, she disappeared, leaving her car behind.
With no evidence of foul play, authorities say it's a missing person case, but her family disagrees.
"She was abducted. She would have called. She would have called. She didn't run away. She was abducted," said Murray's mother, Laurie.
A week ago, Murray's sister found women's underwear a few miles from where Murray's car was left. The underwear is being tested for DNA. This weekend, Murray's brother and sister will search again.
"I don't like them taking the investigation in their own hands, that scares me, too. Because my daughter was out walking in the woods by herself," said Laurie Murray of her other children.
Friends say there is little they can do, except offer support to the family.
"We have no idea. We are not giving up hope. We hope Maura is found and we are praying for her safe return," said family friend Maureen Walsh.
Murray's mother feels strongly that her daughter has not stayed away of her own free will. But with few clues to go on, she said she found comfort and hope in Thursday's service. Copyright 2005 by TheBostonChannel
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Post by Sher on May 31, 2005 10:17:48 GMT -5
'America's Most Wanted' Producers Decline To Profile Missing Woman Case HAVERHILL NEW HAMPSHIRE The television show "America's Most Wanted" will not profile the case of a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts nursing student who disappeared the night of Feb. 9 after she was involved in a one-car crash on Route 112 in Haverhill. Maura Murray, a resident of Hanson, Mass., and a junior at the UMass Amherst campus, was driving a black 1996 Saturn at about 7 p.m. when she failed to negotiate a sharp left-hand curve and went off the right side of Route 112 after driving past The Weathered Barn. Jeremy Cohen, managing editor for "America's Most Wanted," says Murray's case will not be profiled on the Fox network's TV show. "I know about the case," Cohen said. "I have been aware of it since it happened. Unfortunately, we can't do many missing cases at all." He says the show devotes most of its missing people air time to cases involving children. "As for adults," Cohen said, "we only do it when there is clear evidence of a crime." Unless it's clear to the show's producers a crime has been committed, a case won't be aired. "It's been our experience when we can't tell our viewers what to look for, we don't get a response," he said. "We save our space on our show (for a case) only if it would be successful. Unfortunately, we turn down a lot of cases." While "America's Most Wanted" officials are refusing to profile Murray's case, Seventeen, a magazine geared toward 12- to 24-year-old girls and young women, is very interested. Members of the magazine's staff have been interviewing Murray's friends and family members. Elizabeth Dye, a spokeswoman for Seventeen, said there isn't a run date yet for the story, though she feels it should resonate among the magazine's subscribers. "We feel like other young women can learn from circumstances from everyday situations," Dye said. "We also believe there is a community of readers out there who may be able to help." She said Seventeen's readers will be able to identify with Murray. Dye said Seventeen's circulation is 2.1 million readers, but she estimates the magazine actually reaches about 14 million people through its presence in doctors' offices, libraries and other venues. Fred Murray, Maura's father, has been searching the area where his daughter had her accident every weekend since he was notified. He was not happy with the decision of "America's Most Wanted." "I am really disappointed," Murray said. "It has an extensive audience and is so influential." Lt. John Scarinza of New Hampshire State Police Troop F and Haverhill Police Chief Jeffery Williams both have said they, too, would welcome the TV show profiling the case. If the show did profile Maura's disappearance, he said, maybe someone somewhere in the country, who may have been traveling through the Haverhill, N.H., area the night of Feb. 9, may recall seeing something. Or they may remember having seen her get on a bus somewhere. "It's just the national scope of it," he said. "Plus, it would put pressure on the state police to call in the FBI. You have two close to one another, geographically and chronologically." Murray was referring to not only his own daughter, but also to Brianna Maitland, 17, who has been missing since leaving work late the night of March 19. Maitland's car was found with its rear end in an abandoned building about a mile from the Black Lantern in Montgomery, Vt., during the early-morning hours of March 20. She hasn't been seen since. Murray, though, is happy Seventeen magazine will be profiling his daughter. "I will take any help I possibly can get," he said. "Everything helps." Sharon Rausch, whose son, Billy, is Maura's boyfriend, is also glad Seventeen is interested. "I am thrilled," Rausch said. "This has been in the works for awhile." She said the magazine had sent an e-mail to Maura Murray's Web site, www.spbowers.com/mauramissing.html, leaving a message they were interested in publishing a piece. Maura is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 115 pounds, and has blue-green eyes and curly brown hair. Anyone with information should call the New Hampshire State Police at 603-271-3636, or the Haverhill Police Department at 603-787-2222.
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Post by Murraydwyer on Jun 2, 2005 20:47:03 GMT -5
The link to the website given for Maura is not being maintained. The family has developed a website with a forum at WWW.MAURAMURRAY.COM
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Post by Sher on Jun 4, 2005 17:24:00 GMT -5
The link to the website given for Maura is not being maintained. The family has developed a website with a forum at WWW.MAURAMURRAY.COM Thank you very much for the updated link.
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Post by Sher on Aug 25, 2005 13:44:45 GMT -5
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