Maura Murray - UMass Amherst Student - Missing Since Feb. 9, 2004

[Accidenttraffic]

This one really scares me. I didn't know her but we're from the same town.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndid=168410598

Maura was a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Maura left campus on February 9, 2004. Her damaged car was found by the side of a rural road that night in Woodsville, NH (Haverhill NH). A passerby stopped and spoke to the person who was in the vehicle who said that they did not want police called...the passerby called police anyway,when they arrived, the person who was driving the car was gone. Maura has never been seen or heard from again. There has been no activity on her bank account or credit cards. 

[ashcash]

Here's a timeline of events leading up to her disappearance. It seems to be a suicide...they found a rag stuffed into her tailpipe after the last accident where she was seen by a passerby. The passerby must have scared her and she left the car. It's a shame if this is the case...to be so upset about a couple of accidents :|

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maura_Murray


Thursday, February 5, 2004

10:20 PM - Maura talks on the phone with her older sister during a slow time during Maura's work (UMass Student Security). The two talk about guy problems in what is described as a normal sisterly conversation. Maura's sister observes nothing abnormal in Maura.
Friday, February 6, 2004

12:20 AM - A male UMass student is found seriously injured at the intersection of Triangle and Mattoon Streets in Amherst. The injuries appear to be from either being hit or thrown from an automobile. [1] Though there were some theories that Maura may have been involved, it is very unlikely, as she was in the middle of a shift at a dormitory check in desk with UMass Student Security.
1:00 AM - Maura is upset at work early in the morning and is escorted back to her dorm room by her supervisor.
Saturday, February 7, 2004

Time unknown - Accompanied with her father Fred, Maura goes used car shopping. She has not used her black 1996 Saturn much recently due to mechanical problems and has instead been getting rides from friends.
Time unknown - Maura and her father are joined by one of her female friends for dinner at an Amherst restaurant.
Time unknown - Maura drops her father off at his hotel room, and then borrows his brand new Toyota Corolla and goes back to the UMass campus to a dorm party with her friend.
Sunday, February 8, 2004

2:30 AM - Maura leaves her friend's dorm and heads to her father's hotel room.
3:30 AM - Maura hits a guardrail while driving her father's Corolla on Route 9 in Hadley. No charges are filed by the police. Damages total $8,000. Her father observes that she is shaken up and apologetic. [2]
4:49 AM - Maura calls her boyfriend, who is stationed in Oklahoma, from her father's cell phone.
Time unknown - Fred makes some telephone calls and informs Maura that his auto insurance should cover the damages.
Time unknown - Fred rents a car, drops Maura off at UMass, and heads to Connecticut for work.
8:30 PM - Maura checks her cellphone voice messages, most likely via her cellphone.
11:26 PM - Maura talks to her father and agrees to get the necessary forms pertaining to the accident from the registry on Monday. They agree to discuss the forms via telephone Monday night.
Time unknown - Maura searches for directions to Burlington, Vermont. (From New Hampshire State Police Troop F Commander Lt. John Scarinza's inspection of Maura's computer hard drive).
Time unknown - Maura searches for information on the Berkshires. (Source unknown).
Monday, February 9, 2004

12:55 PM - Maura calls for information about a condominium in Bartlett, New Hampshire that her family is familiar with. The call lasts for three minutes. No condominium is rented.
1:00 PM - Maura sends her boyfriend an e-mail, briefly stating she hasn't felt like talking to anyone, but that she will call him later in the day.
1:13 PM - Maura calls another student and leaves a voicemail. No significant information.
2:05 PM - Maura calls 800-GOSTOWE for approximately 5 minutes. Later research shows this number was out of order on this day and that only recordings were available for listening.
2:18 PM - Maura calls her boyfriend for approximately 1 minute.
4:00 PM or earlier - Maura e-mails one of her bosses and some of her teachers to inform them that there has been a death in her family and that she would be out of town for several days. There is no death in her family.
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM - A dorm mate reportedly sees Maura leave the UMass Amherst campus.
4:00 PM or earlier - Maura goes to an ATM and withdraws $280 from her account. Video surveillance footage shows her to be alone. Her bank account is left nearly empty. She is due to receive paychecks from her job in the coming days.
4:00 PM or earlier - Maura purchases $35-$40 in alcohol while still in Amherst, Massachusetts. Video surveillance footage shows her to be alone.
4:00 PM or later - Maura apparently leaves Amherst, Massachusetts and likely heads up Interstate 91 north.
4:37 PM - Maura checks her cellphone voice messages.
7:29 PM - Dispatch receives a call from a Woodsville, NH area resident who reports an accident near her house on Route 112.
7:43 PM - Dispatch receives a call from another Woodsville, NH area resident who reports a black Saturn partially in the road.
7:46 PM - First known police officer (Haverhill Police) arrives on the scene. The girl who was seen by second caller is nowhere to be found. The officer notes the car is facing westbound in the eastbound lane, with a cracked windshield and two deployed airbags. A damaged box of Franzia wine is found on the passengers seat. Other items found in the car include her AAA card, the insurance forms she retrieved for her earlier accident, her gloves, music CDs, her makeup, directions for Burlington, Vermont and Stowe, Vermont, and the Nicholas Howe book, Not Without Peril. A rag from Maura's emergency roadside kit was discovered stuffed into the Saturn's muffler pipe.
7:56 PM - EMS arrives on scene.
7:57 PM - A fire truck arrives on scene.
7:57 PM - 8:49 PM - At some point, Maura's car is towed to a local auto repair garage.
8:02 PM - EMS clears the scene.
9:27 PM - The first known police officer to arrive on scene is dispatched to another call.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004

12:36 PM - A BOL (Be On the Lookout) for Maura Murray is issued to Grafton, Littleton, Haverhill, and Lisbon.
3:20 PM - A voicemail is left on Maura's father's (Fred Murray's) home answering machine stating that his car (the Saturn Maura drove) was found abandoned near Woodsville, New Hampshire. Fred is at work out of state and does not receive this call until later in the day.
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM - Maura's older sister contacts Fred and tells him that Maura's car has been found abandoned.
5:44 PM - Fred Murray contacts the Haverhill, New Hampshire Police Department and begs them to start a search for Maura. The Police Department declines, citing that they do not start searches late in the day. The Police Department informs Fred that if Maura is not reported safe by the following morning, New Hampshire Fish and Game Service will start a search.
6:46 PM - Maura's family members contact the University of Massachusetts Police Department and request that her dormitory room be checked.

[Hayalet]

Saturday, November 27, 2004
Police Have New Lead In Maura Murray Case

BY GARY E. LINDSLEY, Staff Writer
Thursday May 6, 2004
Caledonian Record


HAVERHILL NEW HAMPSHIRE
There may be a break in the case involving 21-year-old nursing student Maura Murray who disappeared the night of Feb. 9 after she was involved in a one-car accident on rural Route 112 in Haverhill.

New Hampshire State Police Troop F Lt. John Scarinza said a witness has come forward with information he may have seen Murray about four to five miles east of the accident scene.

Scarinza said a man, whom he declined to identify, was returning from a construction job in the Franconia area when he spotted a young woman matching Murray's description hurrying east on Route 112, about an hour after her accident.

He not only believes the witness' information is credible, he also believes the man actually saw the Hanson, Mass., resident.

Murray, a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, left campus the afternoon of Feb. 9 after e-mailing professors and her boss, telling them she was going to take a week off because of a family problem.

Before heading north, she packed her black 1996 Saturn with some clothing, books for her college classes, expensive diamond jewelry from her boyfriend, Billy Rausch of Fort Sill, Okla., and computer-generated directions for locations in Vermont.

Although directions found in her car indicated she may have been headed toward Stowe or Burlington in Vermont, Murray apparently exited Interstate 91 at Exit 17 and headed east on Route 302.

She then turned right onto Route 112 and apparently headed to Lincoln, which she was familiar with because of family excursions to the area.

About a mile east of Swiftwater, around 7 p.m., she lost control of her car while rounding a sharp left-hand curve near The Weathered Barn. Her car went off the right side of the highway and into some trees, causing minor damage.

Butch Atwood, a school bus driver who lives about 100 yards east of the accident site, discovered Murray's disabled car while returning from taking students on a skiing trip.

Atwood spoke with her and offered to help, including calling police and EMS. However, Murray insisted that Atwood not call police and EMS because she had already contacted AAA.

Murray did not appear to be intoxicated, according to Atwood. Police said a container of alcohol was found in the car.

Atwood went to his house to call for help. About seven to nine minutes later, Haverhill Police Sgt. Cecil Smith arrived at the accident scene. Murray was nowhere to be found.

"Based on the description of what he saw, we believe it may have been Maura," Scarinza said, referring to the witness seeing a young woman fitting Maura's description about an hour after the accident. "Based on the place and based on the time, there is a good possibility the person he saw on 112 was Maura."

The witness contacted state police April 29 about possibly seeing Murray the night of the accident.

Scarinza said although the witness thought shortly after her disappearance he may have seen Murray, he discounted that thought after talking with a friend. His friend had said Murray's accident had happened Feb. 11 instead of Feb. 9. And he had seen the young woman the night of Feb. 9.

It was after seeing subsequent news reports, and realizing the accident had occurred Feb. 9, he decided to contact state police.

The man, who Scarinza said is a contractor, checked his work records and verified he was returning home from a job in the Franconia area the night of Feb. 9 when he spotted who he and state police believe was Murray.

Maura's father, Fred Murray, is upset police didn't travel Route 112 toward the Woodstock area, at least calling ahead to the Woodstock police to ask them to look for his daughter.

"This was a young woman involved in an accident," he said. She had a head injury by the indication of the spider hole in the windshield."

"They know she is somewhere close by and they don't go down the road to bring her to safety?" Murray asked. "If they had searched for my daughter, she would most likely be safely here now."

Sharon Rausch, Billy's mother, said she believes the news of an eyewitness is wonderful.

"It gives me renewed hope she is still alive," Rausch said. "If she sees this in print, we want her to know she's more loved than ever."

Scarinza said because of the new information from the eyewitness, a search will be conducted Saturday in the area of routes 112 and 116 where Maura was last seen by the eyewitness.

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:RHs5hsWCYiAJ:whokilledtheresa.blogs pot.com/2004/11/police-have-new-lead-in-maura-murray.html+Maura+Murray&hl=en&ct=clnk&amp ;cd=7&gl=uk


Surely with a head injury she'd need medical help asap? 4 years later.... i just hope the family get some sort of answer.

[oohsofaabulous]

Wow that is a really weird story. God I hate having to wait so long to find out what happens.


Man, I must say, I'm diggin' these threads a lot more than the death threads, they are much more captivating.

[la-dee-fuckin-da]

[quote author=oohsofaabulous link=topic=13415.msg797372#msg797372 date=1207370625]
Wow that is a really weird story. God I hate having to wait so long to find out what happens.


Man, I must say, I'm diggin' these threads a lot more than the death threads, they are much more captivating.
[/quote]

thanks, i'm the one who asked about posting missing myspace users.

[merdeath]

Yikes. Recent spottings...

June 2005

    * A girl with blonde hair resembling Maura is seen at a church in Barton, Vermont. A witness says that the girl said her name was "Raykel" and took off quickly when the minister started a Father's Day sermon. [5]

June 2006

    * A girl resembling Maura is seen at a Cumberland Farms store in Hillsboro, New Hampshire with an older male companion. The girl is reportedly mouthing "help me." [5] There are no security tapes of the incident available. The sighting was not reported until a few months later when the witness saw photos of Maura on a television news program.


Other updates:

Late October, 2006

    * Volunteers lead a two day search within a few miles of where Maura's vehicle was found. In one particular area, a closet of an A-Frame house, cadaver dogs went "bonkers," identifying the likely presence of decomposed human remains. A sample of the carpet was sent to the New Hampshire State Police - no tests are known to have been conducted. [5]

July 4, 2008

    * Volunteers lead a two day search through wooded areas in Haverhill, New Hampshire. The group consisted of K9 teams and licensed private investigators. Results of this search have not yet been released.[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maura_Murray

[nestlequikie]

I have followed this case on and off for over a year now.  I pray her family finally finds some answers. 

Her website (http://www.mauramurraymissing.com/) has this announcement on it:

[size=11pt]NEWS!!  We have been informed that
20/20 will be airing an segment on Maura

•        Friday, August 15 at 10 p.m. ET:
Vanished Coeds: Two Families Search for
Answers[/size]

[Tarren]

I just read the timeline of events on Wiki and I have to say, when I got to the bit ( that Beri posted ) where the girl was apparently mouthing "Help Me" I got chills.

[Hayalet]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/25/grace.coldcase.murray/

updated 12:08 p.m. EST, Wed November 26, 2008


Student wrecks car on snowy road, disappears
Nancy Grace

   
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Every weekend for more than four years, Fred Murray has walked the road where his daughter, Maura, vanished. Family, friends and volunteers help him look in the woods and mountains near Haverhill, New Hampshire, for clues to what happened to her.


Maura Murray, 21, disappeared while driving in the New Hampshire woods on a snowy night in 2004.

1 of 3  Maura Murray, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, disappeared on a cold and snowy night in February 2004. She was last known to be driving from Massachusetts through New Hampshire. It is still unclear where she was heading in her black 1996 Saturn.

The car was found abandoned, its front end crashed against a tree. It apparently had skidded off a road at a sharp curve.

Shortly after the accident, a passing bus driver stopped and asked Murray if she needed help. She said no.

Ten minutes later, police arrived. Inside the crumpled Saturn, they found some of Murray's belongings -- school books, running gear, snack foods and alcohol -- police won't say what kind. But Murray was gone, along with her car keys and a backpack she always carried.

There was nothing to hint she'd be motivated to run away, according to her fiancé, William Rausch, and her father, Fred Murray.  Watch why this cold case is a true mystery »

Maura Murray had just gotten engaged to Rausch, her college sweetheart and an Army lieutenant stationed in Oklahoma. They planned to marry after she graduated from nursing school in June 2005. She'd found a summer nursing job in Oklahoma. She had everything to look forward to.


"She was in good spirits and had no worries or reason to run away from her life," Fred Murray said.

Investigators initially operated under the theory that the dean's list student was troubled and had decided to escape from the demands of her life for a while. As a result, they did not immediately begin to look for her.

The search did not begin until 39 hours after her crashed car was found. When it finally got under way, helicopters, search dogs and ground teams covered the area near where Murray's car was found.

The dogs picked up her scent for about 100 yards, leading investigators along the road to an area between two homes. There, the dogs lost the trail.

Murray's credit cards and cell phone have not registered any activity since the night she disappeared, February 9, 2004.

Tom Shamshak, a private investigator hired by the Murray family to continue the search, said police and volunteers looked for her for two days.

"No footprints were even found in the snow," he said. "Luckily there hadn't been any fresh snowfall in those two days."

Shamshak has concluded that only two scenarios could explain what happened to Murray. Either she was picked up by someone driving on the road, or she walked to a nearby house to ask for help.

Police say they did not treat Murray's case as an abduction because they saw no signs of a struggle at the scene.

Before she left campus, police learned, Murray had e-mailed her professors and informed them she'd be absent for a few days because of a death in the family. Murray's family and friends said no one in the family had died.

Police also noted that Murray had enough food and other items in her car to suggest she might be taking a short getaway vacation.


Murray is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, 120 pounds, with brown hair and blue-green eyes. She was last seen wearing a dark coat and jeans and carrying a black backpack and Samsung cell phone.

A $40,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to her whereabouts or the arrest of the person responsible for her disappearance. The tip line is 603-271-2663, New Hampshire State Police.



I saw this on ccn.com today. I know alot of info is on here already but this kind of lumps it all together. I saw it mentioned in this and the timeline posted that she had told the college she would be off as there was a death in the family, but there was not. Surely, in hindsight, this has nothing too do with her just wanting to bunk a few days off? Does it? Maybe she had planned to leave town, or indeed kill herself? This case has so many weird factors.

[nolajersey]

Maura's story is on a show on TLC called Disappeared right now.  They are going to replay it tonight at 1:00 EST. 

[Olivia]

This is so creepy - someone posted this on YouTube. It is the anniversary of Maura's disappearance.

[morbidT]

This is so creepy - someone posted this on YouTube. It is the anniversary of Maura's disappearance.

Weird. I got a message that says, "This video is no longer available because the uploader has closed their YouTube account." I wanna see it!

[Olivia]

Weird. I got a message that says, "This video is no longer available because the uploader has closed their YouTube account." I wanna see it!

It was this guy just laughing hysterically into the camera for over a minute. And then he suddenly stopped and winked. The video was titled 'Happy Anniversary'



There is a blog about Maura and the blog owner posted the videos on his YouTube account - http://mauramurray.blogspot.com

[morbidT]

Oh my gosh, that's kind of fucked up.

[andrea0121]

oOoOOooh, I'm stuck reading that blog and it's comments now, Olivia. Very good find. Freaky as fuck youtube vid though.

[Threadkiller]

If this guy might be supplying incriminating evidence of an abduction or murder why are people spooking him by confronting him on the internet instead of just informing the police?

[beli]

wow, that is crazy. they think he is a guy who frequents this topix thread about Maura - http://www.topix.com/forum/city/fran...593IE7SE6/p568

username - Beagle

[bowieluva]

It's possible/likely that he's just a creep who got obsessed with this later after it became a news story. Lots of weirdoes fixate on cases.

[Nancy Drew]

It's possible/likely that he's just a creep who got obsessed with this later after it became a news story. Lots of weirdoes fixate on cases.

Yeah, this.

I hadn't heard of this case before. wtf happened to her?! It seems like if she killed herself, even in the mountains, they'd have found her body. Maybe someone saw her as vulnerable after the accident and took her?

[nestlequikie]

Websleuths had TONS of info on this back in 06-08. I was semi-obsessed with her case.

Also you will see the acronym "SBD" in LOTS of posts about her disappearance. It means school bus driver (some bus driver allegedly saw her right after her accident). I fretted for almost a week trying to figure out what that meant when first reading about this case.

[Cat Pajamas]

What in the effing eff is that video?! Dear lord, that's going to give me nightmares.

[beli]

Websleuths had TONS of info on this back in 06-08. I was semi-obsessed with her case.

Also you will see the acronym "SBD" in LOTS of posts about her disappearance. It means school bus driver (some bus driver allegedly saw her right after her accident). I fretted for almost a week trying to figure out what that meant when first reading about this case.

yeah, the website that Olivia posted is a pretty interesting read. along with the topix thread.

[Olivia]

And another video from the same guy -

[beli]

here is another one, i believe posted before the one Olivia posted

[Olivia]

Article about the videos - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml