Просмотр кода страницы Английская Википедия:Disappearance of Maura Murray

{{Английская Википедия/Панель перехода}}
{{short description|2004 disappearance of American woman}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Maura Murray
| image              = MauraMurrayin2003.jpg
| caption            = Murray in 2003
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1982|05|04}}
| birth_place        = [[Hanson, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| disappeared_date   = {{Disappeared date and age|2004|2|9|1982|05|04}}
| disappeared_place  = [[New Hampshire Route 112|Wild Ammonoosuc Road]], [[Haverhill, New Hampshire]], U.S.
| disappeared_status = {{Missing for|2004|2|9}}
| known_for          = [[Missing person]]
| alma_mater         = [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]]<br />[[United States Military Academy]]
| height             = {{Convert|5|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="profile">{{cite web|url=http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/nhsp/missingpersons/mpmurray.html|title=Maura Murray|work=New Hampshire Department of Safety|access-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref>
| website            = {{url|mauramurraymissing.org}}
}}

'''Maura Murray''' (born May 4, 1982) is an American woman who disappeared on the evening of February 9, 2004, after a car crash on [[New Hampshire Route 112|Route 112]] near [[Woodsville, New Hampshire|Woodsville]], [[New Hampshire]], a village in the town of [[Haverhill, New Hampshire|Haverhill]]. Her whereabouts remain unknown. She was a 21-year-old nursing student completing her junior year at the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] at the time of her disappearance.

==Background==

===Early life===

Maura Murray was born May 4, 1982, in [[Hanson, Massachusetts]],<ref>{{cite web|work=The Charley Project|title=Maura Murray|access-date=October 21, 2017|url=http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/murray_maura.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021111457/http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/murray_maura.html|archive-date=October 21, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> the fourth child of Frederick "Fred" and Laurie Murray.<ref name=oxygen1>{{Cite episode|series=The Disappearance of Maura Murray|network=Oxygen|airdate=September 23, 2017|title=Everyone Has a Theory|number=1}}</ref> She has an older brother, Fred; two older sisters, Kathleen and Julie; and a younger half-brother, Kurt.<ref name=oxygen1/> Maura was raised in an [[Irish Catholic]] household.<ref>{{cite web|work=Maura Murray Missing Info (mauramurraymissinginfo.com)|title=Who Was Maura Murray, and What Has Happened Leading Up to Her Disappearance (Part One)?|date=September 11, 2017|url=http://www.mauramurraymissinginfo.com/who-was-maura-murray-and-what-happened-in-the-days-leading-up-to-her-disappearance/|access-date=October 20, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171020220435/http://www.mauramurraymissinginfo.com/who-was-maura-murray-and-what-happened-in-the-days-leading-up-to-her-disappearance/|archive-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref> When she was six, her parents divorced, after which Maura lived primarily with her mother.<ref name=internet/>

Murray graduated from [[Whitman-Hanson Regional High School]], where she was a star athlete on the school's track team.<ref name=bg2004>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2004/02/15/student-vanishes-and-questions-mount/ESRJL97tDDJd6MyiqcZvTN/story.html?p1=Article_Related_Box_Article|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|url-access=limited|date=February 15, 2004|access-date=October 20, 2017|title=A student vanishes, and questions mount|author=DeMarco, Peter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223172245/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2004/02/15/student-vanishes-and-questions-mount/ESRJL97tDDJd6MyiqcZvTN/story.html?p1=Article_Related_Box_Article|archive-date=February 23, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was accepted into the [[United States Military Academy]] in [[West Point, New York]], where she studied chemical engineering for three semesters.<ref name=bg2004/> She was kicked out of West Point after being caught stealing makeup. After her freshman year, she transferred to the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] to study nursing.<ref name=bg2004/>

===Prior to disappearance===

{{Location map many | USA Massachusetts
| lat = 42.38889
| long = -72.52778
| label = Amherst
| position = right
| width = 175
| float = right
| lat2= 42.341667
| long2=-72.588889
| label2= Hadley
| pos2= left
| lat3=42.075
| long3=-70.880556
| label3=Hanson
| pos3=left
| caption = [[Amherst, Massachusetts]] (center), where Murray attended university; Hadley (left), where she crashed her father's car two days before her disappearance; and Hanson (right), her hometown.
}}

In November 2003, three months before her disappearance, Murray admitted to using a stolen credit card to order food from several restaurants, including one in [[Hadley, Massachusetts]].{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=146}}<ref>{{cite news|title=My Search For Maura Murray|url=http://mauramurray.blogspot.com/2012/01/maura-used-stolen-credit-card-number.html|work=mauramurray.blogspot.com|access-date=December 4, 2016|publisher=James Renner|ref=1|archive-date=April 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418105322/http://mauramurray.blogspot.com/2012/01/maura-used-stolen-credit-card-number.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The charge was [[Continuance|continued]] in December, to be [[Motion (legal)#Motion to dismiss|dismissed]] after three months' good behavior.<ref name=ten-years-later>{{cite news|last=Hamel|first=Heather|title=10 years later, mystery of Maura Murray persists|url=http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/10-years-later-mystery-of-maura-murray-persists/24326766|access-date=March 24, 2014|newspaper=WCVB|date=February 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=JAMES FENNER REQUEST 01272012-1|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7_atAFvowRhcy1kTnEzbXRCUDg/view|work=Maura Murray arrest record |via=Google Drive|publisher=James Renner|access-date=October 7, 2016}}</ref>

On the evening of February 5, 2004, while she was on duty at her campus security job, Murray spoke on the phone with her older sister, Kathleen. They discussed Kathleen's relationship problems with her fiancé.<ref name="fruitless">{{cite news|last1=McGee |first1=Joe |title=Leads fruitless, police stalled in Murray probe |url=http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2004/03/03/news/news07.txt |access-date=October 8, 2016 |publisher=[[The Patriot Ledger]] |date=March 3, 2004 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040406010711/http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2004/03/03/news/news07.txt |archive-date=April 6, 2004  }}</ref> Around 10:30&nbsp;p.m., while still on her shift, Murray reportedly broke down in tears. When her supervisor arrived at her desk, Murray was "just completely zoned out. No reaction at all. She was unresponsive."{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=32}} The supervisor escorted Murray back to her dorm room around 1:20 am. When asked what was wrong, Murray said two words: "My sister."<ref name="Part1">{{Cite news |last=Conway |first=Maribeth |title=MAURA IS MISSING PART I: The Departure |newspaper=Whitman-Hanson Express |volume=6 |issue=25 |date=June 21, 2007 |url=http://whitmanhansonexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48:maura-is-missing-part-i-the-departure&catid=912&Itemid=83 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201073811/http://whitmanhansonexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48%3Amaura-is-missing-part-i-the-departure&catid=912&Itemid=83 |archive-date=December 1, 2010  }}</ref><ref name="fruitless"/><ref name=where>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/03/02/where_could_maura_be/|title=Where could Maura be?|last=McGrory|first=Brian|date=March 2, 2004|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref> The contents of this call remained unknown until October 2017, when Kathleen publicly explained the conversation: Kathleen, an [[alcoholism|alcoholic]], had been discharged from a [[Drug rehabilitation|rehabilitation]] clinic that evening, and on the way home, her fiancé took her to a liquor store, which caused an emotional breakdown.<ref name=oxygen3>{{cite episode|series=The Disappearance of Maura Murray|network=Oxygen|airdate=October 7, 2017|title=After the Crash|number=3}}</ref>

On Saturday, February 7, Murray's father Fred arrived in [[Amherst, Massachusetts|Amherst]]. He told investigators he and Murray went car-shopping that afternoon, and later went to dinner with a friend of his daughter. Murray dropped her father off at his motel room and, borrowing his [[Toyota Corolla]], returned to campus to attend a dorm party. She arrived at 10:30 pm. At 2:30 am on Sunday, February 8, she left the party. At 3:30 am, en route to her father's motel, she struck a guardrail on [[Massachusetts Route 9|Route 9]] in Hadley, causing nearly $10,000 ({{Inflation|US|10000|2004|r=-2|fmt=eq}}) worth of damage to her father's car.<ref name="internet"/> The responding officer wrote an accident report, but there is no documentation of [[field sobriety test]]s being conducted.<ref name=internet>{{cite news|last=Jensen|first=Bill|title=Will the Internet Find Maura Murray?|url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/01/28/maura-murray/|access-date=March 18, 2014|newspaper=Boston|date=February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303071739/https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/01/28/maura-murray/|archive-date=March 3, 2014}}</ref> Murray was driven to her father's motel and stayed in his room the rest of the morning. At 4:49 am, there was a cell phone call placed to her boyfriend from Fred's phone. The participants and content of the phone call are unknown.<ref name="Part1"/><ref name="where"/>

Later Sunday morning, Fred Murray learned the damage to his vehicle would be covered by his auto insurance. He rented a car, dropped Murray off at the university, and departed for [[Connecticut]]. At 11:30 that night, Fred called his daughter to remind her to obtain accident forms from the [[Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles|Registry of Motor Vehicles]]. They agreed to talk again Monday night to discuss the forms and fill out the insurance claim via phone.<ref name="Part1"/>

==Monday, February 9, 2004==

===Preparations and departure===

{{quotebox|align=left|width=20%|quote="We don't know why Maura left school... Clearly it was her intention to leave school. Clearly she hadn't a destination in mind when she came up north. What clearly did not make sense was that she didn't confide in anyone." |source=—New Hampshire State Police Lt. John Scarinza<ref>{{cite news|title=UMass student still missing since winter|url=http://dailycollegian.com/2004/09/09/umass-student-still-missing-since-winter/|access-date=  October 9, 2016|work=The Massachusetts Daily Collegian|date=September 9, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010042727/http://dailycollegian.com/2004/09/09/umass-student-still-missing-since-winter/|archive-date=October 10, 2016}}</ref>}}
After midnight on Monday, February 9, Murray used her personal computer to search [[MapQuest]] for directions to the [[Berkshires]] and [[Burlington, Vermont]].<ref name="where"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2004/02/21/map_clue_spurs_search_for_student_in_vermont/|title=Map clue spurs search for student in Vermont|last=DeMarco|first=Peter|date=February 21, 2004|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref> The first reported contact Murray had with anyone on February 9 was at 1:00 pm, when she emailed her boyfriend: "I love you more stud. I got your messages, but honestly, I didn't feel like talking too much of anyone, I promise to call today though. Love you, Maura"<ref name="internet"/> She also made a phone call inquiring about renting a [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]] at the same [[Bartlett, New Hampshire]], condo association with which her family had vacationed in the past.<ref name=collegian-angry>{{cite news|title=Missing student's parents angry over police investigation|url=http://dailycollegian.com/2005/01/26/missing-students-parents-angry-over-police-investigation/|work=The Massachusetts Daily Collegian|access-date=March 18, 2014|date=January 26, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225165033/http://dailycollegian.com/2005/01/26/missing-students-parents-angry-over-police-investigation/|archive-date=December 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Patriot Ledger]]|title=Missing Hanson woman's last call yet to be investigated: N.H. condo owners say police made no effort to contact them since February|date=November 19, 2004|author=McGee, Joe|url=http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2004/11/19/news/news01.txt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050123225421/http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2004/11/19/news/news01.txt|archive-date=January 23, 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> Telephone records indicate the call lasted three minutes. The owner did not rent the condo to Murray. At 1:13 pm, Murray called a fellow nursing student for reasons unknown.<ref name="Part1"/>

On the afternoon of Monday, February 9, at 1:24 pm, Murray emailed a work supervisor of the nursing school faculty that she would be out of town for a week due to a death in her family. According to her family, the family had not experienced a death.<ref name="Part1"/> She also said she would contact them when she returned.<ref name="Part1"/><ref name=collegian-mystery>{{cite news|title=Missing student a mystery to police, classmates|url=http://dailycollegian.com/2004/02/17/missing-student-a-mystery-to-police-classmates/|access-date=March 18, 2014|newspaper=The Massachusetts Daily Collegian|date=February 17, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225165019/http://dailycollegian.com/2004/02/17/missing-student-a-mystery-to-police-classmates/|archive-date=December 25, 2015}}</ref> At 2:05 pm, Murray called a number which provides recorded information about booking hotels in [[Stowe, Vermont]]. The call lasted approximately five minutes. At 2:18 pm, she telephoned her boyfriend and left a voice message promising him they would talk later.<ref name="internet"/> This call ended after one minute.<ref name="Part1"/>

Murray packed clothing, toiletries, college textbooks, and [[birth control pills]] in her car.<ref name="Part1"/> When her room was searched later, campus police discovered most of her belongings packed in boxes and the art removed from the walls. It is not clear whether Murray packed them that day, but police at the time said she had packed between Sunday night and Monday morning.<ref name="collegian-angry"/> On top of the boxes was a printed email to Murray's boyfriend indicating possible trouble in their relationship.<ref name="collegian-angry"/> Around 3:30 pm, she drove off the campus in her black [[Saturn S series|1996 Saturn sedan]];<ref name="Part1"/><ref>{{cite web|work=Huffington Post|title=Maura Murray : Student Wrecks Car, Disappears|date=December 26, 2008|access-date=October 20, 2017|via=CNN|author=Mikkilineni, Rupa|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/25/maura-murray-student-wrec_n_146482.html}}</ref> classes at the university had been canceled that day due to a snowstorm.{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=33}}

At 3:40 pm, Murray withdrew $280 from an [[automated teller machine|ATM]].{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=21}} Closed-circuit footage showed she was alone. At a nearby liquor store, Murray purchased about $40 worth of alcoholic beverages, including [[Baileys Irish Cream]], [[Kahlúa]], [[vodka]], and a [[box wine|box]] of [[Franzia]] wine.<ref name="internet"/> Security footage again shows she was alone when she made that purchase.<ref name="where"/> At some point in the day, she also picked up accident-report forms from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.<ref name="Part1"/>

Murray then left Amherst between 4{{nbsp}}pm and 5{{nbsp}}pm, presumably via [[Interstate 91]] north.<ref name="Part2"/> She called to check her voicemail at 4:37 pm, the last recorded use of her cell phone.<ref name="internet"/> To date there is no indication she had informed anyone of her destination, or any evidence that she had chosen one.<ref name=decade>{{cite news|last=Blackman |first=Jeremy |title=A decade lost and the spotlight gone, a father searches for his daughter |url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/5124282-95/a-decade-lost-and-the-spotlight-gone-a-father-searches-for-his-daughter |access-date=October 9, 2016 |newspaper=Concord Monitor |date=March 31, 2013 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409071336/http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/5124282-95/a-decade-lost-and-the-spotlight-gone-a-father-searches-for-his-daughter |archive-date=April 9, 2013  }}</ref>

===Disappearance===

{{quote box
|border=1px
|width=250px
|title=Accident site, N.H. Route 112
|title_fnt=#555555
|halign=left
|quote={{center|({{coord|44.119272|N|71.936278|W|display=inline}})}}
----
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140705055605/http://mauramurrayblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/mauramurraycrashsite2.jpg Right angle turn] on [[New Hampshire Route 112|Route 112]] facing southwest, showing the Weathered Barn property.
----
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170617163520/https://aureliaisblogging.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/corner2.jpg?w=891&h=500&crop=1 Right angle turn facing northeast], the direction Murray was believed to have been traveling. A blue ribbon tied to a tree marks the crash site.
}}

====7:27 pm: Report of car accident====

Some time after 7:00{{nbsp}}pm, a [[Woodsville, New Hampshire]], resident heard a loud thump outside her house. Through her window, she could see a car up against the snowbank along [[New Hampshire Route 112|Route 112]], also known as [[Wild Ammonoosuc River|Wild Ammonoosuc]] Road. The car pointed west on the eastbound side of the road. The local woman reported the car accident on the sharp corner adjacent to her home, telephoning the [[Grafton County, New Hampshire|Grafton County]] Sheriff's Department at 7:27{{nbsp}}pm to report the accident.<ref name="Part2">{{Cite news |last=Conway |first=Maribeth |title=MAURA IS MISSING PART II: The Accident |newspaper=Whitman-Hanson Express |volume=6 |issue=26 |date=June 27, 2007 |url=http://whitmanhansonexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76:maura-is-missing-part-ii-the-accident&catid=912&Itemid=83 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217041203/http://whitmanhansonexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76%3Amaura-is-missing-part-ii-the-accident&catid=912&Itemid=83 |archive-date=February 17, 2010  }}</ref> According to the [[9-1-1]] log, the woman claimed to have seen a man smoking a [[cigarette]] inside the car.{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=90}} However, she later stated that she had not seen a man nor a person smoking a cigarette, but rather had seen what appeared to be a red light glowing from inside the car, potentially from a cell phone.{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=91}} A passing motorist, a school bus driver who lived nearby, stopped at the scene. He saw the car, as well as a young woman walking around the vehicle.<ref name="internet"/><ref name="Part2"/>

The school bus driver noticed the young woman was not bleeding or visibly injured, but cold and shivering.<ref name="Part2"/> He offered to call for help. She asked him not to call the police (one police report says "pleaded")<ref name="Part2"/> and assured him she had already called [[American Automobile Association|AAA]]<ref name="enterprise"/><ref name="internet"/> (AAA has no record of any such call).<ref name="Part2"/> Knowing there was no cellular reception in the area, the bus driver continued home and called the police. His call was received by the Sheriff's Department at 7:43 pm.<ref name="Part2"/> He was unable to see Murray's car while he made the call but did notice several cars pass on the road before the police arrived.<ref name="decade"/> Another local resident driving home from work claims she passed by the scene around 7:37 pm, and saw a police [[Sport utility vehicle|SUV]] parked face-to-face with Murray's car. She pulled over briefly and did not see anyone inside or outside the cars, and decided to continue home.<ref name=oxygen4>{{Cite episode|series=The Disappearance of Maura Murray|network=Oxygen|airdate=October 14, 2017|title=Code of Silence|number=4|url=http://www.oxygen.com/the-disappearance-of-maura-murray/season-1/code-of-silence}}</ref> This witness's statement contradicts the official police log, which has Haverhill police arriving nine minutes later.<ref name=oxygen4/>

====7:46 pm: Police arrival at scene====

[[File:Saturn-SL.jpg|thumb|right|A black second-generation [[Saturn S-Series]], identical to the car Murray was driving]] 
According to the official police log, at 7:46 pm, a Haverhill police officer arrived at the scene, but the woman driver had disappeared. No one was inside or around the car.<ref name="caledonian-five">{{cite news|last1=Lindsley|first1=Gary E.|title=Five Years Later, Maura Murray Still Missing After Driving To Haverhill, N.H.|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/five-years-later-maura-murray-still-missing-after-driving-to/article_f425137c-9de9-57d2-9b5a-ecd6e80c2834.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=February 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002141523/http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/five-years-later-maura-murray-still-missing-after-driving-to/article_f425137c-9de9-57d2-9b5a-ecd6e80c2834.html|archive-date=October 2, 2017}}</ref> The car had impacted the tree on the driver's side of the vehicle, severely damaging the left headlight and pushing the car's radiator into the fan, rendering it inoperable.<ref name="search-futile">{{cite news|title=Air, Ground Search Futile|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/air-ground-search-futile/article_38740df3-8c9b-51b6-8267-65adef0ee110.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=February 20, 2004}}</ref> The car's windshield was cracked on the driver's side, and both airbags had deployed. The car was locked.<ref name="Part2"/>

Inside and outside the car, the officer discovered red stains that looked to be red wine.<ref name="internet"/> Inside the car, he found an empty beer bottle<ref name="appeal-benson">{{cite news|title=Fred Murray Appeals to Governor Benson|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/fred-murray-appeals-to-governor-benson/article_a82c325d-6dd3-57e7-a7b8-4ed4d767d3e5.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=May 26, 2004}}</ref> and a damaged box of Franzia wine on the rear seat. In addition, he found a AAA card issued to Murray; blank accident report forms; gloves, compact discs, makeup, diamond jewelry; driving directions to Burlington, Vermont; Murray's favorite stuffed animal, and ''Not Without Peril'', a book about mountain climbing in the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/01/28/maura-murray/|title=Will the Internet Find Missing UMass Student Maura Murray?|date=January 28, 2014|website=Boston Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=October 1, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Part2"/><ref name=questions/><ref name="new-lead">{{cite news|title=Police Have New Lead in Maura Murray Case|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/police-have-new-lead-in-maura-murray-case/article_677914a8-8916-505f-8f66-a3a9331a1154.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Calendonian-Record|date=May 6, 2004}}</ref> Missing were Murray's debit card, credit cards, and cell phone, none of which have been located or used since her disappearance.<ref name=where/> The police later reported some of the bottles of purchased liquor were also missing.<ref name="secure-evidence">{{cite news|title=Police Secure Murray Items for Evidence|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/police-secure-murray-items-for-evidence/article_e90c8846-ae42-5581-872a-0f573e091e0a.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=July 1, 2004}}</ref>

Journalist Joe McGee, writing for the [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], ''[[The Patriot Ledger|Patriot Ledger]]'', summarized the incident: "At a hairpin turn, she went off the road. Her car hit a tree. At that point, a person came along who was driving a bus. It was a neighbor. He asked her if she needed help. She refused. About 10 minutes later, police showed up to the scene and Maura Murray was gone."<ref name=coeds>{{cite news|url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/vanished-brooke-wilbergers-remains-found-coed-case/story?id=8634304|title=Vanished: Two Coeds, Two Horrifying Mysteries, One Finally Solved|last=Hunter|first=Donna|date=  September 21, 2009|pages=ABC News|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026185245/http://abcnews.go.com/2020/vanished-brooke-wilbergers-remains-found-coed-case/story?id=8634304|archive-date=October 26, 2009}}</ref>

Police traced the vehicle to Murray, and initially treated her as a [[missing person]] on the belief that she may have wanted to disappear voluntarily. This speculation was based on her travel preparations (about which she had confided nothing to friends or family) and no obvious evidence of [[Crime|foul play]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/04/04/parents_push_search_for_student/|title=Parents push search for student|last=Associated Press|date=April 4, 2004|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171021064517/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/04/04/parents_push_search_for_student/|archive-date=October 21, 2017}}</ref> In 2009, Murray's case was given to the New Hampshire [[cold case]] division, and authorities are handling it as a "suspicious" missing persons case.<ref name=enterprise>{{cite news|last=Schiavone|first=Christian|title=Search for Hanson woman missing since 2004 continues|url=http://www.enterprisenews.com/article/20140208/NEWS/140206854/12145/NEWS?template=printart|access-date=March 18, 2014|newspaper=The Enterprise|date=February 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208112246/http://www.enterprisenews.com/article/20140208/NEWS/140206854/12145/NEWS?template=printart|archive-date=December 8, 2015}}</ref><ref name="cold-case-unit">{{cite web|title=Maura Murray, Cold Case Unit, NH Department of Justice|url=http://doj.nh.gov/criminal/cold-case/victim-list/maura-murray.htm|website=NH Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General|access-date=October 8, 2016}}</ref>

====8:00–9:30 pm: Alleged sighting====

Between 8:00 and 8:30 pm, a contractor returning home from [[Franconia, New Hampshire|Franconia]] saw a young person moving quickly on foot eastbound on Route 112 about {{convert|4|to|5|mi|0}} east of where Murray's vehicle was discovered. He noted that the young person was wearing jeans, a dark coat, and a light-colored hood. He did not report it to police immediately due to his own confusion of dates, only discovering three months later (when reviewing his work records) that he had spotted the young person the same night Murray disappeared.<ref name="new-lead"/><ref name=Part4/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/05/07/new_lead_is_reported_in_search_for_student/|title=New lead is reported in search for student|last=Abel|first=David|date=May 7, 2004|work=Boston Globe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040905105621/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/05/07/new_lead_is_reported_in_search_for_student/|archive-date=September 5, 2004|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/630070341.html?dids=630070341:630070341&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+7%2C+2004&author=JENNIFER+ROSINSKI&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=018&desc=New+lead+gives+hope+to+missing+girl%27s+kin|title=New lead gives hope to missing girl's kin|last=Rosinski|first=Jennifer|date=May 7, 2004|work=Boston Herald|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-date=June 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630025948/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/630070341.html?dids=630070341%3A630070341&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&date=May+7%2C+2004&author=JENNIFER+ROSINSKI&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=018&desc=New+lead+gives+hope+to+missing+girl%27s+kin|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The responding officer and the bus driver drove around the area searching for Murray.<ref name="Part1"/> Just before 8:00 pm, [[emergency medical services|EMS]] and a fire truck arrived to clear the scene. By 8:49 pm, the car had been towed to a local garage. At about 9:30 pm, the responding officer left. A rag believed to have been part of Murray's emergency roadside kit was discovered stuffed into the Saturn's muffler pipe.<ref name="Part2"/> Authorities would refer to Murray as simply "missing" at 12 pm the next day, almost 24 hours after the last confirmed sighting of her.<ref name="Part2"/>

==Search efforts==

{{Location map many | USA New Hampshire
| lat = 44.133200
| long = -71.951500
| label = Woodsville
| position = top
| width = 150
| float = right
| lat2=44.077778
| long2=  -71.282778
| label2 = Bartlett
| pos2 =bottom
| mark2=Blue pog.svg
| lat3=44.270833
| long3=-71.303472
| label3=White Mountains
| pos3=top
| mark3=Blue pog.svg
|caption =Murray's car was found, and Murray last sighted in [[Woodsville, New Hampshire]] (left center); she had inquired about renting a condominium in [[Bartlett, New Hampshire|Bartlett]] (bottom right).
}}

{{Location map many | USA Vermont
| lat1 = 44.133200
| long1 = -71.951500
| label1 = Woodsville
| pos1 = left
| width = 150
| float = right
| lat2= 44.475278
| long2=-72.702222
| label2=Stowe
| pos2=bottom
| mark2=Blue pog.svg
| lat3=44.475833
| long3=-73.211944
| label3=Burlington
| pos3=top
| mark3=Blue pog.svg
| caption = Murray had researched hotel reservations in [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]] (left) and [[Stowe, Vermont]] (center), on her computer and over the telephone before crashing her car in and disappearing from Woodsville (right). 
}}

===Initial investigation (2004–2005)===

====February–June 2004====

At 12:36 pm the following day, February 10, a "[[All-points bulletin|be on the lookout]]" report for Murray was issued. She was reported as wearing a dark coat, jeans, and a black backpack.<ref name="Part2"/> A voicemail was left on Fred Murray's home answering machine at 3:20 pm stating that her car had been found abandoned. He was working out of state and did not receive this call. At 5:00 pm, Murray's older sister {{who?|date=January 2024}} contacted her father to tell him of the situation. He then contacted the Haverhill Police Department and was told that, if Murray was not reported safe by the following morning, the [[New Hampshire Fish and Game Department]] would start a search. At 5:17 pm, Murray was first referred to as "missing" by the Haverhill police.<ref name="Part2"/>

On February 11, Murray's father arrived before dawn in Haverhill. At 8:00 am, New Hampshire Fish and Game, the Murrays, and others began to search. A police dog tracked the scent from one of Murray's gloves 100 yards east from where the vehicle had been discovered, but lost the scent. This suggested to police she'd left the area in another car.<ref name="Part2"/><ref name=questions/><ref name="extended-vermont">{{cite news|title=Search for Missing Woman Extended to Vermont|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/search-for-missing-woman-extended-to-vermont/article_3ee617bf-4c26-5e62-985f-e3d20a200aab.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|date=February 21, 2014}}</ref> At 5:00 pm, Murray's boyfriend and his parents arrived in Haverhill. He was interrogated in private, and then was joined by his parents for questioning. At 7:00 pm, the police said they believed Murray came to the area either to run away or attempt [[suicide]]; her family believed this was unlikely.<ref name="Part2"/>

Murray's boyfriend had turned off his cell phone during his flight to Haverhill. At some point, he received a voicemail that he believed was the sound of Murray sobbing. The call was traced to a calling card issued to the [[American Red Cross]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100218215526/http://whitmanhansonexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80%3Adid-maura-make-the-mysterious-phone-call&catid=912&Itemid=83 "Did Maura make the mysterious phone call?"], " Whitman-Hanson Express", July 3, 2007.</ref>

On February 12, Murray's father and her boyfriend held an evening press conference in [[Bethlehem, New Hampshire]], and the next day the first press coverage was published. At 3:05 pm, the police reported Murray might be headed to the [[Kancamagus Highway]] area, and she was "listed as endangered and possibly suicidal". The police report also stated Murray was intoxicated at the crash site, although the bus driver had said she did not appear impaired.<ref name="new-lead"/><ref name="Part3"/> The Haverhill police chief said that, "Our concern is that she's upset or suicidal."<ref name=questions>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2004/02/15/a_student_vanishes_and_questions_mount/|title=A student vanishes, and questions mount|last=DeMarco|first=Peter|date=February 15, 2004|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Part3">{{Cite news|last=Conway|first=Maribeth|title=MAURA IS MISSING PART III: The Search|newspaper=Whitman-Hanson Express |volume=6|issue=27|date=July 5, 2007|url=http://whitmanhansonexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79:maura-is-missing-part-iii-the-search&catid=912&Itemid=83}}</ref><ref>Associated Press.[https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/02/14/hanson_woman_21_missing_after_crash/ "Hanson Woman, 21, Missing After Crash"], ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', February 14, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/544952131.html?dids=544952131:544952131&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+13%2C+2004&author=&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=012&desc=REGION+In+Brief%3B+Mass.+woman+missing+after+N.H.+car+crash|title=Mass. woman missing after N.H. car crash|date=February 13, 2004|work=Boston Herald|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-date=October 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022212138/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/544952131.html?dids=544952131:544952131&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+13,+2004&author=&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=012&desc=REGION+In+Brief%3B+Mass.+woman+missing+after+N.H.+car+crash|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{Location map many | USA Vermont
| lat1 = 44.133200
| long1 = -71.951500
| label1 = Woodsville
| pos1 = left
| width = 150
| float = left
| lat2= 44.879167
| long2=-72.611667
| label2=Montgomery
| pos2=bottom
| mark2=Blue pog.svg
| caption = [[Montgomery, Vermont]], location of [[disappearance of Brianna Maitland|Brianna Maitland]]'s disappearance five weeks after Murray.
}}

A week after Murray's disappearance, her father and boyfriend were interviewed by [[CNN]]'s ''[[American Morning]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www-cgi.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/17/ltm.03.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615022438/http://www-cgi.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/17/ltm.03.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 15, 2011|title=Mystery Disappearance|last=O'Brien|first=Soledad|date=February 17, 2004|work=American Morning|publisher=CNN|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref> Murray's family expanded their search into Vermont, dismayed that authorities there had not been informed of her disappearance.<ref name="Part3"/>

Although missing person cases are normally handled by local and state police, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] joined the investigation ten days after she disappeared.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2004/02/20/with_no_new_leads_fbi_joins_search_for_missing_student/|title=With no new leads, FBI joins search for missing student|last=DeMarco|first=Peter|date=February 20, 2004|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref> The FBI interviewed family from Massachusetts,<ref name="appeal-benson"/><ref name="Part4">{{Cite news |last=Conway |first=Maribeth |title=MAURA IS MISSING PART IV: The Aftermath |newspaper= Whitman-Hanson Express |volume=6 |issue=28 |date=July 12, 2007 |url=http://whitmanhansonexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81:maura-is-missing-part-iv-the-aftermath&catid=912&Itemid=83 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201074659/http://whitmanhansonexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81%3Amaura-is-missing-part-iv-the-aftermath&catid=912&Itemid=83 |archive-date=December 1, 2010  }}</ref> and the Haverhill police chief announced that the search was now nationwide.<ref>Lindsley, Gary E. "Police Chasing Regionwide Leads", ''[[Caledonian-Record]]'', February 18, 2004.</ref> Ten days after her disappearance, New Hampshire Fish and Game conducted a second ground and air search, using a helicopter with a [[Forward-looking infrared|thermal imaging camera]], [[Search and rescue dog#Trailing|tracking dogs]] and [[Search and rescue dog#Applications|cadaver dogs]].<ref name="search-futile"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/02/27/footprints_in_the_snow/|title=Footprints in the Snow|last=McGrory|first=Brian|date=February 27, 2004|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref> Murray's older sister discovered a ripped white pair of women's underwear lying in the snow on a secluded trail near French Pond Road on February 26,<ref name="fruitless"/><ref name="relatives-clue">{{cite news|title=Relatives May Have Found a Clue|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/relatives-may-have-found-a-clue/article_3a9117f7-1263-5160-ba24-2d3cad1b903b.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=February 28, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Missing woman's sister finds underwear near crash site|last=Szaniszlo|first=Marie|date=March 2, 2004|work=Boston Herald}}</ref> but DNA tests found that the underwear did not belong to Murray.<ref>{{cite news|title=Potential Evidence Discounted|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/potential-evidence-discounted/article_a9678fe1-cba7-5db1-bf1f-8efe7bd89e15.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=March 24, 2004}}</ref>

At the end of February, the police returned the items found in Murray's car to her family. On March 2, the family checked out of their motel, exhausted from the search. Fred Murray returned nearly every weekend to continue searching. In April, Haverhill Police informed him of complaints of trespassing on private property.<ref>{{cite news|title=Family, Friends Warned About Trespassing|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/family-warned-about-trespassing/article_62cdd0ee-3efe-53cf-8fc7-bfe8c1ae99e2.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=April 14, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Residents Dispute Claims They Want Trespassers Arrested|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/residents-dispute-claims-they-want-trespassers-arrested/article_78174013-24e8-5f30-bb2b-994e2882ec49.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=April 20, 2004}}</ref> The March 2004 [[disappearance of Brianna Maitland]] in [[Montgomery, Vermont]], {{convert|66|mi|-1}} away from Murray's last sighting in Woodsville, drew comparisons from media and law enforcement due to the similarities in disappearances.<ref name=vermont-teen>{{cite news|last=Mikkilineni|first=Rupa|title=Vermont teen vanishes on way home from work|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/09/grace.coldcase.maitland/index.html|access-date=March 19, 2014|date=December 9, 2008}}</ref> However, state police have stated there are no links between the two cases.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Garbitelli |first1=Beth |title=Vt. police mark decade since teen's disappearance |url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Vt-police-mark-decade-since-teen-s-disappearance-5328576.php |access-date=October 7, 2016 |agency=Associated Press |via=SFGate.com |date=March 18, 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319103105/http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Vt-police-mark-decade-since-teen-s-disappearance-5328576.php |archive-date=March 19, 2014  }}</ref>

In April and again in June, New Hampshire and Vermont police dismissed any connection between Murray's case and Maitland's. In a press release, they stated they believed that "Maura was headed for an unknown destination and may have accepted a ride in order to continue to that location," adding that they had discovered no evidence that a crime had been committed. They dismissed the possibility of a [[serial killer]] being involved.<ref name="Part4"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Vermont, N.H. State Police Rule Out Connection Between Disappearances|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/vermont-n-h-state-police-rule-out-connection-between-disappearances/article_433b718b-1200-5885-a1fc-730ec9906be9.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=April 9, 2004}}</ref><ref name="deny-link">{{cite news|title=Vermont, N.H. Officers Deny Link Between Missing Women|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/vermont-n-h-officers-deny-link-between-missing-women/article_d29b8472-db26-5480-98b5-0627a68765bb.html|work=Caledonian-Record|date=June 9, 2004}}</ref>

====July 2004–December 2005====

On July 1, police retrieved the items found in Murray's vehicle from her family for forensic analysis.<ref name="secure-evidence"/> On July 13, a one-mile radius search was performed by nearly 100 searchers, including state troopers, rescue personnel, and volunteers. It was the fourth search around the crash area and the first search performed without snow on the ground. Authorities were most interested in locating the black backpack Murray had in her possession but not found in her car. Police stated the search discovered "nothing conclusive".<ref name="july-search">{{cite news|title=Another Search for Maura Murray Turns Up Little|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/another-search-for-maura-murray-turns-up-little/article_fd431ff6-8918-5a0a-ba11-59d59d3a131b.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|work=Caledonian-Record|date=July 14, 2004}}</ref>

In late 2004, a man allegedly gave Murray's father a rusty, stained knife that belonged to the man's brother, who had a criminal past and lived less than a mile from where the car was discovered. His brother and his brother's girlfriend were said to have acted strangely after the disappearance,<ref name=Part4/> and the man's brother claimed he believed the knife had been used to kill Murray.{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=128}} Several days after the knife was given to Murray's father, the man's brother allegedly scrapped his [[Volvo]].{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=129}} Family members of the man who turned in the knife claimed he had made up the story in order to obtain reward money in the investigation, and that he had a history of drug use.{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=129}}

In 2005, Fred Murray petitioned [[Governor of New Hampshire|New Hampshire Governor]] [[Craig Benson]] for help in the search,<ref name="appeal-benson"/><ref name="LettersToGovs">{{Cite web|last=Murray|first=F. J|title=Fred's Letters to Governors|url=http://www.mauramurraymissing.com/Fredsletterstogovernor.html|access-date=May 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720201509/http://mauramurraymissing.com/Fredsletterstogovernor.html|archive-date=July 20, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/791602151.html?dids=791602151:791602151&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+10%2C+2005&author=MARIE+SZANISZLO&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=020&desc=Mass.+dad+asks+N.H.+gov+for+help+finding+daughter|title=Mass. dad asks N.H. gov for help finding daughter|last=Szaniszlo|first=Marie|date=February 10, 2005|work=Boston Herald|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-date=October 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022212212/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/791602151.html?dids=791602151:791602151&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+10,+2005&author=MARIE+SZANISZLO&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=020&desc=Mass.+dad+asks+N.H.+gov+for+help+finding+daughter|url-status=dead}}</ref> and appeared on ''[[The Montel Williams Show]]'' in November 2004 to publicize the case.<ref name=unionleader>{{cite news|title=45 months and countless questions|last=West|first=Nancy|date=October 28, 2007|work=New Hampshire Union Leader|page=A1|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=UL&p_theme=ul&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_field_label-0=Section&s_dispstring=Missing%20Maura%20Murray%20-%20Four%20years%20and%20countless%20questions%20AND%20section(all)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Missing%20Maura%20Murray%20-%20Four%20years%20and%20countless%20questions)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no}} {{subscription required}}</ref> On February 9, 2005, the first anniversary of Murray's disappearance, a service was held where the car was found, and her father met briefly with New Hampshire Governor [[John Lynch (New Hampshire governor)|John Lynch]].<ref name="sues-nh">{{cite news|title=Father of missing woman sues N.H. for records of case|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/12/29/father_of_missing_woman_sues_nh_for_records_of_case/|access-date=October 7, 2016|agency=Associated Press|issue=December 29, 2005|work=The Boston Globe}}</ref>

In late 2005, Fred Murray filed suit against several law enforcement agencies, with the aim of seeing files on the case.<ref name="sues-nh"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/01/29/father_seeks_data_on_a_lost_daughter/|title=Father seeks data on a lost daughter|last=Nichols|first=Russell|date=January 29, 2006|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref> On November 1, 2005, a user named "Tom Davies" logged into a message board called "Not Without Peril", which was dedicated to discussion of Murray's disappearance, and claimed to have seen a black backpack behind a restroom at Pemigewasset Overlook, around {{convert|30|mi|km}} east of Woodsville on Route 112.<ref name=internet/> Murray had owned a black backpack.<ref name=internet/> Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin stated that law enforcement "was aware of the backpack," but did not disclose whether it had been taken for forensic testing.<ref name=internet/>

===Subsequent searches (2006–2010)===

The New Hampshire League of Investigators, ten retired police officers and detectives, and the [[Molly Bish Foundation]] started working on the case in 2006.<ref name=Part4/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181593,00.html|title=The Lineup|date=January 13, 2006|work=Fox News|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-date=October 21, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171021070221/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/01/13/january-7-8.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/957076761.html?dids=957076761:957076761&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+4%2C+2006&author=Jessica+Fargen&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=004&desc=PIs+working+for+free+to+find+UMass+Student|title=PIs working for free to find UMass student|last=Fargan|first=Jessica|date=January 4, 2006|work=Boston Herald|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-date=October 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022212254/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/957076761.html?dids=957076761:957076761&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+4,+2006&author=Jessica+Fargen&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=004&desc=PIs+working+for+free+to+find+UMass+Student|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tom Shamshak, a former police chief and a member of the Licensed Private Detectives Association of Massachusetts, said, "It appears...that this is something beyond a mere missing persons case. Something ominous could have happened here."<ref name=coeds/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/5845343/detail.html|title=Private Investigators Renew Search for Missing Woman|date=January 4, 2006|work=The Boston Channel|access-date=September 26, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019054218/http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/5845343/detail.html|archive-date=October 19, 2009}}</ref> The [[Arkansas]] group Let's Bring Them Home offered a $75,000 reward in 2007 for information that could solve her disappearance.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/07/insurance_expert_joins_connector_board/|title=Group helps search for missing student|last=Associated Press|date=August 7, 2007|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref>

In October 2006, volunteers led a two-day search within a few miles of where Murray's car was found.<ref name="k-9">{{cite news|title=K-9 Teams Search for Student Who Disappeared in 2004|url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/k--teams-search-for-student-who-disappeared-in/article_2850ae5a-27ed-5e18-bf6c-290856339b05.html|work=Caledonian-Record|date=October 23, 2006}}</ref> In the closet of an [[A-frame house]] approximately {{convert|1|mi|km}}{{sfn|Renner|2016|p=129}} from the crash site, cadaver dogs allegedly went "bonkers", possibly identifying the presence of human remains. The house had formerly been the residence of the man implicated by his brother, who had given Fred Murray the rusty knife in 2004.{{sfn|Renner|2016|pages=128–9}} A sample of carpet from the home was sent to the [[New Hampshire State Police]], but the results were not released to the public.<ref name=Part4/> In July 2008, volunteers led another two-day search through wooded areas in Haverhill. The group consisted of dog teams and licensed private investigators.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Conkey|first1=Don|title=Four years later, Maura Murray's family still driven by hope|url=http://www.patriotledger.com/x1009933237|access-date=October 7, 2016|publisher=The Patriot Ledger|date=February 9, 2008}}</ref>

Murray's case was one of many cited by proponents of a statewide [[cold case]] unit for New Hampshire in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/local_story_121020508.html?keyword=topstory|title=NH may get cold case unit|last=Kimble|first=James A.|date=May 1, 2009|work=The Eagle Tribune|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828082224/http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/local_story_121020508.html?keyword=topstory|archive-date=August 28, 2009 }}</ref> Her case was subsequently added to the newly established cold case unit later that year.<ref name="coldcaseunit">{{cite web|title=Maura Murray|url=http://doj.nh.gov/criminal/cold-case/victim-list/maura-murray.htm|work=New Hampshire Department of Justice Cold Case Unit|access-date=March 19, 2014}}</ref> In 2010, Fred Murray publicly criticized the police investigation for treating the disappearance as a missing persons case and not a criminal matter,<ref name="seacostonline">{{cite news|title=Mass. man and father of Maura Murray takes quest to high court|url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20060922/News/309229971|access-date=October 8, 2016|agency=Associated Press|date=December 20, 2010}}</ref> and called on the FBI to join the investigation.<ref name="ten-years-later"/> Jeffery Strelzin said in February 2009 that the investigation was still active: "We don't know if Maura is a victim, but the state is treating it as a potential homicide. It may be a missing-persons case, but it's being handled as a criminal investigation."<ref name=fiveyears/><ref name=unionleader/>

===Further developments (2011–present)===
In 2014, on the tenth anniversary of Murray's disappearance, Strelzin stated that "We haven't had any credible sightings of Maura since the night she disappeared."<ref name="ten-years-later"/> In an article published in the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' on the tenth anniversary of his daughter's disappearance, it was reported that Fred Murray believed she was dead and had been abducted the night of her disappearance.<ref name=nyd>{{cite web|work=[[New York Daily News]]|title=Mystery 2004 New Hampshire disappearance of college student continues to torment family, baffle authorities |date=February 8, 2014|agency=Associated Press|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/maura-murray-cold-case-ten-years-article-1.1607013|access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref>

On February 9, 2017, the thirteenth anniversary of Murray's disappearance, Strelzin wrote in an email to ''[[The Boston Globe]]'': "It's still an open case with periods of activity and [at] times it goes dormant. There are no new updates to share at this time."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/02/15/family-heartbreaking-search-for-maura/aDsLow8QpzqCeqPV1IcdzI/story.html|title=A family's heartbreaking search for Maura|work=BostonGlobe.com|date=February 15, 2017|access-date=April 7, 2017|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408171239/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/02/15/family-heartbreaking-search-for-maura/aDsLow8QpzqCeqPV1IcdzI/story.html|archive-date=April 8, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In February 2019, the fifteenth anniversary of Murray's disappearance, Fred Murray reiterated his belief that his daughter was dead, as well as his suspicions about the nearby house that cadaver dogs responded to, stating, "That's my daughter, I do believe."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2019/02/08/dad-believes-new-info-will-lead-to-umass-nursing-students-remains |title=Dad believes new info will lead to UMass nursing student's remains |first=Kathy |last=McCormack |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |website=[[Boston.com]] |date=February 8, 2019 |access-date=February 8, 2019}}</ref> In early April, excavation was done within the basement of the house. Fred Murray had previously wanted to search the home, but the owners did not cooperate. Following sale of the property, its new owners allowed several searches of the property; however, the excavation conducted in early April found "absolutely nothing, other than what appears to be a piece of pottery or old piping."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2019/04/03/investigators-no-new-evidence-missing-umass-student-maura-murray |title=Despite speculation, investigators find no new evidence in case of missing UMass student |first=Christopher |last=Gavin |website=[[Boston.com]] |date=April 3, 2019 |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/04/03/maura-murray-missing-investigation-north-haverhill-search/ |title=Search of NH Home Yields No New Evidence in Maura Murray Disappearance |website=[[WBZ-TV]] |date=April 3, 2019 |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref>

In early 2021, the tree at the site where Murray was last seen—which had been marked with a blue ribbon as a memorial—was cut down by the property owner.<ref name=larcom>{{cite news |url=http://www.newhampshirelakesandmountains.com/Articles-Littleton-Courier-c-2021-03-10-166069.113119-Maura-Murray-blue-ribbon-memorial-tree-destroyed.html |title=Maura Murray blue ribbon memorial tree destroyed |first=Angel |last=Larcom |website=newhampshirelakesandmountains.com |date=March 10, 2021 |access-date=June 29, 2021 |archive-date=January 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116100530/http://www.newhampshirelakesandmountains.com/Articles-Littleton-Courier-c-2021-03-10-166069.113119-Maura-Murray-blue-ribbon-memorial-tree-destroyed.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Shortly thereafter, a request from Murray's family to have a [[New Hampshire historical marker]] placed at the site, which had been submitted in late 2020,<ref name=larcom/> was turned down by the [[New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.concordmonitor.com/State-turns-down-historical-marker-request-for-missing-woman-39365612 |title=State turns down historical marker request for missing woman |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |website=[[Concord Monitor]] |location=[[Concord, New Hampshire]] |date=March 11, 2021 |access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref>

On September 14, 2021, New Hampshire State Police announced that bone fragments had been found on [[Loon Mountain]] in [[Lincoln, New Hampshire]], approximately {{convert|25|mi|km}} east of the site of Murray's crash.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wcax.com/2021/11/10/investigators-bone-fragments-not-connected-maura-murray-case/ |title=Investigators: Bone fragments not connected to Maura Murray case |first=Adam |last=Sullivan |website=[[WCAX-TV]] |date=November 10, 2021 |accessdate=November 28, 2021}}</ref> Murray had been to the mountain before and had knowledge of the area, according to her sister.<ref name=wrench/> The bone fragments were described as "pretty small," and it was expected to take at least two months to determine if they were the remains of Murray or not.<ref name=wrench>{{Cite web |url=https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/09/14/maura-murray-missing-woman-new-hampshire-state-police-bone-fragments-loon-mountain/ |title = 'This is Gut Wrenching,' Family of Woman Missing 17 Years Waits for Tests on Bone Fragments Found in New Hampshire |website=[[CBS Boston]] |date = September 14, 2021}}</ref> In November, it was announced that the remains were not of Murray.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bone Fragments Found In New Hampshire Not Those Of Missing Woman Maura Murray |url=https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/11/10/bone-fragments-new-hampshire-loon-mountain-missing-woman-maura-murray/ |website=[[CBS Boston]] |date=November 10, 2021 |access-date=November 11, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In January 2022, FBI issued a national alert in Murray's case and created a Violent Criminal Apprehension Profile, allowing multiple law enforcement agencies to share information regarding her case.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wcvb.com/article/maura-murray-fbi-issues-national-alert-january-17-2022/38796725#  |website=[[WCVB]] |title = FBI issues national alert in unsolved 2004 disappearance of Massachusetts native Maura Murray |date=January 17, 2022 |access-date=January 19, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> In July 2022, law enforcement in New Hampshire initiated a search in the towns of [[Landaff, New Hampshire|Landaff]] and [[Easton, New Hampshire|Easton]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/police-searching-2-nh-towns-for-maura-murray-umass-student-missing-since-2004/2824914/ |title=Police Searching 2 NH Towns for Maura Murray, UMass Student Missing Since 2004 |first=Asher |last=Klein |website=[[WVIT]] |date=July 13, 2022 |accessdate=July 13, 2022}}</ref> In February 2024, on the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, New Hampshire  officials released an age-progression photo of Murray.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/02/09/metro/20th-anniversary-college-students-disappearance-authorities-release-age-progression-photo/ |title=On 20th anniversary of college student's disappearance, authorities release age-progression photo |first=Emily |last=Sweeney |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |url-access=limited |date=February 9, 2024 |accessdate=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

==Significance==

Murray's disappearance has been cited as "the first crime mystery of the [[social media]] age",<ref name=carlson/> and generated speculation from the media and the public, specifically on the Internet, in online forums and message boards.<ref name=internet/> Writing for ''[[Boston (magazine)|Boston]]'' magazine in 2014, Bill Jensen noted: "Now, at least online, it often seems as there's no such thing as a cold case. But when Maura Murray disappeared, the social Web was in its infancy. There was no [[YouTube]] and no [[Twitter]]. On the day Maura went missing, [[Facebook]] was five days old. And so you can read the history of her case as a parable about the evolution of online sleuthing."<ref name=internet/> In 2005, active discussion of Murray's disappearance was documented on websleuths.com, and in 2007, [[Facebook]] and [[Myspace]] pages were created dedicated to helping find her.<ref name=internet/>

{{blockquote|On the Internet, Maura's disappearance is the perfect obsession, a puzzle of clues that offers a tantalizing illusion—if the right armchair detective connects the right dots, maybe the unsolvable can be solved. And so every day, the case attracts new recruits, analyzing and dissecting and reconstructing the details of her story with a [[Warren Commission]]–like fervor.|source=Bill Jensen, ''Boston'' (2014)<ref name=internet/>}}

== Media depictions ==
In the years after Murray's disappearance, her case received media attention from [[ABC News]], [[NewsNation]], and [[StoryCorps]]; television shows ''[[American Morning]]'', ''The Montel Williams Show'', ''[[20/20 (U.S. TV program)|20/20]]'', ''[[Nancy Grace]]’s Cold Cases'', ''[[Disappeared (TV program)|Disappeared]]'', and the ''[[The Dr. Oz Show|Dr. Oz Show]]''; in print from ''The Boston Globe'', ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine, ''[[Newsweek]]'', ''[[Seventeen (American magazine)|Seventeen]]'' magazine, ''[[The New Yorker]]'', and ''[[Rolling Stone]]''; and from dozens of local and regional newspapers, magazines, radio and television programs. It also garnered significant speculation on Internet message boards and forums,<ref name=internet/> with theories ranging from abduction to voluntary disappearance.<ref name=fiveyears>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2009/02/08/five_years_later_case_frustrates_family/|title=Five years later, case frustrates family|last=Associated Press|date=February 8, 2009|work=Boston Globe|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref><ref name="collegian-developments">{{cite news|title=New developments in search for missing UMass student|url=http://dailycollegian.com/2006/01/31/new-developments-in-search-for-missing-umass-student/|access-date=March 18, 2014|newspaper=The Massachusetts Daily Collegian|date=January 31, 2006|archive-date=December 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208123559/http://dailycollegian.com/2006/01/31/new-developments-in-search-for-missing-umass-student/}}</ref>

An 2009 episode of ''20/20'' compared Murray's case to that of [[Murder of Brooke Wilberger|Brooke Wilberger]], who went missing in [[Oregon]] a few months after Murray's disappearance and was later found murdered.<ref name=coeds/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tv.msn.com/tv/episode/20-20/vanished-missing-co-eds/|title=Vanished: Missing Co-eds|date=July 15, 2009|work=20/20|publisher=MSN|access-date=September 26, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418201805/http://tv.msn.com/tv/episode/20-20-on-we/vanished-missing-co-eds/|archive-date=April 18, 2012}}</ref> In 2010, Murray was the subject of episode 6 in the [[List of Disappeared episodes|first season of ''Disappeared'']].<ref name=DS1>{{Cite episode |title= Miles to Nowhere|series= [[Disappeared (TV program)|Disappeared]]|network= [[Investigation Discovery]]|season= 1|language=en}}</ref> In 2017, the Oxygen network produced a six-part television documentary miniseries titled ''The Disappearance of Maura Murray'', hosted by journalist Maggie Freleng.<ref>{{cite web |title=Episode Guide {{!}} The Disappearance of Maura Murray |url=https://www.oxygen.com/the-disappearance-of-maura-murray/episode-guide |website=Oxygen Official Site |access-date=March 14, 2020 |date=August 21, 2017}}</ref> The Oxygen miniseries described Murray's disappearance as the "first crime mystery of the social media age", having occurred days after the launch of [[Facebook]].<ref name=carlson>{{cite web|work=People|url=https://people.com/crime/maura-murray-disappearance-tv-show-preview/|title=Behind a New Investigation of a Mass. College Student's Mysterious 2004 Disappearance|author=Carlson, Adam|date=September 22, 2017|access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref>

Maura's disappearance was the subject of the nonfiction thriller ''[[True Crime Addict]]: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray'' by author and journalist [[James Renner]]. In the book, Renner proposed the theory that Murray traveled into New Hampshire with a tandem driver and may have disappeared willingly and started a new life elsewhere due to fears her pending credit card fraud case would prevent her being hired as a nurse, or less likely, was murdered by someone she knew.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250089021|title=True Crime Addict {{!}} James Renner {{!}} Macmillan|work=US Macmillan|access-date=October 10, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-250-08901-4|title=Nonfiction Book Review: True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray |quote=James Renner. St. Martin's/Dunne, $25.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-08901-4 |work=PublishersWeekly.com |access-date=October 10, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> Murray's father, Fred, and immediate family have disputed this theory. Fred Murray stated that he believes his daughter was abducted and is dead.<ref name=nyd/>

==See also==
*[[List of people who disappeared mysteriously: post-1970|List of people who disappeared]]
*[[Disappearance of Patricia Meehan]], in Montana in 1989; she drove {{convert|380|mi|km}} from her home for unknown reasons and disappeared shortly after a car accident.

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Coord|44.119272|N|71.936278|W|display=title}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Renner|first=James|title=True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray|location=New York|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|year=2016|isbn=978-1-250-08901-4}}

==External links==
*[https://www.mauramurraymissing.org/ Maura Murray Missing]
*[http://doj.nh.gov/criminal/cold-case/victim-list/maura-murray.htm Maura Murray], Cold Case Unit, [[New Hampshire Department of Justice]]
*{{Doe Network|3620dfnh.html|Maura Murray}}
*{{NamUs MP|54|Maura Murray}}
*[https://mauramurraymystery.com/ Repository of information, James Renner's The Disappearance of Maura Murray blog]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Maura}}
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:2000s missing person cases]]
[[Category:2004 in New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Missing person cases in New Hampshire]]
[[Category:February 2004 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Haverhill, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Possibly living people]]
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