Maura Murray was a young woman from Massachusetts who disappeared after a car accident in New Hampshire.
In September 2021, human bone fragments were discovered on Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire, about 25 miles from where Maura went missing. These bones were believed to possibly be Maura's. On November 10, 2021, it was confirmed that the bones did not belong to Maura.
In early 2024, the FBI released an age progression, approximating her appearance at 41.
Background[]
Maura Murray was born and raised with her parents and three siblings in Hanson, Massachusetts. She graduated Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. She had studied for three semesters at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. At the time of her disappearance, Maura was nursing student who lived on-campus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was in her junior year at the time. She was dating a man named Billy Rausch.
On February 5, 2004, Maura had a phone conversation with her sister, Kathleen while Maura was at her campus security job. The two sisters discussed Kathleen's relationship issues with her fiance. Maura's supervisors said that when she approached Maura's desk, Maura was zoned out and in tears. The supervisor escorted Maura back to her dorm at approximately 1:20 am. When asked what was wrong, all Maura said was, "My sister." On February 7, Fred Murray, Maura's father, came to Amherst to visit Maura. They went car-shopping in the afternoon, then went out to dinner with one of Maura's friends. Maura dropped her dad off at his motel and then borrowed his car to attend a party. At 3:30 am on February 8, Maura crashed into a guard rail while driving back to her dad's motel. An accident report was filled out, and Maura was taken to her dad's motel room. Maura's father checked out of the motel later that morning and left for Connecticut. He called Maura later that night to remind her to pick up the accident report forms at the RMV.
On Monday, February 9, 2004, Maura used her own computer to search MapQuest for directions to the Berkshires and Burlington, Vermont. At 1:00 pm, she emailed her boyfriend saying, "I love you more stud. I got your messages, but honestly, i didn't feel like talking to much of anyone, i promise to call today though. love you, Maura." She then made a phone call asking about renting a condo in Bartlett, New Hampshire. The unit was in the same building that Maura's family had stayed while on vacation. The phone record showed that the call lasted around three minutes. Then at 1:13 pm, Maura called one of her fellow nursing students for unknown reasons. At 1:24 pm, Maura emailed a supervisor of the nursing department saying that she would be out for a week due to a death in her family. However, no one in her family had died. She said she would reach out again when she came back. She also called her boyfriend saying she would talk to him later. At 3:30 pm, Maura packed the majority of her belongings into boxes and put them in her car. Her dorm room was nearly empty when searched. She then drove off. Around 10 minutes later, she withdrew $280 from an ATM machine. She then purchased many alcoholic beverages at a liquor store close by. She had also picked up the accident report at some point that day. She left Amherst that evening, most likely via Route 91 North.
Disappearance[]
Similar vehicle to the one that belonged to Maura
At around 7:27 pm on February 9, a resident in Woodsville, New Hampshire heard a loud noise outside her home. When she looked out her window, she saw Maura's car crashed into a snowbank on Route 112. The resident called the Grafton County Sheriffs Office to report the accident. She had claimed that she saw a glowing red light inside the car, possibly from a cell phone. At that same time, two more neighbors pulled up next to the crashed vehicle and reportedly saw someone walking around the car. One of the neighbors noticed that Maura was not bleeding and did not seem injured, but she was very cold and shivering. He offered to call for help, but Maura told him not to, saying that AAA was already on the way, however, AAA reported that they never received a call from Maura. Since there was no cell phone service, the neighbor returned home and called the police at 7:43 pm. While he could not see Maura's car while he was on the phone with the police, he did see several other cars pass her before authorities arrived.
When the police arrived at the scene of the accident at 7:46 pm, Maura was nowhere to be found. She was not in the car or anywhere around it. The car was locked. It had impacted a tree, and both airbags had gone off. The vehicle was so badly damaged that it was inoperable. Inside the car, an empty beer bottle, a damaged box of wine, Maura's AAA card, blank accident report forms, CD's, makeup, jewelry, gloves, MapQuest directions to Burlington, VT, Maura's favorite stuffed monkey, and a book about the White Mountains were found. Maura's credit and debit cards, cellphone, and a few of her liquor bottles were missing. Police saw red wine stains inside and outside of the car.
Between 8:00 and 8:30 pm that night, a man reportedly saw a person that fit Maura's description around 4-5 miles from the scene of the accident. He said the person was moving very quickly and was on foot. At 8:49 pm, Maura's car was towed away. A rag that was believed to have belonged to Maura was found stuffed inside the muffler of her car. The responding police officer left the scene at 9:30 pm.
The next day shortly after noon, a "Be on the lookout" report was issued for Maura. At 5:17 pm that day, Maura was officially deemed "missing" by the sheriff's department. On the morning of February 11, the police began the official search for Maura. Police dogs picked up on a scent of Maura about 100 yards east of the crash site, but the scent was lost. the search was extended into Vermont a few days later. Ten days in, the FBI joined the search. They used helicopters, cadaver dogs, tracking dogs, and thermal imaging cameras in order to locate Maura. Even after a long and thorough search, a press conference, and interviewing Maura's family and boyfriend, there was still no trace of her. Throughout the years, many searches have been organized to help locate Maura, but she was never found. Some of her items were sent in for forensic testing, but it did not lead to anything. Maura's current whereabouts remain unknown.
There are a few theories as to what happened to Maura. One theory is that she got into one of the cars that passed by and the driver took her to her destination. Another theory states that Maura wandered off and died from exposure. Some believe that Maura left the scene of the accident and took her own life. There is also a theory that she was abducted and murdered, or a victim of a serial killer.
Characteristics[]
- Light brown hair.
- Blue-green eyes.
Clothing[]
- Dark-colored coat.
- Jeans.
Sources[]
- Maura Murray at the Charley Project
- Maura Murray at the Doe Network
- Maura Murray at NamUs
- Maura Murray on Wikipedia
- CBS Boston
- FBI
- Uncovered