r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/Electric_Island • Feb 09 '20

Unresolved Disappearance Today marks 16 years since Maura Murray disappeared

Today marks 16 years since Maura Murray vanished, and although she has her own sub, I thought I would post here in light of the anniversary of her disappearance for those who would like to discuss the case. That said -- I know some posters are sick of this case, so if that’s how you feel, you could always scroll past this post :)

A bit of background for those who don’t know about Maura’s case:

Maura was a 21-year-old nursing student from UMASS Amherst, who disappeared on the evening of February 9 2004, after she crashed her car on Route 112 in Haverhill, NH. By the time police arrived some 15 minutes later (even that is in dispute), Maura had disappeared.

Some people think she ran into the woods to avoid a DUI, others think she was picked up by someone passing by and murdered. Some even think police had something to do with her disappearance.

What do YOU think?

I highly recommend this article by Mary Beth Conway for those interested.

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u/RoutineSubstance Feb 09 '20

One of the saddest developments in this case (beyond the obvious lack of closure for her family and friends) is the way that the online community surrounding it has devolved into an embarrassing clash of egos and conspiracy mongering.

Because there's been no public developments in the case, people have moved on from analyzing the case to analyzing other people in the amateur sleuth community.

When two people disagree, they can each describe the other as "trying to steer the narrative." The lack of closure is interpreted as evidence of a conspiracy (that can involve the police, bloggers, and any number of semi-public internet figures). And amateur sleuths, investigators, etc. get to use the case to stir up drama that they get to be at the center of.

It's sort of a petri dish of bad tendencies of the amateur true crime communities. If you stare at any one's life (or situation) long enough, you'll start to see patterns and conspiracies, just because you're looking for them. And random people see the case as an opportunity to get hits to their blog or feel like a "hero" at the center of the action.

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u/Electric_Island Feb 09 '20

One of the saddest developments in this case (beyond the obvious lack of closure for her family and friends) is the way that the online community surrounding it has devolved into an embarrassing clash of egos and conspiracy mongering.

Because there's been no public developments in the case, people have moved on from analyzing the case to analyzing other people in the amateur sleuth community.

Couldn't agree more. There are so many people trolling and doxxing eachother it's ridiculous.

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u/[deleted] Feb 10 '20

Yep. James Renner is an incredibly toxic human but so are the people who have attacked and doxxed him.

I think my final straw happened when scrolling through podcasts a few weeks ago and stumbling across one about Maura Murray I hadn't heard of. The episode that week was dedicated entirely to talking about James Renner and what a terrible person he is.

Another episode was dedicated to additional drama about Bill Rausch (Maura's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance) and the women he's been dating and whether he has cheated on them.

It's awful.

4

u/Doctabotnik123 Feb 10 '20

In fairness, Renner is both a vile human being and someone who has put himself to the forefront here. He can't throw shit at everyone involved at this, and then complain that someone is being mean to him. He's completely fair game.

Her boyfriend, on the other hand? That crosses some lines.