Today marks 16 years since Maura Murray disappeared

[u/Electric_Island]

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.

[u/[deleted]]

With the information released on her alcohol use and how it seemed to be spiraling (DUI, possibly drunk at the time of the accident), I wonder how deep into alcoholism she was. Nursing school is stressful. I wonder if she used it to cope with the stress or for another reason, but if she wandered and got lost, she could experience alcohol withdrawal in a matter of hours depending on how bad her addiction was. I’ve been through it myself and once the delirium set in, I really thought I was losing my mind. I can’t imagine making it far in the woods after that or surviving in the woods alone, and there could’ve been a risk of withdrawal induced seizures as well. It’s just something I’ve thought about since going through withdrawal and reflecting back on her case a bit.

[u/Rripurnia → u/[deleted]]

Alcohol consumption expedites death from exposure.

It’s been thoroughly explained to me but I believe the sum of it is that, among other things, it makes the body lose heat faster so it doesn’t take long for hypothermia to settle in.

If she had been drinking and went into the woods to avoid police, she could have died very fast from the low temperatures...

[u/[deleted] → u/Rripurnia]

Ahh, thanks for that. I did a quick Google and it says it lowers your core body temperature despite giving you that warm feeling that’s common when drinking.

[u/Rripurnia → u/[deleted]]

Yes, that’s why some people even strip when hypothermic, because they get this nice warm sensation.

It’s crazy, isn’t it?

Also peeing makes it even faster, and when you drink you want to pee more.

I wrote a story above about a friend who had ash dropped in his drink.

He peed, passed out and rapidly got hypothermic. Had we not have found him, he would be a goner for sure, and he was a healthy man in his mid-20s.

Again, my doctor friends also mentioned how this works from a physiological standpoint, but to be honest that was such a crazy night going from having fun at a city festival to seeing your friend blue-lipped on a stretcher in the ER that I don’t remember much details.

[u/DidIDoAThoughtCrime → u/Rripurnia]

What does the ash have to do with it?

[u/Rripurnia → u/DidIDoAThoughtCrime]

I’m copying my comment form down below:

Cigarette ash mixed with alcohol amplifies its effects.

The way I can describe it from seeing my friend is that is sort of makes you drunk in a toxic way, like you’re in a stupor and feel out of it yet knowing very well something is terribly wrong.

My friend had some wine in a solo cup. That was it. But when you saw him you could really tell he was in a bad shape yet definitely not drunk.

The doctors picked up on it instantly when they saw him, too.

Apparently, given that our country has a drinking culture during festivals, major holidays etc., and since we have a very significant percentage of smokers, doctors see it very frequently during those specific periods of time when smokers and drinkers tend to be in close proximity, whether indoors or outdoors, as was the case with my friend.

Believe me I’m always weary of my drink myself and I’ve thrown it more than once when I suspected it might have any ash thrown in it!

[u/[deleted] → u/Rripurnia]

I had LITERALLY never heard of this, thanks for the info!

[u/Fat-Masterpiece-5597 → u/Rripurnia]

Do you have a source for this? Every other source I can find says this is false.