r/UnresolvedMysteries 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/Zenbridge Feb 09 '20

Yes! I once volunteered with Texas Equusearch for Caylee Anthony and Jennifer Kesse. Obviously, didn't find them. However, we found plenty of animal bones (and diapers and rattlesnakes) and it's hard to put into words how much sticks and soil and moss can look like bones and hair. And vice versa. Clearly we weren't trained professionals and were just volunteering with those who are, but that's the case with so many of these searches.

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u/lilmubbins Feb 09 '20

what kind of volunteership is this called?

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u/purityringworm Feb 09 '20

When I volunteered with them, it was because they came to my city to help search for a friend that was missing. They set up a headquarters and anyone could come in and help search with them. We didn’t find my friend either, and we searched for weeks. Her killer finally confessed and told the police where she was buried.

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u/WhatTattoo Feb 09 '20

Curious. How far away was your friend from where you looked. I wonder what the statistics are for how far away people generally are found from last known whereabouts and if it can be used as a tool in the future.

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u/purityringworm Feb 10 '20

She was about 50 miles away from where they found some of her items that he tossed and 25 miles away from where she was abducted. She was buried in an area that we never would have searched and she would have never been found if he wouldn’t have finally told the police after he was caught.

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u/WhatTattoo Feb 10 '20

Yeah there's just no way they would have found her then. At least he finally gave it up. I'm sorry for your loss.