Some unsolved mysteries and cases caught our attention back in the day or recently. There is something about the closure we want. Kasey adds to one mystery.

The Case Of Maura Murray

On February 9, 2004, Maura Murray unexpectedly left her Massachusetts college life, emptied her checking account, purchased liquor, and headed off to New Hampshire, never to be seen again. 

She had told the school administration that there was a death in her family, which her parents later refuted. Her wrecked car was found in Woodsville, New Hampshire, a village in Haverhill. 

Only two eyewitnesses saw her alive between her accident at 7:27 p.m. and 7:33 p.m. As of 7:37 p.m., she had vanished entirely. Dogs lost her scent a hundred feet from the crash site, leading police to believe she got in a vehicle and left the scene. She has been declared a missing person since 2004 and has not been found.

What The Disappearance Involved

Various search parties were conducted when the police found her car abandoned. A body, trace evidence, and eyewitness reports of seeing her have come up in the investigation. 

Every lead has led to a dead end. Eight years after Maura’s disappearance, an ominous account on YouTube under the username Mr112dirtbag posted creepy videos alluding to the knowledge of what happened to her. It was later determined that the account owner was tormenting the parents with his twisted sense of humour from mental illness. 

So, what happened to Maura Murray? 

There are many theories surrounding the case of Maura Murray and what could have happened to her. Some believe she was suicidal and was running from her life to drink herself to death on a mountain in New Hampshire. 

Some believe she had a secret affair with a man other than her boyfriend stationed in the ARMY who lived in New Hampshire. Others believe she was abducted, but who is the bigger question.

Police were dispatched to the 911 call at 7:29 p.m. that evening, and responding officer Cecil Smith arrived on the scene at 7:46 p.m. It happened just three minutes after the last call from Butch Atwood came in about a car crash. 

Upon arrival, the vehicle was claimed to be locked, and no one was around. Maura had already vanished. However, after Butch Atwood had called 911 dispatch, a witness passing by the scene claimed that at 7:36 p.m., a police SUV (#001) was on the scene already, sitting nose-to-nose with the wrecked Saturn that Maura had been driving. No one was visibly around either. 

By the time Cecil Smith arrived on the scene in a Crown Vic patrol car (#002), the other police vehicle had already left, according to his reports of being first on the scene—which most people say debunks this theory of being a police force coverup because he said he was driving the SUV in early reports.—Later, this theory seems to be confirmed by Trooper John Monhagan, that Smith was the only one on the scene but in the Crown Vic, not the SUV.

The Plot Thickens And The Mystery Is Afoot

This is where contradictions of police accounts and eyewitness accounts begin to contradict one another. Various witnesses claim to have driven by and seen an SUV, and then later, the Crown Vic arrived for others to witness. 

Others who passed by the accident even claim to have seen Smith with the doors open on the vehicle and rummaging through the items within. Smith denies the allegations and says that he had to obtain a search warrant the next day to go through the vehicle and that it was towed away that night still locked. 

Furthermore, after hearing the impact, the original eyewitness didn’t see the accident, just the car in the ditch. The damage done to the tree was reported by the police to have been caused by striking a tree, but when the damage is assessed photographically, it seems to have been a vehicle collision. 

John Monhagan also reported that the airbags were not deployed when he arrived at the scene, but there is evidence that they were deployed. 

The Conspiracy Theories, The Myths, And The Speculations

Many conspiracy theories around this case purport that it was a coverup by police. That would be when one of their own abducted Maura so she couldn’t stand as a witness for him being intoxicated while on the job and while driving. Possibly being the cause of the accident.

Jeff Williams had contacted Smith half an hour earlier requesting a tow because he had put the Crown Vic patrol car #002 in the ditch on Rte. 10, the location Smith was dispatched from to Maura’s accident. 

Smith traded him the #001 SUV so he wouldn’t be caught drinking on the job. Which he was convicted of in 2009. He could have driven off from the accident, causing Maura to say the cops had already been notified. He returned after Butch passed through the area when the call was dispatched about the accident to tie loose ends. 

Both vehicles were there, but no one was in sight. He could have walked Maura to the woods or the hundred feet up the road where her scent disappeared, strangled her, and put her in the police vehicle to drive off. 

So, What Happened, And Will We Ever Find Out The Truth?

Many other theories about abduction and murder are circulating in this case. 

A red truck was suspicious in the area. A contractor waited three months to say he saw her eastbound on Rte. 112 that night. A man giving her father a knife and saying his brother murdered her and a follow-through “investigation” that led nowhere. Cadaver dogs smelled human remains in the house, but no warrant was issued to search and seize evidence. 

Was she abducted and murdered, or did she follow through with a suicide plan and drank herself to death on the mountain like her father used to say he would do? Unless evidence comes forward or remains are found, we will never know what happened to Maura Murray but only speculate what happened.

Kasey