What happened to Maura Murray?

This case can't get any colder.

On the evening of February 9th 2004, Maura Murray disappeared and was never seen or heard from again. Over 10 years later, we still have absolutely no idea what happened on that mysterious night in New Hampshire. Maura's case has baffled police, her family and amassed a following of amateur investigators trying to crack this frustratingly cold case that haunts the northeast.

Given the set of circumstances prior to the disappearance, I've always found this to be an intriguing story. There seems to be hints of personal demons with the departure from West Point, credit card fraud, a noted crying episode, similar car crash in her Dad's Toyota, alcohol use and the abrupt, but false, family emergency as a prelude to her departure. By all accounts, its unknown where she was going. No one close to Maura has stated they knew of these plans, nor were they planning to join her. However, her preparations were seemingly average for a college kid perhaps looking to spend a few days away from home and school. She brought school text books, several bottles of alcohol, driving directions to two places in Vermont, clothes and toiletries. Nothing seemed indicative that she was doing anything other than actually driving to Vermont. 

But the lack of knowledge about this trip from anyone around her was a mystery. She brought enough alcohol for several people, she brought clothes, money and called a few places to inquire about lodging. Whatever the destination was, she never made it. Once she crashed her Saturn sedan, she briefly spoke with one neighbor close to the crash and was seen by another. Not long after, before police arrived, she was gone from the scene of the accident.

So what happened to Maura Murray?

With so many possibilities here, let's start by excluding what I believe to be less probable scenarios. The idea of suicide or running away to assume a new life are popular theories but I don't see the merit in them. Not to say they are impossible, I just think more plausible realities exist. With suicide one would have to accept Maura was so distraught over the accident she almost immediately decided to wander off and end her life. Furthermore, she would have to brave the cold and darkness of a northern New England in winter on foot and presumably settle on a place and a means to do so. Yet, her body has not been found in over 10 years, nor have we found any personal items or any other clues despite thorough searches of the immediate area both during and after winter. If suicide was the answer here, I doubt Maura would have made a long trek on foot to do so in the cold and in the dark. We would be talking about a distance of a few miles in any direction before finding a body. Same idea goes for her wandering off to avoid police. Had she attempted to flee and succumbed to the elements, how far do we reasonably believe she would have gone? Could she hide herself that well that 10+ years of searching would not yield any clues? I don't believe so.

As far as running away to start a new life, would this not be the most bizarre way to do it? She emptied her bank account, crashed her car, leading to deployment of the airbags and vanished. She had no other money to speak of, seemingly there was no new people in her life to escape with, so what resources could she have used to pull this off? She was an average college girl, she liked to drink and have fun. Maura definitely did not come off as some cunning escape artist who would orchestrate an elaborate ploy to voluntarily vanish. There are much easier ways to do something like that, but still they require planning and resources. She simply didn't seem to be in the state of mind to pull of such a hoax.

What we do know is, after the accident, after speaking to Butch Atwood...she disappeared...fast. There one minute, gone the next. No footprints of Maura seemed to be visible leading away from the area and police dogs quickly lost her scent during a search.

It seems apparent that there had to be a vehicle that arrived quickly and took Maura away from the crash site equally as quick. Neighbors noted there was in fact vehicles traveling on the road after the crash. So there definitely is indication of traffic. The question is, who took Maura away from the crash? Friend or stranger?

Obviously, it seems peculiar to think that a car containing one or more of Maura's friends that she was traveling with would pick her up and she would in turn vanish for over a decade, with her fate unknown. However, it's not inconceivable to think maybe this "friend" wasn't really a friend after all. I'm not entirely sure of the idea Maura was driving in tandem with someone but we'll explore this possibility more a bit later.

What does seem probable and likely to me, is also echoed by Maura's Dad as well as police who have spoken publicly about the matter: She took a ride from the wrong person.

Let's look at the crash again. Police noted the Saturn had a strong aroma of alcohol inside. One report made mention of Maura pleading with bus driver Butch Atwood not to call police. What about the Dad's Toyota? She was driving back from a party when she crashed that. There seems to be a pretty strong indication here that Maura was likely intoxicated when she crashed her Saturn in NH. With all the issues going on in her life, the last thing she would want on top of it is a DUI. Directly after the accident, she was probably nervous and worried police would be there soon. What would her parents think of this? She then became panicked and desperate to escape this situation.

But then in the blink of an eye, an unknown motorist, a complete stranger comes along and offers a ride. Maura thinks all her problems are about to go away. Unfortunately for her, they got worse.

Ultimately, I don't think this is necessarily a chance meeting with a serial killer. Bad timing, yes. But more or less this was about opportunity. A young girl in distress. A person with bad intentions hoping to employ some fast advances and hope to get lucky. Perhaps when these advances are rejected by Maura, things took a tragic turn and she met her unfortunately demise, alone in a strangers house, in a desolate area with no help nearby.

A chance encounter between a scared girl and a stranger, who didn't get his way perhaps is the key in this decade old New England mystery.