Maura Murray: 12 Years Later

12 years ago on February 9th, 21 year old UMass student Maura Murray lied about a family emergency to take time off from school and subsequently hopped in her ailing Saturn sedan and drove north to New Hampshire. For what reason exactly, we don't know. Nor do we know her exact destination, though she called a few places to inquire about lodging and was later found to have Mapquest directions to Vermont in her car.

What we do know is Maura lost control of her car that evening in Haverhill, NH after 7 pm, causing damage to the front end. A few witnessed observed Maura by the crash site and one of them even talked to her, offering her help. She declined. Minutes later police arrived and she was gone, never to be seen again.

I've shared a few thoughts about Maura's disappearance before and while I still read about the case frequently and consider all angles, most of my prior notions still hold true as we pass the 12 year mark.

I still find it unlikely that Maura ventured out in the woods, died and managed to conceal her body so well, despite frigid temperatures and frozen bodies of water, that she has not been found over a decade later. Nor do I think Maura's minor personal problems led her to starting a new life under the radar, like something you'd see in a movie.

Maybe I'm too pessimistic, or cynical, or I've watched too many crime shows on TV. I still feel like Maura Murray left the scene of her accident with the intent to flee from police and an inevitable DWI. In some way, shape or form she managed to leave the scene, likely by car, as I see it. But, the question remains: how did she leave the accident? If it was by car, who picked her up? If it was by foot, where did she go?

The same questions still apply after 12 years. If we can figure out by what means she left the accident, then we have basically solved this. Sure, she was heading up north for reasons unknown and that could perhaps be connected, or a whole separate mystery. Clearly something unplanned happened in Haverill and that set forth a whole new series of events that led to her vanishing.

Lately, there was been quite a bit of speculation about police involvement, and while it isn't entirely a new theory it is once again getting attention. In fact, Fred Murray himself has even alluded to it in his latest interview. Time is ticking and there has been nothing solid or promising in 12 years. Now might be the time to start asking the tough questions.

Clearly, there have been nothing but dead ends in the past and hopefully this year will be the year we find the truth.

The X-Files are Back!

It was an understatement to say I was excited to find out the X-Files were returning to TV for a special 6 episode mini-series. The show possessed so many great qualities that made it such a landmark show of the 90s. Now, here we are in 2016, half way through the 6 episodes and I must say I am impressed.

Sure, it's nearly impossible to live up to the hype and expectations for a revival like this, but overall I'm pretty satisfied with it. Mulder and Scully admittedly are in a different world now, times have changed and they both know that. However, with their age they both seem to have grown a bit more skeptical and most notably that came into full circle in episode 3 "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Beast".

While Scully has always the truly skeptical one, Mulder now finds himself feeling the same way. Much of the unexplained phenomenon they worked so hard on has now been neatly explained, leaving him feeling empty and foolish. His life work now seems fruitless and he begins to second guess himself...until Scully informs him of a new "monster" case.

Without giving away the plot or revealing any spoilers (any fan of the show should watch it first before reading too much about it) the episode was near perfect - combining all the elements of what made the show so great to begin with: fun, unpredictable, wacky, a struggle to believe in the unbelievable.

While it was a bit more silly than most episodes, it was a fun ride and a good message at the end. As Mulder found out, we can grown older and more skeptical, but it doesn't mean we should stop believing.