North Adams Transcript / Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise

January 19, 2006

Note: The North Adams Transcript has additional information in italics.

Also there are some minor wording variations not noted here.

Father seeks records in case of missing girl

By Associated Press

Haverhill, N.H. — A judge Wednesday took under advisement a Massachusetts man’s request to see the police files in the case of his daughter who disappeared in northern New Hampshire.

Grafton County Superior Court Judge Timothy Vaughan heard the case in Haverhill a few miles from where Maura Murray, 21, disappeared after a minor car accident on Route 112 in February 2004, the Valley News reported.

Fred Murray of Hanson, Mass., believes his daughter was a victim of foul play and has is working with private detectives to investigate the case.

Murray claims police, the attorney general and the governor violated state and federal public information laws by not releasing the investigative files and that New Hampshire authorities have failed to conduct a criminal investigation.

The state disputed that claim and said a missing person investigation has the potential of being a criminal case and thus details that could compromise the investigation cannot be made public.

The state has maintained that it has shared any details that would not jeopardize the investigation into the disappearance of the woman, who was a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

After the hearing, Murray said he needs some of those records in his effort to recreate a timeline of what happened.

Murray said members of his family have received interesting information from people and relayed that information to police.

“We’d like to get these records, to see if any of this is being followed up on,” Murray said. “I’m moving every stone I can find, that I can budge. Maybe I can get a break, finally. I can use it.” he said.