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Subject Fact SummaryButch Atwood Quotes & Mentions (self.MauraMurrayEvidence)

submitted by [deleted]

Link to my attempt to summarize the below in context quotes & mentions[1]: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByBfe6nS9-d4ZkpUS1dPcTFyb3c/view?usp=sharing

1 of 4

Boston Herald
February 16, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7gjg2q

A witness whose help she declined told police she appeared to be intoxicated, and a bottle of alcohol was found in her car.

The Caledonian-Record
February 20, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7gnk2o

Butch Atwood wishes the events of the night of Feb. 9 had gone much differently for a missing 21-year-old Massachusetts woman.

Atwood was on his way home, about a mile from Swiftwater on Route 112 in Haverhill, when rounding the sharp left-hand curve by The Weathered Barn, he saw a black Saturn partially in the roadway and partially mired in the snow. It was about 7:30 p.m., he said.

The driver had failed to negotiate the sharp curve after passing the barn, gone off the road and struck a stand of trees on the right side of the highway. The car sustained extensive front-end damage.

Atwood, a school bus driver for First Student, was returning from dropping off students after a day of skiing at Wildcat Mountain.

He stopped the school bus by the Saturn to see if he could help. "She was still in the car," Atwood said, referring to Maura Murray.

Murray, who is from Hanson, Mass., and is a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been missing since the night of the accident.

Atwood said the Saturn's lights weren't on. "I shined the light in (her car)," he said. "I said, Are you OK?' She said she was."

Atwood said he got a good look at her. She looked to be about 20 and had dark hair.

As a matter of safety, he told her to turn her car's lights on so no one would strike her vehicle coming around the curve.

"I saw no blood," he said. "She was cold and she was shivering. I told her I was going to call the police."

Murray, according to Atwood, told him not to because she had already called AAA.

"I said, OK. I will make a call to the police department and the fire department to check you out,'" he said. "I said, Why don't you come to my house? You can get warm and wait for the police and EMS.'" Atwood said she just told him to go.

He drove to his house, about 75 yards from the scene of the accident, and backed it his driveway before running into the house to call police.

However, he couldn't get through to the Haverhill Police Department and the Grafton County Sheriff's Department.

He called 911 and the operator couldn't either. Atwood said another 911 operator was able to get through.

While he was talking on his phone on his front porch, Atwood could see the road, but not Murray's disabled car. He saw several vehicles drive by, but couldn't tell any makes or models because it was so dark.

After about seven to nine minutes, he looked out and saw the Haverhill Police. Atwood believed the situation was under control and went to the school bus to tend to his paperwork.

The next thing he knew, Haverhill Police Department Sgt. Cecil Smith was banging on his bus window. Smith asked him if he had called in the accident and seen anyone at the scene. Atwood told Smith he had seen a girl about 20 with dark hair.

Smith said when he arrived, Murray was no longer with her car. In the seven to nine minutes between the time Atwood had left Murray to call for help and the time Smith arrived, Murray had vanished.

"I took a ride around the back roads," Atwood said. "I was gone about 15 minutes. Then I took a ride to French Pond."

He even drove about a mile down the road to the store in Swiftwater to check and see if she was there. She wasn't.

When he returned to the accident scene, a New Hampshire State Police trooper was there.

Atwood said they checked the woods in the immediate area to see if Murray had gone into the forest. There weren't any tracks.

He said there wasn't any way Murray could have driven the car after the accident. He said the radiator had been pushed back into the fan. The air bag also had been deployed.

However, he said it didn't appear Murray had been injured, just shaken up.

"I just wish I could have gotten her to come with me," he lamented. "But I am a big man, over 350 pounds. She may have gotten into a car with someone who was clean cut."

Atwood believes one of the vehicles which had passed his house could have stopped and picked her up. "She could be anywhere, absolutely," Atwood said.

He said whoever may have picked her up could have driven toward the area of Lincoln, or back to Route 302 and over to Vermont.

The Caledonian-Record
February 21, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7go0as

However, Murray has not turned up in Ohio. Nor have signs of her surfaced in Vermont. And the only hint of a sign of her in New Hampshire was Feb. 11 when a canine tracked her scent from her car to about 100 yards east of the accident site, in the area of the Butch Atwood residence.

The Caledonian-Record
February 21, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7go5mc

Butch Atwood, who lives just up the road from the site, offered her help. She refused. However, he went to his house to call police and EMS. When Haverhill police arrived about seven to nine minutes later, Murray was no where to be found.

Boston Globe
February 27, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7ajrdi

The next time she was seen was in this tiny valley town, by Butch Atwood, a 58-year-old local school bus driver who passed her car as it sat in the snowbank. He said he stopped and asked if she needed help. She declined. He drove the 100 yards to his house and called the police. When they arrived, she was gone.

Butch Atwood, the last witness to see her, has been questioned several times by police. Worried that he should have helped more, he told me outside his cabin this week, "I have some sleepless nights now."

The Caledonian-Record
February 27, 2004

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r6rfb

After Murray's accident, Butch Atwood said he was returning from taking students skiing when he spotted Murray's car half in the road and half off the road without its flashers on at about 7:30 p.m.

Others near the scene said the car's emergency flashers were on.

Atwood, who drives a First Student school bus, stopped his school bus by the Saturn to see if he could help. Murray was still in her car.

Atwood said she looked to be about 20 and had dark hair.

"I saw no blood," he said. "She was cold and she was shivering. I told her I was going to call the police."

Murray, according to Atwood, told him not to because she had already called AAA.

Atwood said he invited the woman to wait at his house, nearby, but she declined. He said he then went home to call 911.

After about seven to nine minutes, he looked out and saw a Haverhill police cruiser by the Saturn. A short time later, Haverhill Police Department officer, Sgt. Cecil Smith, notified Atwood that when he arrived at the crash scene, Murray was no longer with her car. Between the time Atwood had left Murray and her vehicle to call for help and the time Smith arrived, Murray had vanished.

Atwood said Murray didn't appear to be intoxicated, despite police having said a witness indicated she had appeared to be impaired due to alcohol.

He lamented the fact Murray had not accepted his offer for help. He noted school bus drivers have to go through extensive background checks.

The Patriot Ledger
February 28, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r7g8t

Bus driver Butch Atwood was coming around the bend in his school bus after dropping off a group of skiers who had been in North Conway for the day. He stopped, offered Murray help, and kept going when she said she had called AAA. Atwood parked the bus at his home, about 100 yards up Route 112, walked inside and told his wife Barbara what happened.

Boston Globe
March 2, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r7ige

Maura was next seen at 7 p.m. in the White Mountains hamlet of Haverhill, N.H., an area where she had hiked and camped with her father. School bus driver Butch Atwood came across her car in an embankment, he said, and stopped to ask if she needed help.

When she declined, he drove the 100 yards to his cabin and summoned police. By the time authorities arrived seven to 10 minutes later, she was gone. Her bank card, credit cards, and cellphone have been dormant since.

The Caldedonian-Record
March 24, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r84ok

According to Butch Atwood, a First Student school bus driver who lives about 100 yards from where Murray lost control of her 1996 black Saturn after rounding a sharp left-hand curve near The Weathered Barn on Route 112, Murray refused help from him when he stopped.

The Caledonian-Record
April 20, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6svfk2

Westman said she saw Butch Atwood, a school bus driver who lives about 100 yards east of the accident scene, stop and check on Maura.

She said she saw Maura get out of her vehicle and talk to Atwood. However, once she saw Atwood talking to Maura, she did not continue watching what was going on.

The Caledonian-Record
April 20, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7gn69h

School bus driver and nearby resident Butch Atwood was the last known person to see her alive. After the crash, he offered to call police and EMS for her, but he said she asked him not to.

He went to his house anyway to call for help. Between the time he went the 100 yards to his house and the time Haverill Police Department Sgt. Cecil Smith arrived, Murray had disappeared. She hasn't been seen since.

The Caledonian-Record
April 30, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7goeta

Butch Atwood, a school bus driver, was returning home from taking students on a skiing trip when he spotted Murray's car.

He offered her assistance and said he would call police and emergency medical services for her, but she asked him not to.

Atwood, who lived about 100 yards east of the accident site, said Maura did not appear intoxicated.

He drove up to his house to call police and EMS. Between the seven to nine minutes he left Maura and Haverhill Police Sgt. Cecil Smith arrived, Maura disappeared. She has not been seen nor heard from since.

Seventeen Magazine
About May 2004

Maura's '96 Saturn careened off the road into the woods, barely missing a tree. She was fine. The car wasn't. The radiator was damaged, and the wheels sank into a few feet of packed snow. About five minutes later, a school bus drove by. Butch Atwood, the driver, was off-duty and headed to his cabin just up the road. "Are you okay?" he shouted to Maura in her car. "Should I call AAA?" Maura rolled down her window and shivered from the 12-degree chill. She mumbled that she'd already called AAA for a tow. Atwood thought she seemed like she'd been drinking. "Okay," he said, "I'll call the police and fire department. Why don't you come to my house? You can get warm and wait there."

"No," Maura replied firmly, "I'll wait here."

Atwood thought it was pouible that Maura might have been scared of him-he weighs 350 pounds and has a grizzled beard -so he didn't press the point.

Instead, he drove the 100 yards to his cabin and called the police himself. About 15 minutes later, Atwood saw the police pull up to Maura's car.

The Caledonian-Record
May 6, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7gnrl4

Butch Atwood, a school bus driver who lives about 100 yards east of the accident site, discovered Murray's disabled car while returning from taking students on a skiing trip.

Atwood spoke with her and offered to help, including calling police and EMS. However, Murray insisted that Atwood not call police and EMS because she had already contacted AAA.

Murray did not appear to be intoxicated, according to Atwood. Police said a container of alcohol was found in the car.

Atwood went to his house to call for help. About seven to nine minutes later, Haverhill Police Sgt. Cecil Smith arrived at the accident scene. Murray was nowhere to be found.

Unknown Publication
May 26, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yg0jr

Butch Atwood, a school bus driver who lives about 100 yards east of the accident site, discovered Murray's disabled car while returning from taking students on a skiing trip.

Atwood spoke with her and offered to help, including calling police and EMS. However, Murray insisted that Atwood not call police and EMS because she had already contacted AAA.

Murray did not appear to be intoxicated, according to Atwood. Police said a container of alcohol was found in the car.

Atwood went to his house to call for help. About seven to nine minutes later, Haverhill Police Sgt. Cecil Smith arrived at the accident scene. Murray was nowhere to be found.

Footnote [1]: The original purpose of the linked summary was to request reverse redacted documents. This is a prototype of such a request, by subject matter, thus to be reasonably manageable. A reverse redacted document would start at 100% redacted, proofs of public disclosure of the contents thereof would cause those portions to become unredacted by authorities. The reverse redacted document would then be provided in response to the request. Thus far I am unaware that any such request has been officially made, myself included.)

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2 of 4

The Patriot Ledger
February 10, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7skcvy

Butch Atwood was the last person reported to have seen Maura alive. He offered her a ride to his home up the road where his wife and mother were that night. Atwood says Maura refused his help but he called police anyway.

Maura was gone when a police officer arrived. There were no footprints or any other markers to show where she was headed.

Atwood said he is tired of having his name associated with the case. He said reporters have continually questioned him and taken undesirable photographs that may lead some to believe he was a suspect. Police, however, said they questioned Atwood as a matter of routine but never considered him a suspect.

‘‘I'm irritated beyond irritation,'' Atwood said. ‘‘I only tried to help her. It hurts.''

A former Taunton, Mass. police officer, Atwood and his wife moved to New Hampshire in 1984. Because of his police background, Atwood said he has always been kind to stranded motorists.

The Caledonian-Record
February 10, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r4vp1

Butch Atwood, a First Student bus driver who lives just up the road from the accident scene, stopped his school bus by the Saturn to see if he could help. Murray was still in her car.

"I saw no blood," he said at the time. "She was cold and she was shivering. I told her I was going to call the police."

Maura, according to Atwood, told him not to because she had already called the AAA.

Atwood said he invited the woman to wait at his house nearby, but she declined. He said he then went home to call 911.

After about seven to nine minutes, he said he looked out and saw a Haverhill police cruiser by the Saturn. A short time later, Haverhill Police Department's Sgt. Cecil Smith notified Atwood that when he arrived at the crash scene, Murray was no longer with her car.

Steve Huff's Crime Blog
July 21, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7m3lfc

The next time she was seen was in this tiny valley town (Haverhill, New Hampshire), by Butch Atwood, a 58-year-old local school bus driver who passed her car as it sat in the snowbank. He said he stopped and asked if she needed help. She declined. He drove the 100 yards to his house and called the police. When they arrived, she was gone…

The next time anyone saw Maura Murray was on that icy road in Haverhill, New Hampshire. It was about 7 p.m. when Butch Atwood asked the young woman if she needed help.

In the 10 minutes between Atwood driving 100 yards to his home and the police arriving at the scene, Maura Murray vanished.

The Patriot Ledger
February 8, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7snq4s

Shamshack, -who says missing property often gets more attention than a missing person, - wants to interview those who were last in contact with Murray, including college friends, relatives and Butch Atwood, a bus driver who was the last to see her.

Atwood, who has since moved to Florida, was driving by in a bus that night and offered Murray help. He said she refused his help, saying she would call for roadside assistance with her cell phone even though there is no coverage in the area.

Atwood told New Hampshire newspapers that he went back to his home, about 100 yards from the accident scene, and called 911. Police arrived minutes later, but Murray had vanished.

Atwood said he saw other cars go by while he was calling for help, but that it was too dark to tell their makes or models.

Worldnet Daily
March 18, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7sjhlz

Maura Murray * Within a few minutes, a school bus driven by Butch Atwood stopped alongside Murray’s vehicle. Atwood, who told reporters he is a former police officer, asked Murray if she was okay and if she wanted him to alert local police. Murray, according to Atwood, said that she was fine and that she had already used her cell phone to call AAA for assistance.

Still concerned, Atwood continued up the road to his house, only about 100 yards away, and, once inside, telephoned police to report the accident. About 10 minutes later, a Haverhill police officer, and then a New Hampshire State Police trooper, arrived on the scene. Maura Murray’s car was empty and she had vanished.

The Caledonian-Record
February 9, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6uac5y

It was originally thought that Atwood came upon Murray's Saturn when he was returning home aboard his bus after taking students on a ski trip.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3 of 4

Whitman-Hanson Express
July 12, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7ki910

Arthur "Butch" Atwood is a former Taunton, Mass., resident, who worked as a school bus driver for First Student Inc., the second largest school bus operator in the U.S. according to the company website.

Atwood lived with his wife, Barbara, in a log-cabin style home 210 yards east of the Westmans at 4 Wild Ammonoosuc Road. Atwood was on his way home after dropping off students following a ski field trip. His home is on the town line with neighboring Bath.

Atwood stopped by the scene of the accident and saw a young woman alone in the car whom he later identified as Maura Murray. Her dark hair was hanging down, not in its customary bun, though Atwood said he could clearly see her face. She was "shook-up," but not injured, he reported to police.

"I saw no blood...She was cold and she was shivering," Atwood told the Caledonian Record.

Maura struggled to get out of her Saturn because the car door was hitting against a snowbank, Atwood recalled when interviewed for this story from his new home in Florida. There was as much as two and a half feet of snow on the ground in the area.

Atwood stepped out of his bus and asked Maura if she wanted him to call the police. Maura told him not to bother, saying that she had already called AAA, Atwood said.

A N.H. State Police "synopsis" released by Lt. John Scarinza four months later, painted a different view of their encounter: "When the passerby stated that he was going to call local law enforcement to come assist, Maura pleaded with him not to call police."

Atwood said that Maura remained on the driver's side of her car, about 15 to 20 feet away and stayed there during their entire conversation. A heavy-set man about 60 years old, Atwood may have cast an intimidating figure to Maura. "I might be afraid if I saw Butch. He's 350 pounds and has this mustache," Barbara Atwood told the Patriot Ledger two weeks after the accident.

Atwood offered to let Maura wait at his house until help arrived, but Maura wanted to wait with her car. He advised Maura to turn her car's lights on to avoid getting hit by vehicles coming around the bend. Atwood then left the scene and drove the 100 yards to his home.

Atwood doubted that Maura could have reached AAA due to the sparse cell phone coverage in the area. "I knew better," he said later. Family friend Sharon Rausch also confirmed that AAA did not receive a call from Maura that night.

Based on his recollection and the times reported in police dispatch logs, Atwood's conversation with Maura could only have lasted a few minutes.

After Atwood drove away, Faith Westman noticed the Saturn's interior lights switch on and off and witnessed a flurry of activity at the rear of the car, including a person standing at the trunk, according to private investigator John Smith, who spoke with the Westmans after the accident.

Smith is one of several retired police officers who have been working on a volunteer basis with the New Hampshire League of Investigators.

Meanwhile Butch Atwood backed his school bus into his driveway and went inside to call the police. He had difficulty reaching the 911 operator due to busy phone circuits. Atwood eventually got through to the Hanover Regional Dispatch Center, which in turn alerted the Grafton County Sheriff's department at 7:43 p.m., 16 minutes after Faith Westman's original call.

Atwood spoke to the 911 operator from the front porch of his house. He could see the road, but Maura's car was not in his line of sight. As he spoke, a few cars passed by but Atwood was not able to identify any of them.

"I did not hear or see anything strange happen," Atwood said.

Three minutes later, at 7:46 p.m., Haverhill police Sergeant Cecil Smith arrived on the scene. He had been dispatched at 7:29 p.m. following the call from Faith Westman.

Atwood saw that a police vehicle had arrived so he went to his school bus to finish up some paperwork, he said during an interview.

Atwood later estimated that seven to nine minutes had elapsed from the time he left Maura to the arrival of the police cruiser, the Caledonian Record reported.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7kidtm

While later reports would suggest that a witness observed Maura intoxicated at the time of the accident, the source of that information is unclear. Circumstantial evidence suggests Maura may have been drinking wine prior to the crash, but Butch Atwood confirmed to a reporter for this story that Maura did not appear intoxicated when he spoke with her.

After checking the area around the Saturn, Sgt. Smith knocked on the Westmans door and asked the couple what they had seen.

Sgt. Smith then drove the 200 yards east to Butch Atwood's home, and found Atwood sitting in his bus. Sgt. Smith knocked on the bus window. "He asked where the girl was," Atwood recalled and told the officer he hadn't seen anyone since leaving Maura's vehicle.

Sgt. Smith and Atwood both drove the area searching for Maura. Atwood drove in a loop from Mountain Lakes, a nearby recreational and residential area, to the Swiftwater Stage Stop General Store.

"I took a ride around the back roads. I was gone about 15 minutes. Then I took a ride to French Pond," Atwood told the Caledonian Record.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7kj61c

French Pond Road was the route Butch Atwood had driven in his own search for Maura shortly after she disappeared from the scene.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7kjcba

After years of being hounded not only by media, but by investigators and family, some key witnesses such as Faith and Tim Westman, Rick Forcier and Butch Atwood are reluctant to speak further about the case.

I felt especially fortunate to score a conversation with Atwood, the bus driver, who was the last known person to speak to Maura. Atwood moved to Florida not long after her accident and has avoided the media ever since. He even refused to talk with a private investigator who traveled to Florida and showed up on his doorstep.

Unfortunately in a case with so little available information, it does not take much for some to cast a suspicious eye. Atwood's story and motives have been questioned in some online forums and clearly he has grown bitter from the entire ordeal.

"People think I had something to do with her disappearance," he said during our phone interview, "I can hear it in your voice; you think I did too."

Atwood explained that as a witness, the case had grown tiresome. "You think you're doing a good thing for someone, but I've learned, next time not to stop, I'm not stopping," he said.

According to Atwood, who apparently spoke with Maura that evening, Maura had her hair down. Interestingly, Atwood later told a family member that Maura did not look like the pictures running in newspapers. Atwood clarified in our interview that the woman he spoke with did look like the pictures on the Missing Person signs, though it is worth noting that he and Maura remained 15 to 20 feet apart throughout their entire conversation and their encounter was past dusk.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7kiiea

On the even side of Wild Ammonoosuc Road is the home of Arthur "Butch" Atwood, the bus driver who said he stopped and offered Maura help that Monday evening.

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4 of 4

The Caledonian-Record
August 6, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r3fkh

John Healy, who is a member of a team of investigators working on the Murray case in concert with the Molly Bish Foundation, said the team has come up with other theories about what happened that dark February night.

He said, based on the damage to the Saturn, that it appears as if the car was traveling at a slow speed when it may have struck the underside of another vehicle; the actual crash site may have taken place somewhere else. Not only that, they believe Murray may not have been the young woman then-First Student school bus driver Butch Atwood saw. They believe the scene where the Saturn was found by Atwood may have been staged.

New Hampshire Sunday News
October 28, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6uak2q

Butch Atwood, a school bus driver who lived near the accident site, told police he drove past and stopped to help Maura after she crashed the Saturn into a stand of trees. She declined help, saying she had called AAA on her mobile phone, even though there was no cell reception in that location.

Maura pleaded with Atwood not to call police, according to one police news release. According to another release, Maura appeared impaired by alcohol.

Atwood, whose home was near the crash, called police anyway, as did another neighbor. But by the time police arrived about 10 minutes later, Maura was gone, leading authorities to believe at first the driver of the crashed car had fled the scene to avoid a drunken driving arrest.

Atwood said he offered to help Murray, a University of Massachusetts at Amherst nursing student, but she refused his assistance, saying she had already called AAA.

Atwood said he drove to his nearby home, parked his school bus and went into his house to phone police and emergency workers. It was the last anyone saw of her.

The Caledonian-Record
February 9, 2008
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r61rt

Butch Atwood, then a First Student school bus driver who happened upon Murray's car not far from his house while on his way home, said he had spoken with her and offered to get her help, but she asked him not to contact police. Atwood said she told him she had already contacted AAA.

Atwood then drove to his house, parked his bus and went to his house to call 911. He then went back to his bus to do paperwork. Less than 10 minutes later, he said Sgt. Cecil Smith of the Haverhill Police Department came to the door of his bus and asked if he had seen someone at the car. Murray had disappeared.

Atwood, however, drove home to call 911. When police arrived at her car, Murray was gone.

The Caledonian-Record
February 9, 2009
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r5n1l

Butch Atwood was a First Student school bus driver who happened upon Murray's car, not far from his house, while on his way home that night. Atwood said he spoke with Murray and offered to get her help, but that she asked him not to contact police. Atwood said Murray told him she had already contacted AAA.

Atwood then drove home, parked his bus and went inside his house to call 911. Less than 10 minutes later, he said Sgt. Cecil Smith of the Haverhill Police Department came to the door of his bus and asked if he had seen someone at the car. Murray had disappeared.

SOCO Magazine
April 2011

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d87wdmg The passerby who called Hanover dispatch was school bus driver Butch Atwood. Atwood had dropped students off at a nearby school following a field trip and was returning home. Atwood lived 100 feet from where Maura's car had gone off the road. He stopped and asked Maura if he could call the police for her. He said she appeared shaken up but wasn't injured, and did not appear intoxicated. She told him she'd called AAA on her cell phone and he didn't need to call police, Atwood left and called police anyway when he got home because he knew cell phone reception was bad in that area and didn't think Maura was able to reach AAA.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d87wqvm From the provided answers to describe the "apparent physical condition" of the driver, Smith circled "had been drinking." Considering that Atwood stated to police that Maura did not appear intoxicated when he spoke with her and that Maura was obviously not at her car when police came upon it, as well as the fact that the Coke bottle had not yet been tested to see if Maura had been drinking from it, circling that particular answer could be considered questionable.

Conway e-mailed SOCO in response to questions about her series of articles to assist with this story. In the second article in her four-part series, Conway retold the story of Faith Westman, the other person, along with Atwood, to call police to report Maura's car off the road. Westman told police she peered out her window and saw Maura's car lodged in a snowbank. This supports Parkka's conclusion that Maura's car did not hit trees.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d87y80v "They (New Hampshire State Police) never did it right. The rag stuffed in the tailpipe of the car, he (the first state police officer to respond to the accident scene) never photographed the scene, never searched the scene. He never bothered to call the father, the registered owner of the car. He knew a female was operating the vehicle that night because Butch Atwood just called," O'Connell stated.

Boston Magazine
January 28, 2014

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7m2t2c

Butch Atwood was driving his school bus back to his home just after 7 p.m. when he spotted a black Saturn stopped in the eastbound lane of Route 112, but facing west. He later told police that he pulled up beside the wreck and asked a woman fitting Maura’s description if he should call for help. The woman told him no, and that she had already called AAA. That seemed strange to him, since cell-phone reception in the area was weak to nonexistent. When he reached his house—it was within view of the accident scene—he called the police anyway.

The Caledonian-Record
February 8, 2014
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r5esy

First happening upon it, not far from his home, was school bus driver Butch Atwood, who told police he spoke with a woman later identified as Maura and offered to get her help, but she told him she had already called AAA and asked him not to contact police.

New York Daily News/Concord Monitor
February 8/9, 2014
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yfvli

A couple who live within sight of the scene called police. Butch Atwood, a school bus driver who lived nearby, told police he stopped by and asked Murray if she wanted him to call police. She said no. Atwood, who has since died, called anyway and appears to be the last person known to have spoken to Maura.