Fred Murray Quotes and Mentions

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T02:14:57+00:00

Boston Globe
February 17, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7giinb

For all the questions torturing relatives of University of Massachusetts at Amherst nursing student Maura Murray, one thing is increasingly certain. The fact that she has not contacted them in more than a week since disappearing from a rural New Hampshire roadside, they say, means something is terribly wrong. Murray's father, mother, and boyfriend said yesterday they now believe and fear that the 21-year-old Hanson native is a victim of foul play.

"She is just a skinny, little girl, and I am getting more scared by the hour," Frederick Murray, Maura's father, said in a telephone interview from Woodsville, N.H., where his daughter disappeared Feb. 9 after crashing her Saturn into a snowbank.

Relatives have been searching in and around the small towns near the Vermont border where Maura Murray vanished, posting fliers and interviewing witnesses.

Given the preparations Murray had apparently made for a trip, relatives had hoped for much of the last week that she may have wanted to be by herself or that she was too embarrassed to call home after crashing a second car in three days.

Also out of character, family members said, were reports from witnesses that Murray appeared to be intoxicated just after the crash.

Journal Opinion
February 18, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7dqed9

The Lincoln and Conway regions reportedly are well known to the Murray family and the missing girl. The family has vacationed in the area for years. Family Members from Massachusetts, Murray's boyfriend, Bill Rausch, from Oklahoma, and his parents from Ohio have searched the length of the Kancamagus highway in hopes of finding her.

They have posted fliers with Murray's picture at hotels and stores throughout the area. Family members are hoping that she took a ride with someone as there were few footprints near the car.

The father of the missing girl, Fred Murray, said he was concerned that the girl is troubled and possibly suicidal. A phone call to Rausch, on Feb. 10, is the only possible lead. When Rausch answered the call there was only breathing on the other end. The call made to Rausch's cell phone was dialed using a phone card. Police are attempting to track the origin of the card.

Lowell Sun / Portsmouth Herald
February 18, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6pslv5

“There’s no new leads, no new evidence,” Frederick Murray said of the search for Maura Murray, a 21-year-old nursing student who disappeared after a car accident in Woodsville, N.H. “Its stagnant at the moment.”

He blamed the lack of leads on a shortage of resources, saying that though local police were working hard, he wished the small department had more help so it could broaden its search.

“Results are slow in coming. Like the bus stations. Did she leave from a local bus station? That hasn’t been investigated, so I did it myself,” Mr. Murray said, adding that his efforts turned up nothing.

“The police are good guys,” he said. “But there aren’t many of them.”

On Feb. 11 a police dog was brought to the scene, but was able to track her for only 100 yards, prompting her family to conclude that she got a ride. A police helicopter and ground search also turned up no evidence.

Mr. Murray said yesterday that his daughter may have been distraught at the time, in part because just two days earlier she had been involved in another accident. Police described Maura Murray as “endangered and possibly suicidal.”

Since then, Maura Murray’s family, her boyfriend and his family have come to area to help in the search and hand posters through out New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

Mr. Murray no longer believes his daughter is in the area, adding to his frustration that the police lack the resources to do more.

Mr. Murray is convinced foul play is involved, thought authorities have yet to find evidence of it. Still, he holds out hope that perhaps she just needed to get away.

He wants the FBI to get involved, but was told there needs to be evidence of foul play first.

The Caledonian-Record
February 18, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6sq8jj

A resident who lives near the accident scene told police Murray was asked if she wanted police or emergency medical services called. She reportedly said no. That was the last time anyone has seen the young woman, who reportedly crashed her father's vehicle two days before she crashed her own car, a black 1996 Saturn bearing Massachusetts plates.

Maura's father and her fiance, Bill Rausch, who is a second lieutenant with C Battery, 119th Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla., have been joined by relatives and friends in their search for the 21-year-old woman. She is a student in the University of Massachusetts nursing program at Amherst.

They have been scouring areas on both sides of the Connecticut River, hoping to find someone who may have seen Maura or have information as to what happened to her after the accident.

WCAX
February 19, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6sqfft

"This is unprecedented. She's not irresponsible. For her not to call, means to me she is not able to call, and that frightens me," says Fred Murray, Maura's father.

Maura's family and friends have plastered her picture on 1,500 posters all over New Hampshire and Vermont, hoping someone has seen her.

The search party has taken over a Wells River motel, looking for leads, waiting and hoping. They say they're frustrated Maura was last seen on February 9th, but police didn't start looking for her until February 11th, 36 hours later.

"This is a rural area, not many people, not much crime, so when something big comes up, it's a strain on the capabilities of the local police," says Fred Murray.

The Brockton Enterprise
February 20, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r6j2b

From a small motel over the Vermont border, the families have been searching the area, keeping in touch with investigators and talking to the media.

Her father, Fred, of South Weymouth, and older brother, Freddy, also searched the woods along Route 112 in the past week and have not found any footsteps to indicate she had been there, Rausch said.

New Hampshire State Police Lt. John Scarinza said investigators are as frustrated as Murray's family and friends. He hopes the FBI will uncover some information to shed some light on her disappearance while New Hampshire state and local police continue their probe.

Although there have been reports that Murray may have been suicidal, that she had a family problem during the weekend before she disappeared, those close to the young woman said she was upbeat and did not have a history of depression.

New Hampshire Union Leader
February 20, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7oplit

It was disappointing news for the family of Murray, who have vigorously searched throughout the area for the past 10 days, traveling as far as Conway and Bartlett to put up posters asking for information about the woman, a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

"She loved her family and friends, and there is no way she would put the two most important people in her life -- her father and my son -- through this nightmare," said Sharon Rausch, the mother of Murray's boyfriend, Army Lt. Bill Rausch.

"We understand the family's frustration in not being able to find Maura," he said. "At this point, we do not see anything on a search on the ground, but it does not mean we are not searching for her. It's more appropriate now to look elsewhere and gather information."

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T02:56:03+00:00

Boston Globe
February 20, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r727a

Nevertheless, at the urging of Murray's father, Fred, New Hampshire State Police are now working with Boston-based FBI agents on the case, officials said.

Though police have questioned many of Murray's family members and friends, FBI agents will probably return to UMass-Amherst and Hanson for further interviews and background checks, said Lieutenant John Scarinza, commander of State Police Troop F.

"We're now at the phase where we need to learn more about the week before Maura headed north," he said. "If any friends or associates or classmates had any discussions with her about her wanting to come up north, or places she'd like to visit, or important destinations, we'd like to hear from them. Maybe that would help us understand where she went, or why."

Withdrawing $280 from an ATM, she loaded her Saturn with clothing, a book, and a stuffed toy monkey and headed to New Hampshire, where she had frequently hiked with her father. She told no one of her plans.

Fearing that Murray may have been taken across state lines and unaware of any major issue she might have been struggling with, her family urged the FBI to get involved.

Fred Murray, who is scheduled to appear on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" today to discuss his daughter's disappearance, said the FBI involvement is a good start, but not enough.

"They're saying the FBI is in, but that's a very limited scale," he said. "I'd like to see the best case scenario -- agents crawling all over the place up here."

Scarinza said investigators, including detectives at UMass-Amherst, share Murray's concerns. At the same time, he cautioned that people sometimes escape to the White Mountains without telling their family or friends.

"Hopefully, by the close of [today] we will have talked to everyone at least twice within a reasonable radius of the area. We're talking 5 miles, give or take," he continued. "There's no evidence of a struggle near or around the car. No witness says there was an altercation. No evidence that any criminal offense has happened to her. Yes, she's missing. It's frustrating for the family. And law enforcement officials are frustrated too. We have no idea where she is."

WCAX
February 20, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u8kh5

"I hope they don't find anything," said Fred Murray, Maura's father. "I want them there, but I hope they're unsuccessful. I appreciate their efforts."

Boston Globe
February 21, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7giqmv

Fred Murray, the missing woman's father, said University of Massachusetts at Amherst campus police discovered yesterday that the junior nursing student had used Mapquest.com to research directions to Burlington on Feb. 9. Hours later, she crashed her car into a snowbank in Woodsville, N.H., and vanished without a trace.

Murray's father said he also discovered a note card that mentioned Burlington among many personal belongings she had packed in her car. The two last visited the northern Vermont city on Columbus Day weekend, when they hiked nearby Camel's Hump Mountain and Mount Mansfield.

Authorities used helicopters and dogs to search the area where Murray crashed last week and again on Thursday, but have found no indication that she fled into nearby woods or evidence of foul play. Nevertheless, her family and friends say they believe she was kidnapped.

About 24 hours later, on Feb. 9, she lied to a professor and the campus art gallery where she worked, informing them through e-mails that she needed to return to her hometown of Hanson because of a death in the family, officials and family members said.

Fred Murray said he had planned to talk to his daughter that night about filling out a police report in the earlier accident. In her car was a blank accident form from the Amherst police.

"I'm convinced she was going to call me Monday night and was going to make out the form," he said. "If she wasn't going to do it, why go to the Amherst police and get the form? That makes me think she was unable to make the call. That's why I think she's been physically harmed and is in danger."

"I totally appreciate the family's frustration in not knowing where she is or what has happened," Scarinza said. "But it's also true that she was apparently leaving Massachusetts without telling her family or friends or her boyfriend. That indicates to me that perhaps she wanted to get away on her own."

Murray's family has offered a reward for information and has created a website, www.spbowers.com/mauramissing.html.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T03:18:54+00:00

The Patriot Ledger
February 21, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7sbhms

Leave is up for Maura Murray's boyfriend, Army Lt. Bill Rausch of Oklahoma, who is heading back to his military post. Maura Murray's father Frederick and her brothers and sisters are still handing out fliers in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Lowell Sun / The New Hampshire Union Leader / Foster's Sunday Citizen / Nashua Telegraph
February 22, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6psz81

Dad of missing Mass. woman now suspects foul play Father of missing woman frustrated with search

The father of a missing Massachusetts woman said he wants police to start treating the search like a criminal investigation.

Since 21-year-old Maura Murray vanished after a car accident in northern New Hampshire two weeks ago, police have repeatedly said they do not suspect foul play.

But her family is starting to suspect otherwise. Her father, Frederick Murray, believes his daughter was given a ride from a person who won’t come forward since he helped her leave the scene of an accident, or a person who gave her a ride and then abducted her.

“To take a break or start a new life, she would need money,” Murray said in a telephone interview. “She hasn’t used her ATM card, she hasn’t used her cell phone, she hasn’t spent a dime.”

Police called off the ground search in that area. Frederick Murray said he is afraid the search is slowly grinding to a halt.

“We should think of it in term s of a criminal investigation,” Murray said. “It sounds like it would be the key to expanding it. Let’s grab the bull by the horns and call it foul play.”

Police and family members are also trying to gauge the significance of a phone call that reduced Murray to tears while working her campus job at UMass-Amherst on Feb. 5. She was so disturbed by the call her supervisor had to take her home.

Maura’s father and his 33-year-old son were searching along the Kancamagus highway in northern New Hampshire on Saturday, where the family goes camping every summer.

"Time’s running out. Somebody must have seen something, somewhere," Fredrick Murray said. "One tip from anybody, you could be the person who saves this girl’s life." An award fund for any information about Murray is now more than $20,000.

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

They say the hardest thing that any parent can ever be called upon to do is bury their child.

But standing amid the glorious scenery of the White Mountains this week, where an uneven layer of snow coated the meadows like vanilla frosting on a homemade cake, I had to think there might be something even worse. And Fred Murray is living it right now.

Murray is from the South Shore. His daughter, Maura, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, vanished into the thin air of the northern New Hampshire wilderness this month. She had a minor car accident along a pitch black stretch of rural road on Feb. 9, and in the 10 minutes it took police to respond, she was gone.

Her cellphone hasn't been used since. Her credit cards haven't registered any purchases. She left most of her clothing in a suitcase in the back of the disabled car. And her father, her sister, her brothers, her friends have no idea what they're supposed to do now.

Immediately, they descended upon this hamlet en masse. They scrambled through the dense woods nearby. They drove a hundred miles in every direction, tacking fliers to telephone polls and bulletin boards of local stores. They stopped at bus stations in hopes that someone might have seen something. "I followed footsteps through the snow," Fred Murray said this week. When he saw a set of prints, he took off after them.

Eventually, life continues, bills need to be paid, and last weekend Fred Murray had to get back home. "The worst part was driving home alone," he said. "Then I stopped in her room at UMass, and that was pretty awful."

The two were uncommonly tight since she was a young girl. Both avid runners, they trained together. They hiked regularly in New Hampshire. "I was looking for some hint that she might have left for me, something that I'd understand that would say goodbye," he said of her room search. "But there wasn't anything."

"We weren't strangers; we were very close. I can't see her not saying goodbye to me. That's why I suspect foul play."

Her father acknowledges that she was fleeing school for reasons that he said are still unclear. He also believes that once she crashed, only two scenarios remain: She was picked up on the road by someone who wanted to help her or by someone who hurt her. If it was the former, they would have already come forward to let authorities know where she went.

These days, when Fred Murray's phone rings, he jumps. Minutes drag like hours. Shady psychics and gumshoes keep offering help. "I just want to get my little girl back," he said.

The Caledonian-Record
February 27, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r6rfb

Family, Friends of Maura Murray Upset With Investigation By Gary E. Lindsley

Family and friends of 21-year-old Maura Murray believe someone picked up the University of Massachusetts at Amherst nursing student after she was involved in a one-car accident in Haverhill, N.H., Feb. 9.

They have hired an outside investigator to find out what happened to her.

The "they" she is referring to is New Hampshire State Police Troop F and the Haverhill Police Department.

Rausch said her son Bill, Murray's father, Fred, and Murray's siblings, Freddy, Kathleen and Julie, are all frustrated with the lack of leads and the apparent belief by law officials that Murray's disappearance is nothing more than a person not wanting anyone to know where she is.

They believe Murray would have fought anyone trying to abduct her.

Family members and friends are also frustrated with conflicting information in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

She reportedly is familiar with the White Mountains region because of family camping trips.

Police Delay Search And Press Release

Family members and friends are upset because police did not issue a press release seeking people's help in locating Murray until two days after the accident.

They also are upset because a thorough search of the area wasn't conducted until two days after the accident.

Rausch said despite the appearance of Murray's dorm room, she and family members don't believe that's the case.

She said Murray, on the day of the accident, had picked up insurance forms related to an accident she'd had on Feb. 7. Murray was going to call her father the night of Feb. 9 to have him help her fill out the insurance forms.

Family members and friends also are upset with no information coming from someone who placed a calling card call to Bill Rausch's cell phone as he was waiting to fly out of Oklahoma Feb. 11 to come search for his girlfriend.

Because family and friends have been frustrated with the way the investigation has been carried out, they have brought in a private investigator to help them find Murray.

Boston Globe
March 2, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7glint

Her family and friends believe she was given a ride and want police to treat her disappearance as a criminal investigation.

Sun Journal
March 2, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7knyth

The family of a missing Massachusetts woman has hired an investigator to find out what happened to her following a minor car crash In northern New Hampshire.

Her family and friends believe she was given a ride and want police to treat her disappearance as a criminal investigation.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T21:27:42+00:00

The Patriot Ledger
March 9, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7gix3d

To Murray's father, Fred Murray of Weymouth, it was a surprise but not a total shock that she wanted to pursue a nursing degree at UMass. He graduated from the school and Maura's mother, Laurie, is a nurse.

Despite being so close, Murray never talked about her friends at home, a group of seven girls at Whitman-Hanson who Jones said were inseparable. Murray kept even her biggest problems to herself. She didn't say a word to Alfieri about getting into an accident in her father's car the day before she left Amherst. The accident happened only an hour after they were hanging out in Alfieri's dorm.

Alfieri said Markopoulos, Murray and a few friends were drinking into the late-night hours of Feb. 8. Fred Murray was staying in a hotel on Route 9 that weekend. He was in town to help his daughter find a new car. Father and daughter ate dinner at the Amherst Brewing Co., a popular watering hole, that night. Then Markopoulos showed up for a drink. After about an hour, they left, the girls dropped Fred Murray at his hotel, and headed to Alfieri's dorm.

Everyone's left wondering. At about 1 a.m., Alfieri said she was passed out from drinking. Markopoulos was still up with Murray and they were talking about going home at about 2:30 a.m. But Murray wanted to go to her father's hotel, according to Markopoulos.

I told her just to go back to her room and meet him in the morning, but she wouldn't listen,'' she said. About an hour later, Murray cracked up her father's Toyota Corolla on Route 9. Alfieri found out the next week from news reports about her friend's disappearance. I thought that was so weird. I talked to her that day and she didn't even say anything,'' said Alfieri Now everybody is wondering about what they don't know about Maura Murray. If she can't figure it out after three years of friendship, Markopoulos said nobody might ever know.

The New Hampshire Union Leader
March 26, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7opz3r

In a renewed effort to find a Massachusetts woman missing in northern New Hampshire, family and friends have begun distributing thousands of new posters and have announced a larger reward.

Her family has printed 15,000 new posters carrying her photo and has announced the reward leading to her whereabouts has risen to $40,000.

The New Hampshire Union Leader
March 28, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7or4ir

Murray's father wants FBI to help

CONCORD (AP) -- The father of a missing University of Massachusetts nursing student has asked Gov. Craig Benson for help to get the FBI involved in the case.

Fred Murray of Weymouth, Mass., wants the governor to urge New Hampshire State Police to call in the FBI for help in finding Maura Murray.

"The finest resource in the world is available and you, sir, should direct" state police to seek FBI help, Murray said in his letter. "There are corollary cases in Vermont also and this entire situation begs for central coordination and investigation by an agency which is not bound by the confines of configuration of Grafton County and the Connecticut River."

Murray referred to Brianna Maitland, 17, of Sheldon, Vt., who disappeared after she left work late on March 19. Her car was found about one mile from the restaurant in Montgomery, Vt., where she worked.

Murray said the FBI offered its assistance during the week of his daughter's disappearance, but state police declined the offer.

State police Lt. John Scarinza has said state police have enough resources to conduct the investigation.

The Caledonian Record
April 2, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6ss5fy

Family and friends say they have not given up hope that 21-year-old Maura Murray, of Hanson, Mass., will be found.

Sharon Rausch, whose son, Billy, is Murray's fiance-to-be, said she, her son and Murray's family have not given up hope she will be found and safely returned.

Fred Murray, Maura's father, said he was impressed by the teams when they searched the area last weekend. He will be returning to the accident scene this weekend to search areas not being searched by the K-9 teams.

However, she said the family and friends will ask people to tie blue ribbons around trees as well as to their car antennas.

The following message also will be released May 4: "Maura's family prays for her safe return on her birthday."

Pittsfield Berkshire Eagle / Portsmouth Herald / Boston Globe / The New Hampshire Union Leader
April 4, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6pv6k5

Family still hoping to find missing woman

Family and friends continued their search this weekend for a Massachusetts woman who disappeared after a car accident in northern New Hampshire in February.

Fred Murray, the missing woman’s father, said he was impressed by the teams when they searched the area last weekend. He was returning to the scene this weekend to search areas not being searched by the K 9 teams.

The Caledonian-Record
April 8, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7gomwo

Members of the magazine's staff have been interviewing Murray's friends and family members. Elizabeth Dye, a spokeswoman for Seventeen, said there isn't a run date yet for the story, though she feels it should resonate among the magazine's subscribers.

Fred Murray, Maura's father, has been searching the area where his daughter had her accident every weekend since he was notified. He was not happy with the decision of "America's Most Wanted."

"I am really disappointed," Murray said. "It has an extensive audience and is so influential."

"It's just the national scope of it," he said. "Plus, it would put pressure on the state police to call in the FBI. You have two close to one another, geographically and chronologically."

Murray was referring to not only his own daughter, but also to Brianna Maitland, 17, who has been missing since leaving work late the night of March 19. Maitland's car was found with its rear end in an abandoned building about a mile from the Black Lantern in Montgomery, Vt., during the early-morning hours of March 20. She hasn't been seen since.

Murray, though, is happy Seventeen magazine will be profiling his daughter.

"I will take any help I possibly can get," he said. "Everything helps."

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T21:32:14+00:00

The Caledonian-Record
April 9, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7goolj

On the other hand, Fred Murray, Maura's father, is upset with the response of New Hampshire State Police in its investigation into his daughter's disappearance and what he says is law enforcement's reluctance to get the FBI fully involved.

Murray is going to be speaking with Scarinza today to appeal to him to bring the FBI in. He also is asking for the public's help.

"I am appealing to the public," he said "I want people to walk their fence lines and their property. Get help if you need it."

"She could have ducked up a driveway and around a house," Murray went on to say. "And I am not just appealing to people in New Hampshire. I am also appealing to people in Vermont, especially since a young girl in Vermont is missing."

When members of Maura's family searched her 1996 black Saturn after her disappearance, they found information indicating Maura may have intended on going to the Stowe and Burlington areas in Vermont.

The Caledonian-Record
April 10, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7gokvy

Maura Murray's family has enlisted the help of a nationally known psychic profiler to help them find her.

Baron, along with Maura's father, Fred, want to reserve some of the information so New Hampshire State Police can have a chance to act on it.

She has told Maura's father she believes Maura met with foul play.

What really concerns Murray, is what else Baron has told her. She has told him there is another woman who can be found near Maura who has fallen victim to the same person. And, Baron also told him there have been others.

Murray does not want too many details released right away to the public until the state police have had time to analyze the information and search possible locations.

Baron has been able to obtain somewhat of a description about the man as well as where she can possibly be found by talking twice with Maura's father via the telephone for a total of about 21/2 hours.

"It's called remote viewing," she said, referring to how she obtained the information about what happened to Maura by talking to her father.

Murray said he spoke with Lt. John Scarinza and others from New Hampshire State Police Troop F Friday.

"I gave them my theory that someone picked her up," he said.

He asked them, again, to bring in the FBI and make a direct appeal to the public for any information they may have in helping find his daughter.

"I asked him if he would accept help from a nationally known psychic," Murray said.

He said Scarinza mentioned they had been contacted by other psychics.

"They said they would accept help from a psychic," he said.

Murray is hoping state police and Baron talk soon.

Boston Globe
April 11, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u6fgy

Missing student's kin skeptical of psychic

Maura Murray's parents have reacted with skepticism to a nationally known psychic profiler who believes the missing college student was abducted and murdered after vanishing from a rural New Hampshire road on Feb. 9.

Murray's father, Fred Murray, of Weymouth, said he was not sure whether to believe California profiler Carla Baron, who said she has had psychic visions of his daughter's abduction and death.

But with law enforcement officials at a loss to explain his 21-year-old daughter's disappearance, Fred Murray said he is willing to listen to anyone offering help.

"About five or six psychics have contacted me. I have no idea whether they know what they're talking about or not," he said. "If they're wrong, they're wrong. It's worth a try, [as] the police seem to be out of ideas and there's no information coming forward."

Murray, who believes his daughter was abducted, said he contacted Baron a few weeks ago after being told of her strong track record with missing persons cases. The California psychic said she has helped dozens of police departments with homicide and missing persons cases over the past 20 years.

Baron said yesterday that after speaking with Fred Murray on the phone, she saw visions of Maura Murray and received messages from her in the form of thoughts.

Fred Murray said he met with New Hampshire State Police on Friday to inform them about Baron's psychic reading. At his urging, Baron said, she left her contact information with investigators.

"Hopefully we can start talking," she said. "Even if there is one little piece of information I have that can assist them in finding where she is, it's [worth it]."

Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise / Lowell Sun
April 11, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6proa4

The family of a Massachusetts woman missing in northern New Hampshire for two months turned to a psychic to try to get some answers — and they didn’t get good news.

Police have said there are no signs of foul play, but her family, and now nationally known psychic Carla Baron say they believe someone picked Murray up after the accident and harmed her.

Baron, a psychic profiler who helped lead police to finding the body of a man who had committed suicide in a cornfield in the Midwest, has provided Murray’s father, Fred, with a description of the person she believes picked up the woman, as well as the type of vehicle.

Fred Murray said Baron also told him there is another woman’s body near his daughter’s — a victim of the same person. And, Baron told him there have been others.

Murray told the Caledonia Record he does not want too many details released right away so police have time to analyze the information and search possible locations.

He said he spoke with Lt. John Scarinza, who has been in charge of the case, on Friday.

He asked police, again, to bring in the FBI and make a direct appeal to the public for any information they may have in helping find his daughter.

He said Scarinza mentioned police had been contacted by other psychics.

The New Hampshire Union Leader / Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise
April 12, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6prvuy

Parents skeptical of psychic’s analysis. The parents of a Massachusetts woman missing in northern New Hampshire for two months reacted with skepticism to a psychic profiler’s belief that the young woman was abducted and killed. Maura Murray’s father, Fred, contacted the California psychic and is unsure if he believes her, but the missing woman’s mother says she is disregarding Carla Baron’s belief that Maura Murray was the victim of a serial killer.

The Caledonian-Record
April 14, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6svcod

Family, Friends Warned About Trespassing - Missing Woman

Fred Murray, Maura's father, has been warned that he, other family members, friends and canine search teams face possible arrest if they trespass on private property in an area surrounding the site of Maura's accident.

Fred Murray received a letter, dated April 2, from Haverhill Police Chief Jeff Williams warning against trespassing.

"While they are sympathetic with the cause to find Maura, the right to quiet enjoyment of their personal property has been repeatedly and blatantly disregarded to the point that they now must insist that absolutely no one has permission to trespass on their properties," Williams wrote Murray.

The property owners, according to Williams, are specifically excluding the following from their parking lots and properties: Murray family members, friends and relatives of Maura Murray; volunteer searchers and canine handlers; private investigators; members of the press; and anyone else seeking clues or searching for Maura Murray.

Murray said if residents living in the area of Maura's accident have been offended by people searching for his daughter, he is certainly sorry. "I have not tried to cause any problems," he said.

However, Murray believes the true intent of Williams' letter is police are trying to discourage any independent searches for Maura. He also believes it is an attempt to reduce the amount of publicity Maura's disappearance has been receiving. "We have all the interviews we have wanted to do," he said. "I think it's an overreaction on the part of the police department."

If people are upset because of the search for his daughter, though, Murray said he will personally apologize to them. It's much to do about nothing," he said. "We are not worried. We will continue to act responsibly and look for my daughter."

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T21:34:13+00:00

Boston Globe
April 16, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7s8371

Baron, a nationally known psychic, told Fred Murray that she believes his daughter was abducted and killed. Baron said the visions indicated that Murray was buried near another woman abducted by the same man.

"Mr. Murray has asked us if we could listen to what this woman has to say. We're not close-minded to talking to anyone," he said.

More than a dozen psychics have called New Hampshire State Police offering assistance with the Murray case, Scarinza said. But Murray's father has only asked police to speak with Baron.

Meanwhile, the police chief in Haverhill, N.H., where Maura Murray was last seen, has warned her family members that they could be arrested if they trespass on property surrounding the accident site, according to the Associated Press. Police Chief Jeff Williams said in an April 2 letter to Murray's father that his department has received a written request from area residents complaining about repeated trespassing and parking problems, the AP reported.

Murray's family believes that the 21-year-old woman, a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, was abducted by someone who offered her a ride just minutes before police responded to a 911 call about her car accident.

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

Haverhill Police Chief Jeff Williams sent a letter recently to Maura Murray's father, Fred, notifying him that anyone, including Fred, his family, friends, searchers and reporters, would face arrest if they continued trespassing on Haverhill residents' properties.

"I don't care if they come on our land," Boutilier said. "I don't have any problem with that. I think it's a most stressful situation for (Fred Murray)."

"After two months, what are they looking for?" she asked. "Have we not covered enough? We really debated about saying something. We really can sympathize with the family."

Every time the police have parked near her barn or searched her property, she said, they have asked permission first to do so.

"The family has never consulted us," Westman said.

The Providence Journal
April 22, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u6auj

Murray's family has spent considerable time searching the area and asking people in New Hampshire and bordering Vermont if they had seen her.

The woman's father, Fred Murray, still searches every weekend. "I'm happy the police are doing what they can," he said. He said the pledged reward money for information leading to her safe return has reached $40,000. He said he thinks she might have been abducted by someone who lives in the area. Scarinza said it is a possibility. "Until we know the answer, I would never say that that's not possible, but ... there's no evidence to suggest that," he said.

The Caldedonian-Record
April 27, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r88sb

Missing Woman's Dad Urges Public's Help - Wants Aid Getting FBI Involved

Maura Murray's father wants people to become involved in his quest to have the FBI join the investigation into his daughter's disappearance.

Murray's father, Fred, and other relatives have long clamored for the FBI to play an expansive role in the search for Maura.

"I am asking for (people living in Vermont and New Hampshire) to contact the FBI and ask them to become involved," Murray said. "None of the young women in Vermont and New Hampshire are safe. This could happen again."

The discovery of a woman's body in a swampy area of Manchester, N.H., Saturday, Murray said, is even more reason to have the FBI involved.

Murray is concerned about a Vermont woman's disappearance as well.

"They said the victims did not know one another," Murray said. "I told them the connection isn't between the victims, but the perpetrator. I asked (New Hampshire State Police) why not let the FBI decide whether there is a connection. Also, there may be an Upper Valley murders connection." He was referring to a series of murders which occurred in the late 1980s.

"They said they have all the resources they need," Murray said, referring to state police. "I told them they are not getting the job done. They said they are. And I said they weren't because they have not found Maura." Murray has suggested the state police conduct a search of areas off of Route 112 on Route 116.

"I asked them to do a direct appeal to the public," he said. "They said they will wait until May." Murray told them that wasn't acceptable. Waiting another month will make it more than three months since Maura disappeared.

"I would think people other than the Maitlands and us would be screaming for the FBI," he said. "We don't want to wait for another body to disappear. There's an unidentified guy still out there. You have another potential horrendous situation."

Murray also is asking for help from residents living in the area where his daughter's accident happened to become involved because he believes a local person may have been involved in Maura's disappearance. "Like it takes a thief to catch a thief, it takes a local to catch a local," he said.

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

Family and friends of missing University of Massachusetts at Amherst nursing student Maura Murray will hold a special Circle of Hope ceremony simultaneously throughout parts of the country at 1 p.m., Sunday.

Murray, who is from Hanson, Mass., has been missing since she was involved in a one-car accident on Route 112 in the town of Haverhill, N.H., the night of Feb. 9.

Her father, Fred, will be joined by Jennifer Henry of Essex, Vt., and Leslie Grima of Franconia, N.H., for a ceremony at the accident site Sunday.

At the accident site, there will be a large laminated photo of Maura. And Henry hopes to tie a blue ribbon around the tree where Maura had her accident.

Her father said he will be releasing the blue balloons and "hope for the best."

He said the balloon casting and Circle of Hope ceremony is going to be symbolic. He is hoping others, including area residents, join him for the ceremony.

However, he also is asking people not to park in the driveway of The Weathered Barn nor people's driveways.

Seventeen Magazine
About May 2004

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d87vfwb Maura had always seemed like she had it all together. She was ranked fourth in her high school class (she scored a 1420 on her SAT), and enrolled at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Then, in fall 2003, Maura transferred to UMass Amherst because she decided she'd rather heal people than kill them, says her father, Fred Murray.

Two days later, on Saturday, February 7, Maura's dad drove up to Amherst to help Maura buy a new car.

Maura and her father spent the day at car dealerships and then hit the Amherst Brewing Company for grilled chicken salads. At 10 P.M. her dad wanted to call it a night, so he had Maura drop him off at his motel, then drive herself to the dorm in his car.

About an hour later, Maura arrived at her friend Sara Alfieri's dorm room to hang out. For the next three hours, Maura, Sara, and a couple of friends sat around talking and listening to music while drinking Skyy Blue malt mixed with a little bit of wine. A couple of times, when there were pauses in the conversation, Maura mentioned that she wanted to return the car to her dad that night. "It didn't make any sense," says Kate Markopolous, who was there. Why would Maura, who'd had a few drinks and seemed tired, go to the trouble of driving all the way to her dad's motel in the middle of the night, when she didn't need to?

At 2:30 A.M., Maura left Sara's room, telling everyone she was going to go upstairs to her room. But instead, she got in her dad's car and started driving back to his motel. On the highway, the car jumped a sandy embankment and hit a guardrail. The front of the car's radiator crumpled, so Maura called AAA to tow the car. The police arrived and wrote up a report-but didn't give Maura a ticket.

When Maura told her father about the accident the next morning, he was upset. "The first thing I asked was, 'Are you all right?'" he says. As Fred Murray called garages, Maura sat there crying. "She kept repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over," he says. "I think she felt like she had really let me down." At 2 P.M., Murray dropped a still-teary Maura off at her dorm in a rental car. "I said, 'Maura, it will get fixed. Don't worry,'" he says. Then Maura got out, and her dad drove away.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T21:34:41+00:00

The Caledonian-Record
May 4, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7goco6

Fred Murray couldn't help but dab at his eyes as Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" enveloped the 20 people gathered for his daughter's Circle of Hope ceremony, Sunday afternoon.

"I was overwhelmed," Murray said, clearing his voice. "That song ... I have never heard it before ... it was Maura. That song ... it tore me up."

As the strong winds scattered the balloons, Murray said they were like the people who care about his daughter. The balloons represent all those people searching for her.

He said no matter what has happened he wants Maura to come home so he can help her work things out.

"Happy birthday and we will see you soon," Murray said, letting go of a blue balloon.

He also thanked the 20 people who attended the Haverhill ceremony.

Not only was Murray overwhelmed by the song, he also was overwhelmed by the number of people who attended the Circle of Hope.

"I thought maybe I would be out here by myself," he said. "To get a nice turnout like this made me feel very grateful. It shows the inherent good in people.

Murray has been spending every weekend searching for Maura.

Barbara McDougall from Weymouth, Mass., said she also wanted to support Murray. "I also wanted to wish Maura a happy birthday." She also has been searching for Maura.

This weekend was the first chance for McDougall's husband, David, to help join in the search. He has a very personal reason why he wants to help Murray bring his daughter home. "My brother went missing in 1998," David McDougall said. "He was missing 17 days." Family members found him.

"So, I know how they feel," he said. "So, we will keep coming back until something changes."

However, she added, while everyone joined hands in a circle, "She is here in our hearts, our minds and our imaginations. "I pray you never give up," McIntosh said, turning to Murray. "Not a chance," he said.

Her daughter, Angela, said she felt great seeing how many people turned out for the Circle of Hope. She was pleased with the show of support for Murray and his family.

The New Hampshire Union Leader / North Adams Transcript / Portsmouth Herald / St. Albans Daily Messenger
May 5, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6pv1r1

Parents of missing young women will meet - Parents of missing women to meet in N.H.

The parents of a missing Sheldon teen will meet this weekend in New Hampshire with the father of a young Massachusetts woman who recently vanished to discuss whether their daughters’ disappearances are related.

Bruce Maitland, his wife, Kelly, and Fred Murray of Hanson, Mass., will meet in Woodsville a few miles north of where Murray’s 21-year-old daughter, Maura, disappeared in early February.

The Caldedonian-Record
May 6, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r8bkr

Parents Of Missing Women To Meet

The parents of 17-year-old Brianna Maitland and 21-year-old Maura Murray are joining forces to increase pressure on law enforcement to call in the FBI to join the search for their loved ones.

Bruce and Kellie Maitland and Fred Murray have scheduled a press conference for 9 a.m. Saturday at the American Legion in Woodsville.

The Maitlands and Murray are frustrated with the respective police investigations into their daughters' disappearances.

The Maitlands and Murray believe there may be a connection between what has happened to their daughters. And they want that connection explored.

He believes the FBI, which has more resources than the state police, should become involved in the search for Brianna and Maura.

Murray has been asking New Hampshire State Police right from the beginning to ask the FBI to become active participants in the search for his daughter.

And with Brianna missing, he believes it is imperative any possible connections be explored. "I believe there may be a connection," Murray said. "The people in Vermont and New Hampshire should be screaming to have the FBI become involved."

He said until Brianna and Maura are found, young women in Vermont and New Hampshire are not safe until whomever is involved is found.

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

"Based on the description of what he saw, we believe it may have been Maura," Scarinza said, referring to the witness seeing a young woman fitting Maura's description about an hour after the accident. "Based on the place and based on the time, there is a good possibility the person he saw on 112 was Maura."

Maura's father, Fred Murray, is upset police didn't travel Route 112 toward the Woodstock area, at least calling ahead to the Woodstock police to ask them to look for his daughter.

"This was a young woman involved in an accident," he said. "She had a head injury by the indication of the spider hole in the windshield."

"They know she is somewhere close by and they don't go down the road to bring her to safety?" Murray asked. "If they had searched for my daughter, she would most likely be safely here now."

The Patriot Ledger
May 6, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7slnii

Murray's father, Fred, recently underwent a lengthy reading with psychic profiler Carla Baron of Los Angeles. Baron believes Murray was the victim of an opportunistic killer. Although clairvoyants are considered a last resort in police work, Scarinza said detectives spoke with Baron at the father's request.

‘‘We took the information she had to offer but at this point I can't say she offered us anything substantial,'' said Scarinza.

Boston Globe
May 7, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r7w8l

"I am encouraged by the lead," said Fred Murray, Maura's father, who added that he plans to hold a news conference tomorrow morning in Woodsville, N.H., to release more details. "All I can say now is we've got her alive and moving at a particular place at a particular time. I believe it's my daughter, based on the description."

Nashua Telegraph / Boston Globe
May 8/9, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6puwho

Families of missing women gather - Parents, siblings seek support, connection between three cases.

The families of two missing women came together in Haverhill on Saturday to plead for help from the public and federal authorities.

Fred Murray of Weymouth, Mass., whose daughter, Maura, 21, disappeared on Feb. 9 in Haverhill after a minor car accident, set up the meeting before starting another weekend of searching.

He was joined by Bruce and Kellie Maitland of East Franklin, Vt., whose daughter, Brianna, 17, was last seen on March 19 after she left work at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vt.

Although they had never met before, the parents hugged tearfully, knowing each other’s pain. Murray said the three cases “easily could be” connected, although state police said there is no evidence pointing in that direction.

Murray said the three investigations should be centrally coordinated by an agency such as the FBI, since they cross state lines.

“There is substantial reason for the FBI to be involved,” he said. “People should be yelling for the FBI to come in.”

“What if the cases are not related and a local person is involved?" he said. “Then people here should be uneasy. It takes a local to catch a local.”

Bruce Maitland said any missing person older than 12 is treated as a runaway. Murray and the Maitlands pleaded for anyone to come forward if they think they have any information about the whereabouts of their daughters.

"There is substantial reason for the FBI to be involved. People should be screaming for the FBI to come in." - Fred Murray, Father of missing 21-year-old.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T21:40:48+00:00

The Caledonian-Record
May 10, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u6sb8

Families Issue Emotional Plea For FBI Help

When Fred Murray and Kellie Maitland met for the first time Saturday morning, it was a very emotional moment for the parents of two missing young women.

Maitland went up to Murray and they tenderly embraced, both knowing one another's pain of not knowing what has happened to their daughters.

Murray's daughter, Maura, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been missing since she was involved in a minor one-car accident on Route 112 in Haverhill the night of Feb. 9.

Maitland, her husband, Bruce, and Murray were joined by Charlotte and Michael Riley of Chester, N.H., in a press conference at the American Legion, Ross-Wood Post 20, in Woodsville Saturday morning.

Murray and the Maitlands clamored for public support in having the FBI brought in to investigate not only the disappearances of Maura and Brianna, but also the murder of Amie.

Murray has been beseeching New Hampshire State Police officials at Troop F to call in the FBI to join the investigation since learning his daughter was missing. The FBI will not join an investigation until asked by the police agency handling a case.

And after learning about the disappearance of Brianna, Murray and the Maitlands called for state police in both New Hampshire and Vermont to call in the FBI.

Murray said, "We need help. All three families need help. None of us have our daughters. If these three cases are connected, and they very well could be, it's horrendous. You could have a killer locally in your midst." He said there is ample reason for the FBI to become involved.

"We are asking for your help," Murray said, pleading to the public through the media. "People should be screaming for the FBI. We want this to be brought to a close. You owe it to yourselves, folks."

With that, she walked away from the microphones and went over to Murray, tears streaming down her face. He hugged her, trying to console her.

She spoke about the lack of media coverage after it was determined her daughter was missing. "She was at a bar," Riley said. "Does that make her less of a person?" The Maitlands and Murray responded with a resounding no.

Journal Opinion
May 12, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7dssqq

Missing woman's parents plead for FBI, local help. On a sunny spring morning with a chill wind the parents of two missing young women held a press conference on May 8 outside American Legion Post #20 in Woodsville. They suggested the two cases may be connected and wanted local police to call in the FBI.

Bruce and Kellie Maitland of East Franklin, VT, and Fred Murray of Hanson, MA, had summoned newspaper and television representatives to keep alive the search for their daughters and raise the awareness of people throughout the area. They were joined by Charlotte and Michael Riley of Chester, NH, whose daughter Amie had disappeared last summer. Her body was found eight months later. "Why are we here?" said Kelly Maitland. "We're all hoping someone out there knows something." "We need help. We don't have our daughters," said Murray.

While the Vermont and New Hampshire state police see no connection between the two cases, the parents think a connection is likely. They point out that both involved young women who were driving alone at night on rural roads. Kelly Maitland said that "accident situations" 90 miles apart in this area were "unusual."

If these cases are connected, said Murray, "The people of this area have a horrendous situation -- they could have a killer walking in their midst." Murray and the Maitlands would like to see the FBI brought in, to centrally coordinate and run all three cases -- the search for Maura Murray and Brianna Maitland and for the killer of Annie Riley.

"The State police work hard and they're nice guys. But they are restricted in their resources, and they've hit a stone wall," said Murray. He said the FBI had offered help, but local police refused. He pointed out that his daughter disappeared not far from the Connecticut River, but the New Hampshire State Police investigation cannot cross the river, the border with Vermont. If the cases are unrelated, he continued, and "if a local bad guy from this area harmed my daughter, people here have to be uneasy."

Since February night, Murray has been searching fir his daughter, crawling through every bridge and culvert, pressing the police, checking bus stations and asking bus drivers if they saw his daughter. He has checked topographical maps to identify where a vehicle might have gone, checked with neighbors as to what was accessible, and searched.

Murray expressed particular frustration by the news this week that a second person had seen a young woman walking east on Route 112 about four or five miles east of the accident scene about an hour later. "I'm convinced it was my daughter," said Murray, adding, "so when the police arrived she was right around the corner. They could have taken a ride up the road and grabbed her."

A star in the windshield of the car indicated she may have hit her head, there was an empty beer can on the floor, and the outside temperature was 12 degrees, Murray said. "She was in danger." Why hadn't the police driven further or called the next town for help and why had it taken three months for another witness to come forward, he asked.

Addressing the people of the area, Murray pleaded, "Search your own property. Use your imagination. I can't possibly cover every single place." He also called on people to ask their local agencies to help. "If somebody here did something, he is still with you," he warned. "I am asking the people of the north country to call the FBI," Murray concluded.

Murray joined the search for his daughter 36 hours after she disappeared, but the Maitlands did not even learn of their daughter's disappearance until four or five days after the car was found.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T21:41:26+00:00

The New Hampshire Union Leader
May 14, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7oqt35

There are 48 mountains in New Hampshire at least 4,000 feet high, and Fred Murray has climbed them all -- many of them with his daughter Maura. They snowshoed together, ran road races together.

When she was in high school, then at West Point and later at the University of Massachusetts as a nursing student, they would go away on camping weekends. He coached her in softball and basketball, and in her early years, he picked her up from school every day. "This kid is my buddy," he said. But he hasn't seen her since early February.

Maura Murray disappeared after she failed to make a curve on rural Route 112 and hit a snowbank while driving the night of Feb. 9 in northwest New Hampshire. She escaped serious injury and asked a nearby resident who came by not to call police. He did anyway, but by the time they arrived, she had vanished into the wintry night, leaving her car and belongings behind.

She also left behind her mother and two sisters, one a police officer and the other a West Point graduate stationed at Fort Bragg, who might soon be sent to Iraq. And she left behind her father. It's been three months and he hasn't given up hope of finding her, even if she is dead. "Do I want to find her? Not really. I keep looking, but I don't want to be successful. It's a horrible position to be in," he said.

Murray said his daughter might have been distraught because she had another accident two days earlier. She also apparently planned to get away because she lied to professors about a death in the family and said she would be gone from class for the week, then packed her belongings as if she was moving out. However, Murray believes she might have been the victim of foul play, although police said there is no evidence pointing in that direction.

Almost every weekend since Feb. 9, he has made the eight-hour round-trip drive from his home in Weymouth, Mass., to the Woodsville section of Haverhill. He searches the vast forest or knocks on doors and questions neighbors who might have seen something. He also hands out fliers with Maura's picture.

His daughters and Maura's boyfriend, who is in the military, were able to help at first, and occasionally some volunteers join him. Last weekend, a couple from Vermont, the Maitlands, whose own daughter disappeared in March, searched with him. But most of the time, he's alone, arriving Friday night, searching until dark Saturday and into late afternoon Sunday and then driving home. He doesn't even think about whether he will make the trip.

"There's no decision to make. There's no option," he said. "As a father, I don't think about it. It's automatic. "How am I able to stand this? I don't know. I make myself do it. It's got to be done. I don't want to be here. "Some mornings I hate to wake up; I hate to open my eyes." Last weekend was particularly difficult. The Maitlands were coming, and so were the Rileys of Manchester, whose daughter disappeared last August and was found dead in Manchester. The media was invited to call attention to their desperation.

"I knew I was going to have to talk about it," Murray said. The searching is easier. During the winter, he searched the snow for footprints. The snow is gone now, so he searches the woods alongside the road. He even climbs through culverts under the road, head down, looking for any clue.

"I don't want to look up, afraid of what I might see," he said. When he finds nothing, "it's a great relief," he said. "Not finding her (body) is encouraging." He even searched the Kancamagus Highway -- one of her favorite places about 25 miles away -- should she have contemplated suicide, though he is quick to point out, "I don't think she did."

He doesn't know how long he will keep coming back, but there always is another area to search. Only recently, a man came forward and said he saw someone who matched Maura's description about five miles up the road from the accident scene. Maura, a runner and hiker, easily could have covered the 18 miles to Woodstock, or the five miles back into Woodsville and across the Connecticut River into Wells River, Vt., where a bus leaves at 11 every night. "I don't think about how long I'll keep going," he said. "I search it and can put my mind at ease that I looked there."

The Patriot Ledger
May 24, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7sm4ff

Maura Murray's family has traveled to New Hampshire countless times. Every weekend they make the four-hour trek from the family home in Hanson to New Hampshire to canvass rural woods and interview people they have never met in hopes of finding any scrap of information.

Maura Murray's father, Fred Murray, has been the most active figure in the search for his daughter. His public criticism of police, his consultation with a psychic and his compulsive hikes to New Hampshire are all symptoms of the aching quest to know what happened, Maureen Lemieux said.

The Bish family has spoken to Fred Murray and offered their support. Magi Bish said she identifies with Fred's tireless spirit. It is all you have in a situation like this, she said.

‘‘If you're a ‘doer,' and Fred sounds like he is, you just go. I'm sure it's hard because they live so far away, but you just do it. You're never prepared,'' Bish said.

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

Maura's father, Fred Murray, is upset police didn't travel Route 112 toward the Woodstock area, at least calling ahead to the Woodstock police to ask them to look for his daughter.

"This was a young woman involved in an accident," he said. "She had a head injury by the indication of the spider hole in the windshield."

"They know she is somewhere close by and they don't go down the road to bring her to safety?" Murray asked. "If they had searched for my daughter, she would most likely be safely here now."

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T21:41:55+00:00

The Caledonian-Record
May 26, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6sv5lx

Fred Murray Appeals To Governor Benson Says Police Failed His Daughter By Gary E. Lindsley

The father of a missing 22-year-old University of Massachusetts at Amherst nursing student is appealing to Gov. Craig Benson to urge New Hampshire State Police to call in the FBI for help in finding his daughter.

Maura Murray has been missing since she was involved in a minor one-car accident the evening of Feb. 9 after her black 1996 Saturn failed to negotiate a sharp left-hand curve on Route 112 in Haverhill.

"The finest resource in the world is available and you, sir, should direct Lieutenant John Scarinza and Troop F to accept its offer," Fred Murray said in his letter. "There are corollary cases in Vermont also and this entire situation begs for central coordination and investigation by an agency which is not bound by the confines of configuration of Grafton County and the Connecticut River." Scarinza is the commander of Troop F, which is based in Twin Mountain.

Murray also was referring to Brianna Maitland, 17, of Sheldon, Vt., who disappeared after she left work late the night of March 19. Her car was found partially ensconced in an abandoned building about one mile from the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery where she worked.

Murray noted the FBI offered its assistance during the week of his daughter's disappearance. However, state police declined the offer. Scarinza said the FBI was involved in background searches and gathering information in Massachusetts. He has said the state police have enough resources to conduct an investigation into Maura's disappearance.

Besides asking Benson to direct the state police to call in the FBI, Murray also has claimed state police and Haverhill police had been grossly negligent because a cruiser was not dispatched east along Route 112 to help find his daughter after her accident.

He said police arrived within minutes after Maura was last seen by an eyewitness. "This means that when the police reached the scene, Maura could have been no further than a couple of hundred yards up the road around the first corner walking away," Murray said in his letter.

Police, including Sgt. Cecil Smith of the Haverhill Police Department, were told the driver of the car was a young woman about 20 years old. "There was an empty beer bottle found in the car and in addition, there was a spider hole in the driver's side of the windshield indicating that she had struck her head at impact," Murray's letter reads.

Murray said police should have called ahead to the Woodstock Police Department so officers from that community could have driven west to intercept Maura on the dark, desolate highway.

"She was figuratively and nearly literally right there readily available to be rescued and saved from whatever fate has befallen her," Murray said in his letter. "All that the police had to do was to expend minimal mental and physical effort."

If they had done so, Murray said, Maura would be safe with him today. "Unfortunately, the police neglected to make even the most basic effort to find her and I remain without her now, and perhaps, forever," Murray's letter continued. "The onus of this irresponsible and possibly fatal lack of action lies not only with the North Haverhill force, but also with the New Hampshire State Police who responded to the 911 calls from the neighbors as well."

Another witness is believed to have spotted Maura, who is a track star and runner, about four to five miles east of the accident scene running toward Woodstock. "I get nearly physically sick when I wake up each morning and the thought of how really little effort it would have taken to rescue my daughter automatically flashes through my mind," Murray said in his letter.

In addition to sending the letter to Benson, Murray also sent copies of it to New Hampshire Attorney General Peter Heed, state police Col. Frederick Booth, and U.S. Sen. John Sununu and Judd Gregg. Alicia Preston, Benson's press secretary, said Benson had not received the letter as of late Tuesday afternoon.

However, Murray said according to tracking records on the U.S. Postal Service Web site, Benson, Heed, Booth, Sununu and Gregg's offices received the letters Monday morning. "The young women in the northern region of your state are not safe and it is clearly imperative that you act decisively before you lose another," Murray stated in his letter. "Deep within themselves, your citizens are nervously apprehensive and anxiously awaiting your response to this threat." Booth could not be reached for comment Tuesday. And Simon Brown, chief of the attorney general's criminal bureau, said he was not aware of Murray's letter.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T22:16:25+00:00

Fred Murray's Letter to Governor Benson
May 26, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7m16ud

Mr. Frederick Murray

Governor Craig Benson Office of the Governor 107 North Main Street Room 208 Concord NH 03301

Governor Benson:

My daughter, Maura Murray, went missing after a one car accident on February 9, 2004 at approximately 7:00 PM while she was heading east on Route 112 near North Haverhill, New Hampshire. Eye witnesses place her at the crash site at one (1) to two (2) minutes before the local police arrived and no one was seen to stop and pick her up in a vehicle. This means that when the police reached the scene Maura could have been no further than a couple of hundred yards up the road around the first corner walking away. Another witness who stopped and talked with her reported to the police upon their arrival that the driver of the car was a young woman of approximately twenty (20) years of age. He added that he thought she had been drinking. There was an empty beer bottle found in the car and in addition, there was a spider hole in the driver’s side of the windshield indicating that she had struck her head at impact. The temperature that evening was twelve (12) degrees.

Given these known facts it was grossly negligent of the police to not dispatch a cruiser in active pursuit in a spirited effort to retrieve an unsuspecting and vulnerable girl with a possible head injury and subject to hypothermia because of alcohol and frigid temperature before she wandered into the pitch black of the national forest looming just ahead.

The police had full knowledge that if she were to encounter someone with ill intent that she would have no place to hide, no place to run and absolutely no help available.

Furthermore, duty as well as common sense obligates the police to call ahead to the next town in the direction they had to assume she was heading. They knew they had not passed her as they drove east to the accident site during their response to the “911” call. The Woodstock police were not notified nor asked to send an officer to intercept her by driving west in the direction in which she was approaching.

She was figuratively and nearly literally “right there” readily available to be rescued and saved from whatever fate has befallen her. All that the police had to do was to expend minimal mental and physical effort and my daughter, Maura would be safely here with me today. But, unfortunately, the police neglected to make even the most basic effort to find her, and I remain without her now and perhaps forever.

The onus of this irresponsible and possibly fatal lack of action lies not only with the North Haverhill force, but also with the New Hampshire State Police who responded to the “911” calls from the neighbors as well.

Recently, nearly three (3) months after the accident, a motorist who was driving west on Route 112 at about 8:00 PM on February 9 reported seeing a young person acting furtively heading very fast in an easterly direction at a point about four (4) to five (5) miles away from the scene of the crash. The time line and description of the individual’s appearance and clothing fits perfectly for this person to have been Maura.

This witness lives within just yards of the accident site, but said he had been confused about the exact date and time of that event because the state police had not interviewed him until 10 days had passed. As hard as this is to believe, it is actually true since an investigator helping the family questioned him on Sunday, February 15 and he said the police hadn’t been there to talk to him yet. At this point I appealed directly to the state police to pay attention to rudimentary procedure and turned our notes over to them. This apparently prompted a belated response which led to the questioning of this witness on Thursday, February 19.

That this nearly immediately located neighbor who could have been a prime source of critical information should have been questioned in a timely fashion on the very evening of the accident or, at the latest, on the following day is a fully reasonable expectation of adequate investigative policy. If this had occurred this person would have had immediate recollection of the sighting of my daughter and a “hot lead” would have ensued.

Statistics, which are very well known by state police agencies, indicate that cases get solved from tips received in the first two or three days or they can go cold forever. To wait ten days to speak to such an obvious source of potentially crucial information based on his proximity to the event will be hard to explain even for those adept at this skill. It is no wonder that the state police are reluctant to release to me their accident report to which I am probably legally entitled.

I get nearly physically sick when I wake up each morning and the thought of how really little effort it would have taken to rescue my daughter automatically flashes through my mind.

It has been over three months since her disappearance and the only leads developed have been handed to the state police by others. Yet still these guys maintain that they don’t need any help. The FBI offered its assistance during the opening week of this case but have only been utilized in a very minor way such as interviewing family members and high school friends in Maura’s hometown of Hanson, MA, and also a couple of college acquaintances.

These state police officers are great people personally, and I like them and respect them. They are the type of men and women that both you and I would be very pleased to have living in our own neighborhoods, but the inescapable reality remains that they clearly need help in finding Maura.

The finest resource in the world is available and you, sir, should direct Lieutenant John Scarinza and Troop F to accept its offer. There are corollary cases in Vermont also and this entire situation begs for central co-ordination and investigation by an agency which is not bound by the confines of the configuration of Grafton County and the Connecticut River.

The young women in the northern region of your state are not safe and it is clearly imperative that you act decisively before you lose another. Deep within themselves, your citizens are nervously apprehensive and anxiously awaiting your response to this threat.

Respectfully,

Fred Murray

Portsmouth Herald
May 28, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6pw91d

Missing woman’s father asks gov. to get FBI help. The father of a missing University of Massachusetts nursing student has asked Gov. Craig Benson for help to get the FBI involved in the case.

Fred Murray of Weymouth, Mass., wants the governor to urge New Hampshire State Police to call in the FBI for help in finding Maura Murray.

The Caldedonian-Record
June 9, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r8fyy

Maura's father, in reaction to Scarinza's statements, said, "As far as Scarinza's amateur psychology goes, it does not matter why Maura left. Something happened.

"They do not want the FBI (fully involved) because it would be like calling the police on itself. They botched the case from the start."

Murray said Troop F first treated his daughter as a missing runaway. Then, they said she had frozen to death.

Their next theory, according to Murray, was Maura had committed suicide. "Again, if it was suicide, they would have to look for her," he said.

If it was a suicide, then the state police would not have to look for a bad guy, Murray said. "If there is a bad guy, then the state police have not been able to do the job and catch the bad guy," he said.

Regarding his daughter's relationship with Rausch, Murray said it was a strong, loving, very, very good relationship.

"The accident with my car? It was not a big deal," he said. "My insurance covered it. They are saying anything to avoid searching for a bad guy. It's just a smokescreen.

"They have to get the job done. They should be made to accept (the FBI's help). If you blame the victims, it doesn't matter. Something still happened to these girls. Someone harmed them. It's a crime."

The New Hampshire Union Leader
July 2, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7os4gh

Murray had said his daughter might have been distraught because she had another accident two days earlier. She also apparently planned to get away because she lied to professors about a death in the family and said she would be gone from class for the week, then packed her belongings as if she was moving out.

However, Murray believes she might have been the victim of foul play, although police said there is no evidence pointing in that direction.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T22:17:01+00:00

The Caledonian Record
July 3, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7glmp1

"They are a bunch of liars," Rausch said. "I am at the point the only people I am worried about offending are Billy and Fred."

Fred is Fred Murray, Maura's father.

Murray and Rausch are upset about comments made this week by New Hampshire State Police Troop F commander Lt. John Scarinza.

Scarinza pointed to a book by Nicholas Howe, "Not Without Peril," as a possible source of why Maura disappeared. The book was among items found in her car.

In the book, there are stories about tragedies and rescues in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, areas in which Maura and her father had hiked.

Scarinza has said Murray told police his daughter was suicidal.

However, the first mention of Maura being suicidal was in a press release issued by Haverhill Police Chief Jeff Williams two days after Maura's car accident and disappearance.

Murray says he never told police his daughter was suicidal.

"I want to set the record straight," he said. "Scarinza is using (Howe's book) to reinforce his suicide theory. It's nothing like that.

"Maura liked the book," he said. "She was making her way through it. The reason she liked the book was because she likes several different areas in the White Mountains. There are all kinds of landmarks. That's all it was."

Although he is upset about Scarinza's comments, Murray isn't surprised.

"If he goes with the suicide theory, that means nothing happened on his turf and during his watch," Murray said. "However, when you have a bad guy (involved), it's in (Scarinza's) back yard and he can't solve it."

"He's pushing it hard," he continued. "He's to the point he's making things up."

The New Hampshire Union Leader
July 14, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7orn17

Two days before the accident, she crashed her father's new car into guardrails along a road in Hanson, Mass.

The Caldeonian-Record
July 24, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r8u6f

Father Denied Access - State, Haverhill Police Won't Release Murray Information

Her father, Fred, filed Freedom of Information Act requests with state police and Haverhill police to obtain information about the accident and the investigation into Maura's disappearance. His requests were denied by both state police and Haverhill police.

Murray received a letter dated June 29 from Brian Hester, a lieutenant with the state police Special Investigation Unit. In the letter, Hester said, "A determination has been made these files are investigative in nature, the release of requested reports, logs and data information would be a disclosure constituting an unwarranted invasion of privacy under RSA 91-A:5 IV."

"The release and disclosure at this time could interfere with an ongoing investigation," Hester continued in his letter. "See Lodge v. Knowlton, 118 NH 574 (1978). Therefore, your request at this time is denied."

Gary J. Wood, an attorney representing the Haverhill Police Department, used the same reasoning and court case to decline providing Murray with the information surrounding his daughter's accident and subsequent disappearance.

As for Murray, he does not understand why authorities won't release any information about his daughter, if her case is not being investigated as a criminal case. State police have continually stated they consider it a missing person's case. So, Murray does not understand why they won't release information about her case as well as the police reports regarding her accident. He wonders whose privacy state police and police are worried about violating.

"What's so criminal about an accident report, if it's (being classified as) a missing person's case?" Murray asked. "They are denying me information which may help me."

The Caledonian-Record
August 5, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u6wfm

Family, Friends No Closer To Finding Maura Murray

Maura Murray's friends and family are no closer to finding out what has happened to the 22-year-old nursing student than they were six months ago after learning she disappeared the frigid night of Feb. 9.

Her father, Fred, still travels to New Hampshire every weekend to search for his daughter.

Fred Murray has spent nearly every weekend searching for her.

Massachusetts Daily Collegian
September 9, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6r97c7

UMass student still missing since winter

For the parents of many University of Massachusetts students, the start of the school year marks the beginning of a separation period, at least until the holidays. But while some parents are lingering on their child's last goodbye hug, the family of one UMass student is still trying to piece together the disappearance of their daughter from the University campus last winter.

Maura's parents, Laurie and Fred Murray, have said all along that her daughter had excellent grades. Murray was a Dean's list student a track star in high school, and a close friend to many.

Murray has described her daughter's relationship with her boyfriend, Army Lt. Bill Rauch of Oklahoma as "a very, very good relationship." However, Maura's family and friends suspect foul play was involved in the young woman's disappearance.

Authorities did not begin their search for Murray until Feb. 11, to the dismay of her parents.

It was only about one month after Maura's disappearance when another disappearance of a young woman shocked the northern New England region where Maura was last seen.

The Murray family has publicly said they are not disregarding the idea that there may be a link between the two disappearances.

Both the families of Murray and Maitland have publicly said they want their respective law enforcement agencies to investigate further if there is a missing link between the two disappearances. Police are not dismissing the link theory, but have said it is unlikely.

Montell William Show
October 29, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yglq7

They were going about their daily lives when in a flash - they disappeared. Fred's daughter Maura was also his close friend. When she had gotten into a car accident, he readily lent her his own vehicle. Twenty-four hours later, while driving to New Hampshire, the car slid out of control on a patch of ice and Maura hit a tree. Nearby witnesses to the accident called the police and saw Maura in the car up until 2 minutes before the police cars arrived on the scene. By the time they got there, Maura had mysteriously disappeared. Meghan's mom, Janis, disappeared after a family dinner she had with her daughter and her ex-husband. She drove home with her boyfriend from the meal and was never heard from again. We'll also speak with 3 siblings who miss their charismatic sister, Brooke, who disappeared late one morning while she was outside her sister's apartment complex. Plus we'll talk to Kelly and Jim whose son was last seen taking in the garbage cans from his parents' home.

Fred: His daughter, Maura, disappeared in February of this year after she got into a car accident. If anyone has information on the disappearance of Maura Murray, please contact the New Hampshire State Police at 603-271-3636

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T22:17:37+00:00

The Boston Channel
November 18/19, 2004
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u7ptf

Father Keeps Hope Alive In Search For Missing Daughter - Maura Murray Last Seen Feb. 9, 2004 It's a parent's nightmare come true for a South Shore father. NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner reported that Fred Murray's daughter, Maura, has been missing since February. The college student disappeared after making a car trip to rural New Hampshire. Murray said the police are now treating the case as if it's cold, so he's taken it upon himself to keep hope alive.

Every other weekend for nine months Fred Murray has made the trip from Connecticut to a New Hampshire motel that has become the home base in his search for his missing daughter. "No one else is looking and the case would just die and be forgotten. I've got to do it. I owe it to my daughter," said Murray.

"The people who called in to the police said my daughter was sitting one to two minutes before the cops came, which means all the police had to do was go down the street and grab her," said Murray. Alcohol was found in the car. Murray said if his daughter was drinking, she probably panicked, afraid she'd get in trouble. "So she starts walking away," said Murray. Murray believes his daughter became a victim of foul play.

"They know it was a young girl, they don't call ahead. They let her walk into the national forest. They let a young girl in 12-degree temperatures walk away," he said. With that, Fred Murray's anger grows. He accused police of waiting too long when they were just minutes away from finding his daughter.

In their search for Maura Murray, New Hampshire State police say the immediate area was searched the night of the accident and neighbors were interviewed. But a ground and air search wasn't conducted until a day and a half later. Murray says that was too late. "They can't answer why they didn't drive two minutes down the road. It took 38 hours to start the investigation," Murray said.

No footprints were ever found in the woods. Search dogs tracked the woman's scent from the scene of the accident to the next corner. "Which is right in front of the last guy who spoke to my daughter, and also right in front of the house of the last person to have actually seen my daughter," said Murray.

That person initially told police he didn't see anything the night of Maura Murray's disappearance. Three months later he came forward with different information: He'd seen someone who fit Maura Murray's description walking about five miles away. Murray wonders if the man knows more. Murray said the police have already made up their minds. "Suicide, hypothermia or runaway. Back and forth, one to three, nothing about number four -- a bad guy," said Murray.

The day Maura Murray left UMass, she e-mailed her professors that she had a family problem and would be gone for about a week. Rumors flew that she wanted to disappear. Murray thinks she came to New Hampshire, a frequent family destination, to sort something out.

"If she was upset and wanted to get away to find peace, it would be here. It doesn't matter what brought her here to this point. Once she got here, something happened," he said. "My daughter is right there on that poster. If that person came out of the poster, she'd walk right out of it smiling. We were like buddies. I want my buddy back. That's what I'm doing here."

The New Hampshire Union Leader
January 9, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7osa83

Father wants police files on missing daughter opened. Stumped in his search for Maura Murray, missing since a cold night 11 months ago when her car went off a North Country road, her father said on Friday that he plans to consult with a lawyer and write a letter to New Hampshire's new governor, John H. Lynch.

Frederick J. Murray of Weymouth, Mass., wrote to Gov. Craig Benson last May, conveying his disappointment that police had been unable to determine what happened to his daughter, who apparently walked away at about 7 p.m. on Feb. 9, 2004, leaving her car alongside Route 112 in North Haverhill, its airbag deployed and the windshield cracked as if her head had struck the glass in the impact with banked-up frozen snow.

Murray said he never got a reply from Benson, although he has heard back from law enforcement authorities who have denied him access to their investigative records.

He has written to New Hampshire Safety Commissioner Richard M. Flynn; New Hampshire state police, the lead investigative agency; Grafton County Sheriff Charles E. Barry, and the police chief at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., where his daughter was a student. He requested copies of the radio dispatch logs, witness interview reports and "any records with any affiliated law enforcement agency and any information that pertains to Maura Murray and this case."

The most recent response Murray got was a letter dated Jan. 3, from Thomas Andross of the Grafton County Sheriff's Department.

Said Murray: "I want to look in those dispatch logs to find out if there is anything that might indicate a direction that they might have overlooked that I might develop. . . . This is not a criminal investigation. This is a missing person investigation. So, why all this secrecy? What is it they don't want me to know?"

Murray, who has traipsed the woods near the crash site on numerous weekends, followed tips to dead ends and listened to the theories of psychics, worked with relatives and friends to maintain a Web site and gather pledges backing a $40,000 reward offer, said he is now "on the verge of enlisting legal aid in my attempt to get information." State law provides for a denial of records under the right-to-know law to be appealed to a Superior Court.

"I want to ask the people who had that number what my daughter may have said when she called. I'm trying to figure out her frame of mind," said the frustrated father, remembering better days, when he and his daughter, whose 22nd birthday was on May 4, 2004, would get together on a weekend to hike a trail in the White Mountains.

Family vacation spot - For Fred Murray, it's logical that his daughter would seek to stay at the condominium complex at Attitash, where the family had vacationed in the past, and disturbing that investigators did not follow through on the call until prompted by a newspaper story.

"There is nobody Maura knows up there. She was looking for a place to stay," Murray said, adding that his daughter had taken extra clothing with her and some school books.

"This indicated that my daughter had a purpose (in leaving school abruptly on a Monday to travel to New Hampshire.) The police never followed up on a phone call she made on the afternoon she left. If they were not going to do something as elemental as that, what makes you think they will follow through with a proper investigation?"

In past conversations he has had with investigators, Murray said, "They keep shifting from hypothermia, to, 'this is a case of a runaway,' to, 'it's a suicide.' . . . Anything to avoid Number 4, which is the 'bad guy' alternative. If it's a bad guy who came along when she was there alone that night, the onus is upon them to do something and they can't."

The Caledonian-Record
January 17, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r4y6f

Letters To Editor - A grateful father By Fred Murray

To the Editor:

So many people have selflessly and enthusiastically given of themselves and their time that if force of will were enough by itself, then Maura would have been back with us many months ago. When people ask me if there is anything that they can do, I tell them that I know they would already have done it if there were. Your universally overwhelming support is a striking demonstration yet again of the inherent goodness of people.

You can sense my gratitude, but I want your "thank you" to come to you when you look in the mirror and see reflected a person who, by choice, interrupted his or her life to try to help another human being in trouble. If there is any worthier motivation than that, we'd all be hard pressed to name what it is.

In Deep Appreciation,

Fred Murray

Father of Maura Murray, Missing Person since 02/09/04

Weymouth, Mass.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T22:18:13+00:00

Massachusetts Daily Collegian
January 26, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6su89v

Maura’s father, Fred Murray, sent a letter to New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson on May 21, 2004 asking him to persuade State Police to receive assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the search for his daughter. Murray never received a response. Since then, Murray has applied for a Freedom of Information Act in order to receive more information about the investigation.

“After writing to the governor, I appealed again to the attorney general and the district attorney of Grafton County, but I don’t expect anything,” Murray said. Murray has been traveling to New Hampshire to search for his daughter almost every weekend since her disappearance. “This place is like the old west,” Murray said as he described the atmosphere of Northern New Hampshire.

Murray said part of his search has included hanging out in local bars in hopes to overhear a conversation in which someone mentions something about Maura. Murray said he has been actively investigating his daughter’s disappearance himself because he does not trust the police to conduct a proper investigation. “These guys can’t catch a cold,” he said.

Murray said his main frustration is that police refuse to investigate “scenario number 4.” Lt. Scarniza told the Daily Collegian in August that the police investigation has led them to believe Maura “left on her own volition.” This would lead one to believe Maura either ran away, committed suicide, or suffered from hypothermia. The Murrays disagreed and believe she was abducted.

Fred Murray believes the police do not want to admit there is a predator in their small, rural community. “There’s a bad guy on their turf in their backyard,” Murray said. “The skunk is on their doorstep.”

While the Murray family has been disputing facts about the police investigation, yet another troubling piece of information came to light in October 2004 when Sharon Rausch was reviewing Maura’s cell phone records.

Fred Murray explained that this new information is another piece of evidence that points to Maura being abducted.

“She had a destination,” Murray said. “She was on route 112, which goes right to Bartlett… [The police] will do anything to avoid saying ‘number 4.'”

Sharon Rausch and Fred Murray have both said they could not be unhappier with the police investigation.

The Patriot Ledger
February 9, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7snaiw

It was one year ago that Maura Murray of Hanson disappeared in the snowy woods of New Hampshire. Her father and other family members were in New Hampshire today, trying again to get authorities to treat her disappearance as a crime.

The New Hampshire State Police have labeled Murray a missing person, but her family and others close to her believe she met with foul play. They have asked police to treat her disappearance as a criminal case.

Murray's father, Fred Murray, her brother, Freddie, and her sister, Kathleen, were among those who planned to deliver a written appeal to Gov. John Lynch today asking that he release records pertaining to her case. The group was to then travel to Haverhill to place a missing person poster and ribbon where she was last seen.

‘‘This is definitely foul play and the FBI should be on this and I'm very disappointed that this didn't happen sooner,'' Murray said.

Fred Murray filed a records request with the New Hampshire attorney general's office seeking release of all pertinent records. That request was denied.

The Murrays' suspicions of a botched investigation were heightened in October when they began calling numbers listed on Murray's cell phone records from last February. It turned out that the last person she called was Linda Salamone of Wakefield, whose condo in Bartlett, N.H., Murray wanted to rent.

Salamone told The Patriot Ledger in November that she was never interviewed by police. This is one of the details the Murrays want to discuss with police.

‘‘They said there is no foul play involved and no leads so I would think there wouldn't be a valid reason why they couldn't be released,'' he said.

The Murrays are encouraging the public to E-mail Lynch this week to ask that officials re-examine the case with the assistance of the FBI. They also request that everyone display a blue ribbon on car antennae, rear view mirrors and homes as a reminder to pray for Maura.

The Republican
February 9, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u77b9

Parents still seek missing daughter

Her family will mark the sad anniversary with a vigil at the accident site on Route 112 and a Mass later in the day. Murray's father, Fred J. Murray of Weymouth, Mass., will start the day in Concord, N.H., asking Gov. John Lynch to assist in releasing to him state police records regarding the investigation. The state police say those records should remain in their hands so the investigation is not jeopardized.

"If the police aren't looking for my daughter and I'm the only one looking for her I need that information," Murray said yesterday during a phone interview from Haverhill. "I'm asking the governor to either release the records to me or have the state police declare it a criminal investigation. Or, I'd like the governor to ask the attorney general to accept the help the FBI offered."

"I certainly understand the family's frustrations, but it's not for any lack of effort on our part," Scarinza said yesterday. "It is absolutely an open investigation. We work on it every day."

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T22:18:51+00:00

Fred Murray Letter to Governor Lynch
February 9, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7m0xa4

Mr. Frederick Murray

Governor John Lynch Office of the Governor State House 25 Capitol Street Concord NH 03301

Governor Lynch:

Today, February 9, 2005 marks the one year point of my daughter, Maura Murray’s unlikely and highly suspicious disappearance following a minor car accident on Route 112 in North Haverhill, New Hampshire.

The investigative body, New Hampshire State Police Troop F of Grafton County, has followed up its astonishingly careless go-through-the-motions response with an unnaturally steadfast refusal to communicate on the matter since. Their investigation includes not questioning neighbors who live one hundred yards from and in sight of the accident scene until 10 days had passed, and this only after my family and friends had spoken to these people and expressed our shock about it to the police. My daughter could have walked right by or have been picked up in a vehicle by the wrong person(s) in full view of these houses. Not even the fact that their tracking dog lost Maura’s scent squarely before these properties, one of which was owned by the last person who talked to Maura, and another by the last person to actually see her, was enough to provoke the most elementary of basic investigatory technique.

Phone records reveal that Maura called a couple who rent their condominium in Bartlett, New Hampshire, where our family has vacationed for decades, just before she left the University of Massachusetts and headed directly that way last February 9. When I recently discovered that these folks had never even been contacted by Troop F it felt as if I had just been struck across the face with a two-by-four.

I remain convinced also that police have not fully developed a lead given to them concerning a local man who claimed he knew what had happened to “that girl” and disclosed the location where she had been held and by whom.

Law Enforcement’s decision on this case from its inception has been to insist that you can take your pick of three possible happenstances: suicide, runaway, or hyperthermia victim but not consider the fourth which is the probability, rather than the possibility, that is, that a bad guy grabbed her and they can’t catch him. To support their diversion the commander of Troop F twice stated during The Chronicle Program on Channel 5 in Boston that Maura wrote a final letter to her boyfriend and left it in a prominent place in her dormitory room. This clearly suggests the traditional “suicide letter”, but the deception is that she never wrote or left such a letter at all and the police were fully cognizant of this fact at that time.

The pattern certainly doesn’t indicate adherence to accepted and recommended police procedure. To date the high law enforcement officials in Concord have reacted like ostriches to this pseudo-investigation by your Troop F. I am left with a hollow, gut-wrenching sensation resulting from finally knowing for sure that the people responsible for finding my daughter are not even submitting a mail-it-in effort on her behalf. Worse still is that they remain determined to not accept the offer of meaningful participation extended by the Federal Bureau of Investigation which is strangely odd indeed.

I am appealing to you, sir, to ask Attorney General Kelly Ayotte to authorize the release of the records in this case to me through my petition under the Freedom of Information Act and the New Hampshire Right to Know Law RSA CH 91-A. I am basing this plea on the present classification of my daughter’s case as a missing person situation and not as a criminal investigation. What could be the nature of this which must be so zealously veiled from view and the motivation prompting such secrecy?

With no informational resources available I am left to desperately search for Maura all by myself. How can I do this if the police sit idly on the applicable evidence? Take, for example, her computer. If I could get it back, I might be able to discern who she contacted on that last afternoon and perhaps discover a new direction to follow. It’s one thing if Troop F isn’t willing to be part of the solution, but please don’t allow them to continue to be part of the problem.

Governor Lynch, you represent my final hope to help my little girl. I pray that you will regard reacting favorably to my entreaty, not so much as your legal obligation, but as a parent, your moral responsibility.

Hopefully,

Frederick J. Murray

WCAX
February 9, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u7vpc

Father Of Missing Woman Meets With Lynch - Police Don't Believe Foul Play Involved. The father of a Massachusetts woman who disappeared a year ago met with Gov. John Lynch on Wednesday to ask for his help in getting records of the investigation.

Fred Murray, whose daughter Maura vanished after a minor car accident in Haverhill, wants state police to release their records so he can pursue leads himself. "I asked, failing that, to have it declared a criminal investigation rather than a missing person investigation, and, if he didn't want to do that, I asked him to accept the offer of the FBI to come in," Murray said after the meeting with Lynch.

Lynch made no commitments on the specific requests. "I told Mr. Murray that I will look into the situation, and I promised to get back to him as soon as I possibly can and that's how we left it," he said.

Murray was highly critical of state police and said he's heard nothing from the investigators in six months. "I am the investigation. That's why I want the information," he said. Scarinza said his troopers talk with Murray on a regular basis when new leads appear. Murray's claim he hadn't heard from them in six months is "absolutely inaccurate," he said.

Murray's family believes someone picked her up on the road. They have searched the area many times and called in a psychic who said she believes Murray was murdered by a serial killer. Murray said he and some supporters would return to the site of Maura's disappearance after leaving the Statehouse. Murray said he planned to tie a new ribbon on a tree near the accident site and a clergyman would say a prayer. He said the hardest part of marking the anniversary would be listening to a song composed by a friend of Maura's. But he was optimistic after his meeting with Lynch. "At least I have more hope than I had before and that's why I came," he said.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T22:19:19+00:00

WHDH
February 9, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u7rvn

Missing Woman's Father Meets With Governor - Murray Last Seen In Haverhill, N.H. One year ago Wednesday, University of Massachusetts student Maura Murray disappeared in the woods of New Hampshire.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that it has been a painful year for her family, and her father, Fred Murray, is demanding answers from the governor.

Fred Murray said that he couldn't believe that his daughter ran away or committed suicide, as New Hampshire police contend. He came to the Statehouse in New Hampshire to ask the governor to intervene.

"I don't want the police just to sit on it. They have evidence that they are not using that I need. If they are not going to part of the solution, I don't want them to be part of the problem," he said.

He said that police have refused to give him copies of investigators' notes. His daughter disappeared after her car crashed into a tree in Haverhill, N.H. He said that witnesses spoke with her a few minutes before police arrived at the scene.

"When police got there, she was no more than 100 yards down the street. She is heading off into the national forest. There is no body to help, nowhere to hide, nowhere to run," he said.

Fred Murray said that police failed to look for her in any meaningful way until days later.

"Mr. Murray, it is the first time I met with (him), and as I said, I told Mr. Murray that I will look into it, and I will get back to him just as soon as I possibly can," New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said.

"We will see if he is able to do anything. If he is, great. If he is not, then I am kind of back to where I was when I came up the front steps," Murray said. "At least I have more hope then I had before."

Hanson Express
February 9, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7m1lpz

After a year, Maura Murray's family and friends are no closer to finding out what happened to her.

For the first six months after her disappearance, Maura's father, Fred Murray, trekked up to New Hampshire every weekend to search for his daughter. He combed the woods near the crash site for any trace of her, and talked to locals endlessly – two things he believes the state and local police didn't do enough of in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

“The only person looking for my daughter is myself,” he said.

On Wednesday, Murray petitioned newly elected New Hampshire governor John Lynch to release the records on the case. He said he has had difficulty obtaining many documents that should be public records. He also wants the case to be classified as a criminal investigation, which he believes may result in a more diligent investigation by the state police.

"The brakes have been slammed on what they say is an investigation,” said Murray. “When I do talk to [the state police] it's like a broken record: 'I have nothing to tell you.' "

As the details of Maura's disappearance surfaced, questions were indeed raised about the police's investigation. The initial report by local police said that “a witness” believed Maura was drunk, but when the crash's sole eyewitness, a local school bus driver, went public, he disputed that fact. The state police have also resisted attempts by the FBI, contacted by the family, to get involved in the case.

Just recently, members of Maura's family discovered that police did not look into Maura's phone records from the day she disappeared. Sharon Rausch, the mother of Maura's fiancé Bill Rausch, got a copy of Maura's last cell phone bill and found that the last call she made was to members of a condo association near where she was last seen. When Rausch contacted the people, she was shocked to find out they had never been questioned by police.

But the phone call would appear to indicate that Maura intended to stay for a few days in New Hampshire, an area where she often vacationed with her family. This has all led Fred Murray to one conclusion.

“They're not looking,” he said. “[locals] weren't involved until 10 or 11 days after the investigation…what kind of police work is that?” Other than one minor incident about searches parking, Murray said that the local residents have been pleasant and helpful. “They're very nice people,” he said. “They've been very sympathetic.”

After Fred Murray delivered the letter to Lynch, he and other members of her family gathered at the accident site on Route 112 near Haverhill, MA. The aging blue ribbon on the tree which Maura's car struck was replaced, and a local minister offered prayers.

The family has also been keeping Maura's story alive through her website, www.mauramurray.com, and other less-mainstream news venues.

Through it all, Fred Murray is hanging on to hope that his daughter is safe and sound somewhere.

“I want her alive,” he said. “But failing that I want whichever of the dirtbags that did this to be caught.” Although he is skeptical, he also hopes the State Police will be more forthcoming in the future.

“I don't want the state police to be a hindrance,” he said.

The Caledonian-Record
February 10, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r4tc0

Fred Murray Meets With N.H. Governor - Lynch Says He Will Help If He Can

Fred Murray went to Concord, N.H., Wednesday morning to meet with Gov. John Lynch to get help in finding his daughter, Maura Murray. He also asked the governor for help in obtaining the state police report on his daughter and any other investigative records to assist him in his own investigation.

Murray said he was able to meet with Lynch for about five to 10 minutes Wednesday. He said he hopes the governor wasn't just listening to get him out of the office.

"He said he would look into it," Murray said. "He asked what he could do for me. I said, 1Get the information released so I can stop wasting my time and get some direction.' There's no sense police sitting on (information) if they aren't doing anything with it."

Murray said he also asked Lynch to have state police ask for help from the FBI to help with the investigation to find his daughter. "If the state police can't do it, get people in who are willing," he said. "Get it listed as a criminal investigation to get manpower on it. Also, if it is listed as a criminal investigation, the FBI does not need to be asked by the state police to become involved."

Strelzin said he believes the information Murray is seeking is "withholdable" under the Freedom of Information Act. And he does not believe his boss, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, will call in the FBI.

Murray said Wednesday he will wait a reasonable amount of time to see if Lynch is able to get the records on his daughter's case released. If they are not released, he said he may go to court to try to obtain them. "I'm not willing to quit," he said. Murray filed a freedom of information request last year to get the records released and was denied by the state police.

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

On Wednesday Maura's father placed a new picture and bow on the tree where Maura had her accident.

"There is no question she was going to Bartlett," Fred Murray said after the observance Wednesday afternoon. "It is our favorite place. Bartlett is our home operation up here."

He said he and Maura used to visit the area four to five times a year and would hike area mountains in the region. "We've been going there ever since I changed her diapers in the woods," Fred Murray said. Although he is hopeful his daughter is still alive, he said he is also realistic. He said he has visited the area nearly every weekend since Maura's accident and disappearance to search every nook and cranny.

"I have gone into some spots (that were) really scary," he said. "Every time I feel a little lighter and younger when I come out of the woods and I don't find anything." Although he doesn't believe it actually happened, Fred is hopeful someone picked Maura up after the accident and took her to a bus station across the Connecticut River to catch a bus. "I wish we didn't have to do this," he said. "I hope it's the last time I have to do this."

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T22:19:54+00:00

The Hampshire Union Leader
February 10, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7osfg4

A year after her perplexing disappearance following a car accident, the family and friends of Maura Murray gathered at the corner where she was last seen to remember her and to pray that they would one day know what happened to her.

"Right now, I'm taking care of business -- stuff I have to do," said her father, Fred, yesterday. "I'll think about it later."

About a dozen family and friends gathered at that corner for a brief ceremony to remember her and to tend to the tree that has become a small shrine to her, tied with a blue ribbon and pictures of her.

Fred Murray cut away a faded blue ribbon and tattered photos of his daughter, replacing them with an enormous blue bow, its ribbons trailing to the ground, and new photos.

Fred Murray, who has been critical of the investigation into his daughter's disappearance, recounted the accident and pondered how Maura could have started walking down the road. He mused about how police did not travel down the road to look for her that cold, dark night.

The investigation found that Murray had packed up her dorm room and headed north to the White Mountains, where she and her father had hiked over the years.

Prior to yesterday's ceremony, Fred Murray met with Gov. John Lynch for several minutes at the State House, urging him to use his influence to release records from the investigation.

"I asked, failing that, to have it declared a criminal investigation rather than a missing person investigation, and, if he didn't want to do that, I asked him to accept the offer of the FBI to come in," Murray said after the meeting with Lynch.

Lynch made no commitments on the specific requests. "I told Mr. Murray that I will look into the situation, and I promised to get back to him as soon as I possibly can and that's how we left it," Lynch said.

"We are actively working on the case everyday," he said. "There is not a day that goes by when it's not on the forefront of our thoughts." Murray is not impressed. He said he's heard nothing from the investigators in six months. "I am the investigation. That's why I want the information," he said.

Scarinza said his troopers talk with Murray on a regular basis when new leads appear. Murray's claim he hadn't heard from them in six months is "absolutely inaccurate," he said.

A song written by a friend of Maura's was played during yesterday's remembrance. After the notes faded, Fred Murray leaned his head against the tree bearing his daughter's photo.

"I wish you were here," he said. "I didn't want to have to do this -- I sure hope this is the last time we do this."

Boston Herald
February 10, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7gkisk

Mass. dad asks N.H. gov for help finding daughter

By Marie Szaniszlo

The father of a University of Massachusetts at Amherst student who vanished a year ago on a New Hampshire road asked Gov. John Lynch yesterday to release records of the investigation and accept the FBI's offer to help find her. "Right now, I am the investigation," Fred Murray said "That's why I want the information."

Lynch said he would consider the family's request and contact them "as soon as I possibly can."

Family and friends have started a Web site, www.mauramurray.com, and are offering a $40,000 reward.

Portsmouth Herald
February 10, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6pwnlm

Missing lady’s dad visits gov. - Fred Murray asks that investigation records be released The father of a Massachusetts woman who disappeared a year ago met with Gov. John Lynch on Wednesday to ask for his help in getting records of the investigation.

Fred Murray, whose daughter, Maura, vanished after a minor car accident in Haverhill, wants state police to release their records so he can pursue leads himself. “I asked, failing that, to have it declared a criminal investigation rather than a missing person investigation, and, if he didn’t want to do that, I asked him to accept the offer of the FBI to come in,” Murray said after the meeting with Lynch.

Lynch made no commitments on the specific requests. “I told Mr. Murray that I will look into the situation, and I promised to get back to him as soon as I possibly can, and that’s how we left it," he said.

Murray was highly critical of state police and said he’s heard nothing from the investigators in six months. “I am the investigation. That’s why I want the information," he said. Scarinza said his troopers talk with Murray on a regular basis when new leads appear. Murray’s claim he hadn't heard from them in six months is “absolutely inaccurate.” he said.

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

Fred Murray rips down a worn blue ribbon from a tree standing off the side of a country road. It has been a year since his daughter, Maura Murray of Hanson, disappeared from this site on Route 112 in Haverhill. Murray puts up a new ribbon as a symbol of new hope. ‘‘I hope this will be the last time we have to do this,'' he said.

Credit cards and a cell phone were inactive and it is unlike her not to contact her family during a time of need.

After a year of waiting and wondering in anguish, Fred Murray and his family are tired of hearing questions about why Maura left school. They want to know what happened when she reached Haverhill. ‘‘They say she was suicidal and a runaway but there is no sign of it. The wrong guy picked her up,'' Murray said.

Murray brought this message directly to Gov. John Lynch yesterday when he entered the State House's executive chamber and interrupted a meeting to personally ask the governor to release records of his daughter's case. Murray believes the New Hampshire State Police were lax in their investigation and now feels it is his duty to follow all possible leads.

Lynch made no commitments. ‘‘I told Mr. Murray that I will look into the situation, and I promised to get back to him as soon as I possibly can,'' he said.

Murray said the meeting was a positive start toward repairing relations between him and investigators handling the case. New Hampshire State Police Lt. John Scarniza said that if Lynch's office calls he won't be able to offer any new information even though his detectives have spent ‘‘thousands'' of hours investigating the case. ‘‘Contrary to what Mr. Murray says, this case continues to be a high priority,'' he said.

Music and prayer - Murray's State House appearance was followed later in the afternoon with a prayer vigil at the crash site.

A group of family and friends followed Murray from Concord north to where Maura was last seen. The trip along Route 112 (the Kancamagus Highway) winds through the White Mountain National Forest and along the Wild Ammonoosuc River in some of the most deserted areas of the region.

‘‘It's hard to come here. This place reminds me of her because I've been up here so many times to look for her,'' said Maura's brother, Fred Murray of Hanson.

The Murrays spent the last year traveling this rugged country on the weekends to search and investigate on their own. While some locals sympathize with the family, others are upset by their walking on private property, questioning of neighbors and the media attention the case has brought to their rural community.

Neighbors disagree. The owner of a general store near Haverhill feels the same resentment toward Fred Murray. ‘‘He's just wrong. He's not telling us everything about her and what he's done is turned neighbor against neighbor up here,'' Bill Matteson said.

‘‘I don't want to down our police department but I honestly don't know if they searched enough. I don't care about her background or if she was drinking. My feeling is she was picked up and we need to know what happened.'' Murray said he won't rest until that question is answered. ‘‘I'm encouraged,'' he said after meeting with Lynch. ‘‘But I'll be more encouraged when I see a better response (from police).''

WCAX
About December 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yggha

Father sues for records in case of missing woman The father of a Massachusetts woman who disappeared nearly two years ago in northern New Hampshire is suing to try to get investigative files.

Fred Murray of Hanson (Massachusetts) argues several police departments, the attorney general and the governor have violated the state Right to Know Law and federal Freedom of Information Act by not releasing files he has requested in the disappearance of his daughter, Maura Murray.

Murray disappeared on February ninth, 2004, after a minor crash in Haverhill. Fred Murray believes his daughter was a victim of foul play. He says authorities are treating her disappearance as a missing person's case.

[deleted] · 2016-09-25T22:20:21+00:00

The New Hampshire Union Leader
December 28, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u7xoi

Father suing for records in 'missing' case. The father of a woman who disappeared nearly two years ago after a minor car accident is suing several police agencies, as well as the governor, seeking the release of information tied to the investigation, according to court documents filed last week.

Fred Murray, father of Maura Murray, filed the papers last Wednesday in Grafton County Superior Court, charging that state police, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, Gov. John Lynch, the state Fish and Game Department, Grafton County Attorney Ricardo St. Hillaire, the Grafton County Sheriff's Department and the Hanover Police Department, where the initial 911 call went after the report of the accident in February 2004, have violated the state's Right to Know Law and the federal Freedom of Information Act in not releasing investigative information he has requested in the years since his daughter's disappearance.

Murray requested an expedited hearing on the lawsuits and it has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 18 at the Grafton County Superior Court. The documents were filed by the Chelmsford, Mass., law office of Gallant and Ervin.

In the months that followed, according to the court papers, Fred Murray has requested the records pertaining to the investigation and was denied. Murray, in the court papers, contends that investigators have treated the case as a missing persons case.

Authorities have repeatedly maintained that they do not believe Maura was a victim of foul play," according to the court papers.

Yet, Murray maintains, his requests for the records were denied on the grounds that production called for confidential records created . . . or would constitute an invasion of privacy."

The documents contend that Murray has been assured "that the investigation into his daughter's disappearance is ongoing, but that he has not been made aware of any specific efforts the governmental authorities have taken in pursuing this matter within the past several months."

And, the court papers continue, If the investigation has concluded, (Murray) should be made aware of that fact" and the investigation turned over to him so he can continue to look for information in hopes of finding his daughter."

From the outset, Fred Murray has believed his daughter met with foul play.

The most compelling reason favoring disclosure in this case centers on the fact that Maura could very well still be in danger and disclosure of the information compiled by authorities could help locate her," according to the court papers. Although (investigators) have continued to dispute the notion, Fred Murray's familiarity with his daughter leads him to believe that it is likely that Maura Murray was the victim of foul play and may even still be in danger, rather than she went missing of her own accord."

Murray is requesting items such as accident reports, the inventory of items taken from her car, a copy of her computer hard drive left behind at her University of Massachusetts/Amherst dorm room, documents pertaining to searches, witness statements and the surveillance tape from a liquor store where she made a purchase.

On the first anniversary of his daughter's disappearance, Murray sent a letter to Lynch requesting his help in obtaining information.

The investigative body . . . has followed its astonishing careless go-through-the-motions response with an unnaturally steadfast refusal to communicate on the matter," Murray wrote.

Boston Globe
December 29, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7s8u93

Father of Missing Woman Sues N.H. for Records of Case. From the moment his daughter disappeared on Feb. 9, 2004, Fred Murray believed she was a victim of foul play.

Fred Murray, however, has been highly critical of police, and he met with Governor John Lynch earlier this year to ask for his help in getting records of the investigation. Now, he has sued Lynch, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, State Police, and other law enforcement agencies, seeking the release of information such as accident reports; an inventory of items taken from her car; a copy of his daughter's computer hard drive; and a surveillance tape from a liquor store where she made a purchase.

A hearing on Murray's request has been scheduled for Jan. 18 at Grafton County Superior Court.

But Fred Murray contends he hasn't been made aware of "any specific efforts the governmental authorities have taken in pursuing this matter within the past several months."

"The most compelling reason favoring disclosure in this case centers on the fact that Maura could very well still be in danger, and disclosure of the information compiled by authorities could help locate her," the lawsuit says.

"The case continues to be pursued vigorously," she said. "Mr. Murray's had frequent contact with both my office and members of the State Police. In fact, I personally met with him along with lead investigators of the State Police last spring, and he was assigned a victim's witness advocate from my office."

The Caledonian-Record
December 29, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r4jgu

Father Sues State, Police Over Missing Daughter

New Hampshire state and law enforcement officials are facing a lawsuit filed against them by the father of a missing 21-year-old Massachusetts woman. Her father has been seeking police records regarding the accident scene and her disappearance for nearly two years. He has sought the information under the New Hampshire Right-To-Know Law as well as the federal Freedom of Information Act.

Murray has filed a lawsuit in Grafton Superior Court.

According to The Associated Press, Murray has been highly critical of police and met with Gov. John Lynch earlier this year to ask for his help in getting records of the investigation. He's now sued Lynch, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, state police and other law-enforcement agencies seeking the release of information tied to the investigation, such as accident reports; an inventory of items taken from her car; a copy of his daughter's computer hard drive; and a surveillance tape from a liquor store where she made a purchase.

"I actually do hope to get the records," Murray said. "It is a missing person's case, not a criminal investigation, according to police. I need the records because I am still actually searching for her."

Murray said he has been told by police and the state attorney general's office that information cannot be released because there is an ongoing investigation.

"... The case continues to be pursued vigorously. Mr. Murray's had frequent contact with both my office and members of the state police. In fact, I personally met with him along with lead investigators of the state police last spring and he was assigned a victim's witness advocate from my office," who has been in contact with him regularly, Ayotte told The Associated Press.

Murray's lawsuit seeks to determine whether the state agencies have violated the state information law.

Murray claims because state police have from the beginning classified the case as being a missing person's investigation, not a criminal investigation, the information under New Hampshire law must be provided.

A hearing on Murray's request has been scheduled on Jan. 18 at Grafton County Superior Court. "We need to narrow things down and go in a fruitful direction," Murray said. "Do I expect to get [the information]? I don't know. I hope they don't have any influence over the court."

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T00:41:48+00:00

Nashua Telegraph / Portsmouth Herald / Boston Globe
December 29, 2005
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6pxenf

Father sues state, police over probe - Man wants data released in daughter's disappearance - Father sues for records - Maura Murray disappeared in ’04 from Granite State

From the moment his daughter disappeared Feb. 9, 2004, Fred Murray believed she was a victim of foul play.

Murray has been highly critical of police and met with Gov. John Lynch earlier this year to ask for his help in getting records of the investigation.

He’s now sued Lynch, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, state police and other law-enforcement agencies seeking the release of information tied to the investigation, such as accident reports; an inventory of items taken from her car; a copy of his daughter’s computer hard drive; and a surveillance tape from a liquor store where she made a purchase.

A hearing on Murray’s request has been scheduled on Jan. 18 at Grafton County Superior Court.

She said that Maura Murray is still being treated as a missing person, but “it was a suspicious disappearance. We’ve treated the case very seriously,” she said.

According to the lawsuit, Fred Murray was denied the records “on the grounds that production called for confidential records created . . . or would constitute an invasion of privacy.”

Murray also questions whether the investigation into his daughter’s disappearance is ongoing, saying he hasn’t been made aware of “any specific efforts the governmental authorities have taken in pursuing this matter within the past several months.”

“The most compelling reason favoring disclosure in this case centers on the fact that Maura could very well still be in danger and disclosure of the information compiled by authorities could help locate her,” according to the suit.

“Although (investigators) have continued to dispute the notion, Fred Murray’s familiarity with his daughter leads him to believe that it is likely that Maura Murray was the victim of foul play and may even still be in danger, rather than she went missing of her own accord.”

Ayotte said between state police, the Fish and Game Department, other law-enforcement agencies and her own office, thousands of hours have been spent on the investigation. “The case continues to be pursued vigorously,” she said. “Mr. Murray’s had frequent contact with both my office and members of the state police. In fact, I personally met with him along with lead investigators of the state police last spring and he was assigned a victim’s witness advocate from my office,” who has been in contact with him regularly, she said. Police also have said that they talk with Murray on a regular basis when new leads appear.

Police have said that they talk with Murray on a regular basis when new leads appear.

The Republican
January 5, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6u9czp

The Murray family has been critical of the police investigation. Last week, Fred J. Murray, Maura's father, sued several state offices and law enforcement agencies in New Hampshire seeking the release of police reports and other information and items tied to his daughter's case. The family could not be reached for comment yesterday.

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T00:57:02+00:00

The Patriot Ledger
January 5, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7snk0k

A team of private investigators is joining forces with the family of Maura Murray to help find the missing 22-year-old Hanson woman.

Murray’s family has been at odds with New Hampshire authorities. The family says police have not done enough to keep them informed about the investigation.

Murray’s father, Fred Murray, has filed a court petition seeking access to police records. On the one-year anniversary of Murray’s disappearance, he hand-delivered a request for documents to New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch. It was rejected.

‘‘Essentially, he (Murray) has asked for the investigative file,’’ said Jeff Strelzin, New Hampshire’s senior assistant attorney general. Strelzin said New Hampshire authorities consider the information confidential. ‘‘We’re going to oppose that request,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ll lay out our argument in court that essentially this is a confidential file and not something that should be released.’’

Healy was put touch with the Murray’s through the Molly Bish Foundation and the Licensed Private Investigators Association of Massachusetts, an industry group that has been working on the case of missing Brockton woman Jennifer Fay.

New Hampshire Union Leader / Seacoast Online
January 6/7, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6ygi6r

Fred Murray is suing for access to records of the investigation.

Fox News - The Lineup
January 13, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7m2367

Her family has been critical of the police investigation and just last week, Fred J. Murray, Maura's father, sued several state offices and law enforcement agencies in New Hampshire seeking the release of police reports and other information and items tied to his daughter's case.

North Adams Transcript / Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise
January 19, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6q906i

Father seeks records in case of missing girl - 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.

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.

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.

WPRI
January 19, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6ygjxu

Judge denies father's records request in case of missing daughter

Haverhill, N.H. A New Hampshire judge has denied a request from the father of a missing woman to review confidential police files in the case.

Fred Murray of Hanson believes his daughter was a victim of foul play and sued to gain access to investigatory files. His suit claimed that police, the attorney general and the governor violated state and federal public information laws by not releasing the investigative files.

Her father has hired private detectives to investigate the case.

The Hampshire Union Leader
January 19, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7osu2t

Dad fights for documents in disappearance of daughter - The pile of documents relating to the disappearance of a Massachusetts woman nearly two years ago contains 2,500 pages, and her father wants to take a look at them.

Fred Murray, whose daughter, Maura, vanished from a rural road in Swiftwater in February 2004, was in Grafton County Superior Court yesterday morning, asking a judge to release those documents, a move he believes will help him in his own search.

"We want to take a fresh look and start over," Murray said after a brief court hearing on his request for release of information pertaining to the case. "This gives me my best hope and my only hope. There might be something in there that means something to me that might be the key."

Murray, through his attorney Timothy Ervin, filed last month for an expedited hearing on a motion for injunctive relief regarding information investigators have gathered in the time since Maura Murray vanished without a trace after a car accident on Route 112.

Citing Supreme Court cases, Ervin said the fact that the case has always been categorized as a missing person, rather than a criminal matter, is significant.

"The state has never characterized this as an ongoing criminal case," Ervin said, and investigators have never given any reason as to why documents cannot be released. "The overriding concern is that she has been missing for two years and there is still no information about what happened."

A team of private investigators is taking up the case of the disappearance, and Fred Murray said there is basic information he needs, such as dispatch logs, that would help create a timeline of what happened between the time his daughter was involved in a minor car accident and the time the first police officer arrived at the scene.

"I'm standing here trying to move every stone I can budge," Murray said before leaving the courthouse yesterday. "Maybe I can get a break. I could sure use it."

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T01:27:53+00:00

Foster’s Daily
Friday, January 27, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7sktqw

N.H. judge denies father's records request in case of missing daughter. A New Hampshire judge denied a Massachusetts man's request to see police files in the case of his daughter who disappeared nearly two years ago.

The Hampshire Union Leader
January 27, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7osqs2

Dad denied access to records on daughter. A superior court judge has denied a request by the father of a missing Massachusetts woman seeking the disclosure of records pertaining to the investigation into her disappearance.

Grafton County Judge Timothy Vaughn issued a five-page decision yesterday, a little more than a week after Frederick Murray sought an injunction for the release of papers relating to the disappearance nearly two years ago of his daughter, Maura.

Murray's attorney, Timothy Ervin of Chelmsford, Mass., said yesterday he would not comment on the decision until he conferred with his client.

In the nearly two years since his daughter went missing, Frederick Murray has sought, and been denied, various logs, accident reports and other information from a number of state agencies, including State Police and the Attorney General's Office.

Last month, he filed for an expedited hearing on his request for an injunction that would order the agencies to disclose the information and that hearing was held Jan. 18. Ervin argued that the information is not exempt from New Hampshire's right-to-know law. The state argued that releasing the information would impede the ongoing investigation.

Murray has been critical of how the investigation into his daughter's disappearance has been conducted. He contends that the information gathered over the past two years could help his own efforts in finding his daughter. A group of private investigators is looking into the case.

Preserving the integrity of the continuing investigation, Vaughn concluded, outweighs Murray's interest in obtaining records.

Boston Globe
January 28, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7aveq0

Father's request to see police files denied. A judge denied a Massachusetts man's request to see police files in the case of his daughter's disappearance nearly two years ago. Maura Murray went missing after a minor car accident in Haverhill in February 2004.

Fred Murray of Hanson, Mass., believes his daughter was a victim of foul play and that police have not paid enough attention to the case.

He sued to get access to files from the investigation, but a judge rejected the request on Thursday.

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T01:51:27+00:00

Boston Globe
January 29, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6st245

Father seeks data on a lost daughter - After two years, an appeal is filed. The father of Maura Murray, the Massachusetts woman who vanished on a rural New Hampshire roadside almost two years ago, will file an appeal with the New Hampshire Supreme Court in an effort to get case records that could help him find his daughter, his lawyer said.

Last week, a Superior Court judge denied Frederick Murray access to the records, saying releasing them may impede the probe.

But the lawyer, Timothy Ervin of Chelmsford, argued that the information falls under the state's right-to-know law and should be disclosed.

''They can't just, with a broad stroke, say everything's exempt," Ervin said. ''This is a missing-person's case. It's not a criminal investigation."

Murray had sued a number of agencies, including the attorney general's office and the State Police, after he was denied accident reports, an inventory of items taken from her car, and a copy of his daughter's computer hard drive, among other records.

But Murray knows his daughter better than anyone, Ervin said, and somewhere in the stacks of 2,500 pages of records may be a phone number, an e-mail address, or a name that gives him a clue.

''We want to add to what the police have done and see if we find something new," Ervin said.

Right now, he said, Murray doesn't even have a complete timeline of events for Feb. 9, 2004, the day Maura Murray, a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, disappeared after a minor car accident on Route 112. With the appeal, he said, Murray hopes that the court will release at least some of the documents so Murray and the private investigators he hired can try to figure something out.

The day Murray disappeared, officials and family members had said she lied to a professor and the campus art gallery where she worked, informing them through e-mails that she needed to return to her hometown of Hanson because of a death in the family.

Murray, a former top student and track standout at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, was described by friends and family as a responsible young woman who was very close to her family, particularly her father.

Massachusetts Daily Collegian
January 31, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6sre49

Her story remains at a grisly stand-still as her family voices disappointment with New Hampshire authorities. Maura’s parents suspected foul play from the beginning, yet many investigators still say Maura ran away, or took her own life.

Police said they see no evidence of foul play after searching the scene of Maura’s minor car accident on Route 112 in Haverhill, N.H. However Maura’s parents feel that investigators should take a fresh look in efforts to recover their daughter. The Murray family feels police do not take seriously the possibility that Maura may have been abducted.

Maura’s father, Fred Murray, met with Gov. John Lynch last year to ask for his help in getting records of the investigation. Since then, Murray has sued Lynch, state police and other law enforcement agencies in the hope of obtaining information from the investigation, such as accident reports, an inventory of items taken from her car, a copy of her computer hard drive, and a surveillance tape from a liquor store where she made a purchase.

The lawsuit claims that Murray was denied this information because the records are confidential, and their release would constitute an invasion of privacy. On Thursday, a New Hampshire judge ruled against Murray in the lawsuit.

Police have said that they talk with Murray on a regular basis when new leads appear. However, Murray says that he hasn’t gotten any feedback from the governmental investigators in several months. This leads the family to wonder if the investigation into Maura’s disappearance is ongoing.

The idea that Maura could still be in danger is the most compelling reason for disclosing the information because it could aid in locating her, according to the suit.

Though investigators might write off this notion because it is based on a “gut feeling,” Murray insists that he knew his daughter too well to believe that she would go missing on her own accord. He believes it more likely that she was the victim of foul play.

Skepticism of the New Hampshire authorities’ fortitude in finding their daughter has led the family to take the investigation under their wings as best they can. Along with continually searching the wooded area where Murray disappeared, Fred Murray has gone in search of clues in the area’s local bars, hoping to overhear any information that could lead him in the right direction.

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T02:03:49+00:00

NMCO.ORG
About April 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7m3vpj

A Circle of Hope. Family, friends and loved ones of Maura Murray met on May 2nd throughout parts of the country in ‘Circle of Hope’ ceremonies.

Fred Murray, Maura’s father held a ‘Circle of Hope’ on Route 112 at the accident site in New Hampshire.

A ‘Circle of Hope’ was held by Fred Murray’s family and friends in Weymouth, MA.

A large laminated photo of Maura adorned by a blue bow was displayed at each site as family, friends and loved ones joined hands to create a ‘Circle of Hope’.

The New Hampshire Union Leader
June 11, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yimx3

Her father, Frederick Murray, recently filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court to unseal police records on her case. In an interview this week, he said reports from the early days of the case hold important clues that could be used by his team of private investigators to find his daughter.

Murray alleges the police are using claims of an ongoing investigation to avoid disclosure. In fact, he said, there is no active police investigation.

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T02:23:38+00:00

Northcountry News
Around July 28, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6suso8

Our thanks to the Northcountry News and its Publisher Bryan Flagg for allowing the family of Maura Murray to 'speak' to its readers. As many of you know, Maura disappeared on February 9, 2004. She was last seen on Route 112 after a single car crash. Much has been said about Maura in the media and local coffee shops over the last two and a half years. Many of you have formed opinions of what happened and of Maura and her family based on what has been presented in the media and sometimes based on inaccurate rumors.

Maura is so much more than what has been presented in most of the papers. She is more than a missing person. Maura is a Missed Person, she is a daughter, a sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin and friend. My favorite quote about Maura is by one of her friends: "If you wanted to make a person, you would make her just like her." said Katie Jones a close friend of Maura's since grade school."

She is an accomplished athlete, a very intelligent young woman who was attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a scholarship while working two part-time jobs to help pay her expenses. She had scored 1420 on her SAT (740 in Math) and had been majoring in Chemical Engineering at West Point when she transferred to UMass in late January 2002. Maura continued her pursuit of Chemical Engineering Degree through her first two semesters at UMass until she decided she would rather be in the medical field.

Maura had been recruited by many schools to run track and cross country. She competed in Track and Cross Country for both West Point and UMass Amherst until the fall of 2003. As a high school freshman, she played point guard on the girls' varsity basketball team and was a good softball pitcher.

Maura also loved to camp and hike, and her favorite camping and vacation spot is in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Her father had been taking the family there since she was a small child. Fred, Maura and Billy had spent a vacation together in the White Mountains in July of 2003. We know that Maura loved your area.

Was Maura perfect--no. Did she have alcohol in the car--it appears so. Was she drinking--quite possibly. Does it matter??? Maura has been missing for almost two and a half years. Our family will continue to look for her as long as we have the ability to do so. There are those who speculate that Maura took off to start a new life. Our family does not discount anything, but believes this to be the least likely scenario for many reasons. We have no idea why Maura left Amherst, or how she came to be in your area. We know that she had hand written directions to Burlington in her car, and we know she made a call to a person who rents a condo in Bartlett that afternoon. We also know that she placed a call to a Stowe, VT information line. The car she was driving had had some mechanical problems. We're not sure whether she had not yet decided which area to head to or whether she had car trouble. Because of the way her car was found with the front end facing west, but in the east bound lane, we don't even know for sure whether at the time of the accident she was headed east or west.

Though there was apparently something bothering Maura, we believe that based on the fact that she only took a couple of outfits and things like tooth whitener and text books she was going away for a couple of days to think things through. Despite some of what was in the newspapers, she was not having difficulty in her relationship with her boyfriend, Billy Rausch. In fact had sent him an email that day telling him I love you more--". Although Billy had not yet given Maura her diamond, they were openly making plans to be married after she graduated in 2005. Maura had made arrangements in January 2004 to be employed for the summer of 2004 at a hospital near Billy in Lawton OK.

We have been so focused on finding out what happened to Maura, we don't always take the time to voice our appreciation for those who have helped us in our search, those who have had the courage to tell us about rumors, those who have given so freely of their time and energy. Because we have made friends in the area, we are aware of a particularly ugly rumor being spread very effectively. I won't discuss it except to say that it is false and may hamper our ability to find out what happened--and I for one have to ask why someone would spread such malicious rumors? Why does someone feel it is necessary to add to a family's pain? Why would anyone want to put down a family searching for a missing loved one?? To me it appears that someone sees some benefit from refocusing the attention away from the essential fact--Maura Murray hasn't been seen or heard from since February 9, 2004. Her credit cards have not been used, her cell phone was never used again, and it is our understanding that there has been no activity on her social security number.

Maura wasn't perfect and yet her disappearance has touched more people than we could have imagined. Originally, our family put up a website in the hopes of providing her friends a place to talk about her. What we found is that most of her family and friends found it too painful. Instead, we have drawn many wonderful people from Haverhill and the surrounding areas. We have people posting from all over the country and Canada. We have attracted others who have lost loved ones or had painful experiences such as being abducted. Sometimes what is said on the website is controversial and sometimes there is a post that makes us realize that there is more than the controversy--such as this post by the daughter of Audrey Groat who has been missing for 13 years: thank you all for your support, this has been a good place for me to let out some of the feelings I have been carrying for so long. It means a lot to me that so many people care, and are supportive. I really appreciate it as an adult and really wish something like this could have helped us years ago, as kids."

As with Maura, Audrey Groat is more than a missing person--she was a mother whose six young daughters were left without a mom. Though there is much more information on Maura's site, I hope you will read the info presented by the Vermont State Police at http://www.dps.state...ssing/groat.htm . As with Maura--somebody knows something, not only about Audrey Groat, but others who are missing or whose murderers have not been apprehended--Tina and Bethany Sinclair, Brianna Maitland, Laura MacKenzie and so many more. It is time to come forward, even if it has to be anonymously, our families need answers.

We would like to thank the Molly Bish Foundation for their efforts on behalf of Maura and our family and those private detectives, who through the Molly Bish foundation have volunteered their time and expertise to help find out what happened to Maura; those who have spent so much time and effort trying to figure out what happened to Maura; those who have taken the time to speak with Fred or others helping us. As Maura's dad, Fred, has said, So many people have selflessly and enthusiastically given of themselves and their time, that if force of will were enough by itself, then Maura would have been back with us many months ago. When people ask me if there is anything that they can do, I tell them that I know they would already have done it if there were.

Your universally overwhelming support is a striking demonstration, yet again, of the inherent goodness of people. You can sense my gratitude, but I want your thank you" to come to you when you look in the mirror and see reflected a person who, by choice, interrupted his or her life to try to help another human being in trouble. If there is any worthier motivation than that, we'd all be hard pressed to name what it is.

In Deep Appreciation, Fred Murray"

If you know anything or saw anything no matter how insignificant you might believe it to be, it might be the one piece of the puzzle that we are looking for. Please contact us. We can be reached at two email addresses MauraMissing@hotmail.com or MissingMaura@comcast.net. We can also be reached at MauraMurray.com, P.O. Box 466, Humarock, MA 02047. If you have a significant piece of information, you can also contact Lt. Mark Mudgett of the New Hampshire State Police, Major Crimes Unit at (603) 271-2663 and NH State Police Headquarters (603) 271-3636.

The New Hampshire Union Leader / North Adams Transcript / Boston Globe
September 22/23/24, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6q8tuu

Missing woman’s dad seeks information

It’s been over two years since Maura Murray disappeared after her car got stuck in a snow bank in Haverhill, and her father hasn’t given up his quest for information.

Fred Murray is asking the state Supreme Court to rule on his right to-know request for police records.

Since his daughter’s disappearance, Murray, of Weymouth, Mass., has repeatedly attempted to obtain reports, log files and all information collected from Feb. 9,2004, to the present.

His requests were made to the Grafton County attorney’s office; the attorney general’s office; Gov. John Lynch; the Hanover Police Department, state police; Major Crimes and the Historic Case Unit; the Fish and Game Department; and the University of Massachusetts Police at Amherst. Maura Murray was a student at UMass.

Murray claims that invoking the exception is misplaced, as police have characterized Maura’s case as a missing person matter and not a criminal investigation.

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T02:43:52+00:00

The Caledonian-Record
Monday, October 23, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6ua65h

K-9 Teams Search For Student Who Disappeared In 2004 - Family Of Maura Murray Want Closure. Haverhill, N.H. -- Nearly 2 1/2 years ago, the family and friends of a missing Massachusetts woman released blue balloons and tacked a big blue bow to a tree in hopes she would be found.

When Maura's father, Fred Murray, arrived Saturday, he spent some time with the investigators being updated on the searches so far.

Getting a chance to sit down, Fred Murray said he was very impressed with the scope and thoroughness of the search efforts.

"It's coherent and they have a plan and they are marching with it," he said. "It's methodical. I am deeply appreciative of the time and effort of everyone. I think they are motivated by kindness."

Don Nason, a member of the New Hampshire League of Investigators, said six areas were chosen, including a wooded area near the search site, because of information Fred Murray and other people have provided. He declined to reveal the areas.

Murray said he will not stop until he finds out what happened to his daughter on Feb. 9, 2004.

"It just doesn't end [for the families]," he said. "So many people go missing every day all around the country."

North Country News
November 2, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7ly16v

In continuation of this non-stop effort, the NH League of Investigators, in conjunction with the Molly Bish Foundation, the Murray Family, and volunteer K9 search teams- searched various areas in the towns of Woodsville and Haverhill over the weekend.

We also met and spent some time with Maura’s father, Fred on Saturday. A person who has been stated in the past as being very hard and negative on the investigation of state and local authorities throughout the searches and investigation.

We found Fred to be a very caring and concerned individual, who is certainly not afraid to state what’s on his mind at the time. “There are simply a lot of questions which have yet to be answered,” he states. “Right from the beginning, things have seemingly been fouled up, this is a missing person, a person who may have met with foul play, and there are so many questions which have not been answered,” he continues. As we are talking, you can see that this is a man who is genuinely frustrated. “All I want is to find my daughter, it’s been over two years now, I just want to find my daughter.”

He is also frustrated with the politics of trying to get records released from the initial investigation, stating that there could be items that the police have under wraps in which family members might just have some insight on, a computer system that may give family members a clue to what may have happened or who she may have been in contact with prior to her disappearance. “Wouldn’t that help the investigation, not hinder it,” he asks. “I simply want some answers,” he states.“ I try to have a positive attitude, I wake up and put one foot in front of the other, in hopes they just might lead me in the right direction.”

His next attempt at getting records released through the NH Court system is set for some time in November.

It remains a missing person case at this point in time, basically due to the fact that there has been no evidence to support foul play. The state and local authorities have been adamant in stating that it is definitely an on-going investigation. Yet, Fred points out that Maura’s vehicle, a black Saturn sits in plain view, unprotected outside of the State Police Troop F facilities in Twin Mountain.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7ly2d1 Fred asks, “if the investigation leads law enforcement officials to believe that there was foul play involved, what chain of evidence could they prove on Maura’s car at this point?

It has been sitting outside, not in any locked holding area for quite a long time now!”

“There were things that were done, and things which were not done that you just have to shake your head at and wonder,” states Fred.

Fred did say that he was very pleased with the way the search effort was going, stating that the areas chosen for this search were being searched methodically and thoroughly.

Sunday was a different story, we spent much of the day with Fred and several other people at an undisclosed search site in a location well away from Mountain Lakes.

“Some of the information makes sense and then there’s lots you have to sift through,” states Fred as we walk through an area of woods looking for a sign of anything out of the ordinary.

It is easy to see that searching for his daughter has become an obsession for Fred, who states he owes it to his daughter to keep searching and to find the answers to the many questions which remain after almost three years. “As soon as my feet leave the bed and land on the floor in the morning, it is on my mind,” states Fred. “It just never ends, and I will keep searching until I find out what happened to my daughter.”

After spending several hours in the woods, we head back to where we had started. Nothing new, nothing gained but an area for a future search which gives Fred hope and the incentive to continue forward.

As Fred hops in my truck and I drive him back to pick up his vehicle I can’t help but wonder how he and those closest to Maura have had the strength to carry on for almost three years with no answers at all. A daughter, a sister, a friend who is in your life one moment, and gone without a trace in the next. The things most of us just read about or see on television.

It simply doesn’t seem fair I think to myself as I glance over at Fred, no one should have to go through anything like this. Living each day with this on your mind constantly, searching for that one tip, that one anonymous letter, that one big hit from a cadaver dog, a witness to come forward or anything that might bring just a little more hope in finding Maura.

The Murray Family would like to thank the many people who were involved in the recent search efforts.

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T03:56:48+00:00

Worcester Telegram & Gazette AP State News
About November 14, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yikhs

Missing woman's father in court seeking police records. The father of a missing Massachusetts college student asked the New Hampshire Supreme Court on Tuesday to release police records and evidence in her disappearance.

Maura Murray, 21, was last seen shortly after crashing her car in a snowbank off Route 112 in Haverhill on Feb. 9, 2004.

That was nearly three years ago, and her father, Fred Murray, of Weymouth, Mass., said he is frustrated at the apparent lack of progress in the police investigation - and the state's refusal to share any information with him or private investigators.

"I'm a little angry that it has to come to this, that you have a missing persons case that can remain under investigation for 50 years," he said before the hearing. "It's absolute stonewalling."

Murray's lawyer, Timothy Ervin, argued that while exemptions to the state Right-to-Know Law and the federal Freedom of Information Act allow police to withhold evidence in open investigations, they cannot withhold all 2,500 records indefinitely. He asked that a judge review the records to determine whether some should be released.

"The court has to make a specific showing that disclosure would interfere with the ongoing investigation," he said.

"We empathize and sympathize with Mr. Murray's concern over the disappearance of his daughter," she said.

The New Hampshire Union Leader / Portsmouth Herald / Sun Journal
November 15, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6q9nny

The father of a missing Massachusetts college student was at the New Hampshire Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking police records and evidence in her disappearance.

That was nearly three years ago, and her father. Fred Murray, of Weymouth, Mass., said he is frustrated at the apparent lack of progress in the police investigation — and the state’s refusal to share any information with him or private investigators.

“I’m a little angry that it has to come to this, that you have a missing persons case that can remain under investigation for 50 years," he said before the hearing. "It’s absolute stonewalling."

Murray’s lawyer, Timothy Ervin, argued that while exemptions to the state Right to-Know Law and the federal Freedom of Information Act allow police to withhold evidence in open investigations, they cannot withhold all 2,500 records indefinitely. He asked that a judge review the records to determine whether some should be released. "The court has to make a specific showing that disclosure would interfere with the ongoing investigation," he said.

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T04:42:10+00:00

MyFox Boston
December 20, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yijes

Her father, Fred Murray, of Weymouth, Mass., had sued to obtain the investigative files under the state Right-to-Know Law, saying the information would aid private investigators trying to determine her fate. However, the volunteer private investigators disagreed that police should be required to disclose their files.

The New Hampshire Union Leader / The Concord Monitor
December 21, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6ua9ik

Her father, Fred Murray, of Weymouth, Mass., sued to obtain the investigative files under the state Right-to-Know Law.

"We didn't get what we asked for yet," Murray said in a statement. "We were proven correct in our assessment that the state has not met its burden to show that the records should be withheld."

His lawyer, Timothy Ervin, said yesterday the ruling was "fair and balanced," although the court did not require the release of any records.

"We've said all along that the state has not met its burden to show that all the records they have fall within the exemption" to the Right-to-Know Law, he said. "In fairness, (the justices) couldn't order a release of records without knowing the nature of the records."

Fred Murray has said the information could aid private investigators trying to determine his daughter's fate. However, the volunteer private investigators disagreed.

"Even if the court decided that some or all of those records should be released, we don't want them," John Healy, a former state trooper who is coordinating the volunteer effort, said Wednesday. "We understand the damage it could do if certain investigative theories or avenues that led to dead ends were made public."

However, the ruling stopped well short of giving Fred Murray what he sought: either an index describing every record being withheld and the reason for keeping it confidential, so he could challenge the nondisclosure; or a requirement that a judge review the records and rule on each one.

Foster's Online
December 27, 2006
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7lz1o8

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has handed down an important ruling in the case of Frederick J. Murray v. N.H. Division of State Police, Special Investigation.

Its importance lies not just in the possibility it may help a distraught father find his missing daughter, but because the decision strengthens New Hampshire's Right-to-Know law.

The case involves attempts by Murray, a Weymouth, Mass., father, to access police records concerning his 23-year-old daughter, Maura, who went missing during the winter of 2004 in New Hampshire following a minor car accident.

With State Police failing to find his daughter, Murray has been seeking access to the records in hopes of being able to use them for an independent investigation.

Moving to the federal Freedom of Information Act, the court found it was the state's responsibility to justify withholding investigative records — that a carte blanche denial of Murray's request was not appropriate.

In addition, Murray is not seeking a public review of all documents, rather each case involves an "in camera" review — one conducted in chambers by a judge out of the public purview.

The high court's decision sends the matter back to the trial court where the Attorney General's Office will be required to justify its decision to withhold documents. The decision will also give Fred Murray another chance to further the search for his daughter.

Concord Monitor
About January 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yilse

When 21-year-old Maura Murray disappeared from a mountain road in New Hampshire on a February night in 2004, her father believed from the start she was kidnapped.

Nearly three years later, just finding her body is the last hope Maura's father, Fred Murray, and his family still cling to, even if it means confirming she is dead.

"I want to make sure I do everything I can possibly do," Fred Murray said yesterday alongside Route 112, while dogs trained to find human remains searched for her nearby. "I don't want to leave any avenue unexplored. I owe it to my daughter."

Fred Murray and a half dozen family members gathered in Haverhill yesterday for yet another search of the area where the girl's empty car was found after the accident. Maura Murray was driving on Rt. 112 near the western edge of the White Mountains on Feb. 9, 2004, when she apparently lost control of her car and plowed into a snow bank. The junior nursing student from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst was never seen again.

Family members do not know where she was going or what happened, only that they don't believe she would ever run away without contacting anyone. They believe she was abducted and most likely killed. The police have searched the area repeatedly since then, but say they have no evidence of foul play. The case's status has never been upgraded from a missing persons search.

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

Also during those three years, the New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes unit has reportedly been working on Maura's case. However, the unit and the state's Attorney General's Office are fighting Maura's father, Fred, in court about having any of the records released, including the accident report.

While he may believe police are not doing anything to find his daughter, Murray has not stopped making the trek north to New Hampshire on the weekends to look for her.

What has really frustrated Fred Murray is that he says he has turned over potential evidence to state police with nothing resulting. One example is that a man came forward and told him that the man's relative may have been involved. The man also turned over a possible weapon.

Murray drove to state police headquarters in Concord, N.H., to turn it over to state police, but he said they refused to accept it. So, he mailed the potential evidence to them and said he has not received any response or acknowledgement.

From the time Murray first talked to the media in Bethlehem, N.H., just a couple days after his daughter's disappearance, he definitely believed something had gone very wrong.

"I had an uneasy feeling at that time some local dirt bag grabbed her," he said Thursday night. "She was supposed to call me. That is what gave me the uneasy feeling. She always called when she said she would. I am still struggling to find out what everyone saw that night."

[deleted] · 2016-09-26T05:43:44+00:00

Whitman & Hanson Express
July 12, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7khnzt

Whatever was bothering Maura, she did not share it with her friends or father who visited her at UMass on Saturday, Feb. 7, less than 48 hours later.

Growing up, Maura had lived with her mother in Hanson, but she retained an especially close relationship with her father, Fred Murray.

When Fred wasn't coaching her in youth sports or attending one of her track meets, he and Maura would go camping or hiking, usually in the mountains of New Hampshire. Fred came to UMass that weekend to help Maura go car shopping. Maura's black 1996 Saturn sedan was in rough shape, running on just three cylinders. Maura drove the Saturn as little as possible. The father and daughter were looking at a three-year-old Geo Prizm. "She would have had a new car by next week," Fred said later.

After a day of car shopping on Saturday, the two had dinner at the Amherst Brewing Company on North Pleasant Street in downtown Amherst. Each time Fred visited Maura their routine included trying another of the many local brew pubs in the area.

Maura's friend Kate Markopoulos joined them at the restaurant later that night. After dinner and drinks, Maura's father was ready to head back to the Quality Inn, a motel on Russell St. in neighboring Hadley. Fred offered Maura his new Toyota Corolla to drive for the evening. Maura dropped her father off at the motel and returned with her friend to UMass.

At some point Maura mentioned that she wanted to return the car to her father that night, which didn't make sense to Kate since it was so late, Maura had been drinking and her father wasn't expecting the car until the next day, the magazine reported.

Around 2:30 a.m. Maura told friends she was heading home to her dorm room. Instead she got into her father's car and drove toward his motel. While driving along Route 9 in Hadley, Maura slammed into a guardrail causing about $8,000 worth of damage to the Toyota. Local police responded to the scene of the accident but no charges were filed.

Maura got a ride back to her father's motel. When Fred Murray learned of the accident, Maura was shaken up and extremely apologetic. "She was upset, but it was okay," Fred recalled. "If this is the only trouble a kid ever causes, then you're pretty lucky as a parent."

At 4:49 on Sunday morning a little while after the accident Maura called her boyfriend, Billy Rausch, on her father's cell phone. Billy consoled her over the phone, though he would later say he thought there was more than just the accident on Maura's mind.

Billy was an army lieutenant who was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Just a few weeks earlier Maura had arranged for a summer job at a hospital in Oklahoma to be closer to Billy. "They would have ended up married," said Fred. Later, Billy would tell a local newspaper that he and Maura were "engaged to be engaged."

After a few calls Sunday morning, Feb. 8, it appeared Fred's insurance would cover the accident and it was time to "move on." Fred had a work obligation in Bridgeport, Connecticut so he rented a car and dropped Maura off at her UMass dorm. That evening at 11:30 p.m. Fred talked to Maura on the phone and reminded her to pick up accident forms from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Maura agreed to call her dad on the phone the next night (Monday) at 8 to go over the forms and fill out the insurance information.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7khx6v

Finally, Maura grabbed her favorite stuffed animal, a monkey her father had given her, and a diamond necklace from Billy.

As she promised her father, Maura obtained accident forms before leaving town; the forms were later found in her vehicle. Maura may have stopped at the Registry of Motor Vehicles on Route 9 in neighboring Hadley or she could have downloaded them from the Registry website.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7ki910

Maura never smoked and was vehemently anti-smoking, according to her mother and father.

In a later interview with Maura's father, Fred Murray, the Westmans could not agree on an exact description of the person in the black Saturn. Faith Westman believed she had seen a man with a cigarette, while Tim Westman believed it was a woman at the scene on her cell phone and that the red light from the phone looked like the tip of a cigarette.

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

When asked if Maura could have put the rag in the tailpipe, her father said it was possible. If smoke was trailing out of the tailpipe, Maura may have wanted to plug the pipe to avoid attracting attention from police.

At 3:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Fred Murray got a voicemail on his home phone telling him his car had been abandoned in Woodsville, New Hampshire. Fred was at a contract job in another state and did not receive that message until much later. At 5 p.m. Fred received a cell phone call from his daughter Kathleen; Maura's car had been abandoned and she was missing, Kathleen told her father.

Shortly after talking to Kathleen, Fred Murray called the Haverhill Police and insisted they immediately start searching for his daughter. Police told Fred that New Hampshire Fish and Game Service could start a search Wednesday if Maura was not yet found.

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

Maura's father, Fred Murray, was the first to arrive. Fred is an intense, energetic man in his 60s with a wiry frame, graying hair and a passion for the outdoors. He knows the White Mountains intimately and often hiked and camped in the area with Maura, the youngest of his three daughters.

Fred had visited Maura the prior weekend at school in Amherst, Mass. Following a two-day visit and some car shopping with Maura, Fred departed on Sunday to Bridgeport, Connecticut for a contract job at a local hospital where he worked as a medical technician. This was the last time Fred ever saw his daughter.

It was around 5 p.m. on Tuesday that Fred first heard of Maura's disappearance. After several frantic phone calls to Haverhill police, he hit the road in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and arrived at the Haverhill, N.H., police station just before dawn.

As police arranged a formal search party, Fred headed to Wild Ammonoosuc Road (Rt. 112), a rural, twisting route that hugs the Wild Ammonoosuc River and later turns into the Kancamagus Highway. Maura's Saturn had been found just past a sharp elbow in a heavily-wooded section of the road.

Fred combed the snow-covered area lining the street; no snow had fallen since Maura disappeared and that made the search for footprints less difficult. Her car had already been towed away but Fred scoured the scene looking for any clues his daughter may have left behind. There was no sign of Maura.

"You find footsteps; you're following them, but you're afraid to look down because it might be your daughter," Fred later recalled.

There was little good news to report that day. Fred Murray and the rest of the family came up empty in their search along the Kancamagus Highway. The New Hampshire Fish and Game's helicopter search turned up only deer and moose tracks.

Caption: Though it clearly pained him to talk about Maura’s disappearance, Fred welcomed the growing media attention the case generated, believing it to be a key in bringing his daughter home.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7kimwk

Fred Murray was asked if his daughter had recently experienced any traumatic events. He could only think back to Amherst when Maura banged up his new car. But in Fred's words, "It wasn't a big deal."

In New Hampshire, the search efforts continued on Thursday. Fred and other family members posted flyers and canvassed the area. "We went to every spot we thought she might go to -- hotels and motels -- and put up flyers," Billy Rausch said later.

After wrapping up their own search that day, Fred and Billy met with reporters in an outdoor press conference in Bethlehem, N.H. on Thursday night. "This is very unusual," Fred explained to reporters. "It's not like her to just take off."

Fred pleaded for Maura to come home. "I don't know what the matter is, or the trouble you think you might be in, but it isn't anything we can't solve," he said through the media. "It's me - you can tell me. We'll work it out until we solve it."

Haverhill police were suspending their search efforts until new leads developed, Billy Rausch told reporters that evening.

Family members planned to continue their search into Vermont on Friday, reasoning that Maura could have been headed to Burlington or Stowe. But when Fred walked into Vermont police stations on Friday, he was dismayed to learn that local law enforcement officers knew nothing about Maura's disappearance.

"I could hit a three iron over the river into Vermont where there was no investigation," he said.

The frustration level was growing for family members. Fred was already distraught having learned that on Monday night, when Maura's car was found, the Haverhill Police had not called ahead to alert other police stations along Route 112.

"They should have put money and manpower where it counted -- February 9th and 10th," Fred said in a later interview.

[deleted] · 2016-09-27T01:48:48+00:00

Whitman & Hanson Express
July 12, 2007
Part 2
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7kipgb

Fred was unrelenting in his pursuit. He chased down every new rumor, turned over debris, looked through rivers and scoured every remote trail for any sign of Maura.

After spending hours searching in the woods "down long dirt roads where you wouldn't hear a thing," Fred would emerge, as he said, "muddy, gooey" and covered in "200 ticks...mosquitoes and black flies."

It was 10 days after Maura went missing when Fred realized that some residents living within eyeshot of the accident scene had not yet been interviewed. He voiced his displeasure with police.

The second search had done little to assuage Fred's frustration. He feared the status of "missing person" would be a roadblock in pursuing an investigation, and told the media, "We should think of it in terms of a criminal investigation. ... Let's grab the bull by the horns and call it foul play."

Bleary-eyed, but resolute Fred also checked out of the Wells River Motel after three solid weeks searching for Maura.

He was not giving up though; Fred would become a regular at the motel, returning nearly every weekend over the course of the next year.

Fred Murray was as determined as a man could be. The immediate search for Maura was over. His battle to find his daughter was just beginning.

Caption: Though it clearly pained him to talk about Maura’s disappearance, Fred welcomed the growing media attention the case generated, believing it to be a key in bringing his daughter home.

A song of gentle vocals played in the background as Fred Murray pulled down a faded blue bow from a tree on Wild Ammonoosuc Road in Woodsville, N.H.

It was February 9, 2005 just a few feet from where Maura's black Saturn was found pressed against a snow bank one year before. Joining him were family, friends, a local minister and a herd of media.

He stapled a bright bow and a fresh picture of Maura onto the tree. "I hope this is the last time I have to do this," Fred told reporters.

One year after his daughter's disappearance Fred Murray visited the scene of her accident and put up a new ribbon.

By now Fred Murray knew the area intimately. Ever since his daughter went missing, he had spent almost every weekend in the White Mountains, driving up from Bridgeport, Conn., to search for any clue to Maura's disappearance.

Earlier that same Wednesday morning, Fred tipped off the media that he was headed to the N.H. State House in Concord in hopes of meeting newly-elected Governor John Lynch. With media at his heels, Fred did meet with Lynch for about 10 minutes.

This was his latest plea for FBI help in the case. Since Maura was still considered a missing person, the FBI could only join the investigation if invited by New Hampshire State Police.

Fred also asked for the governor's help in releasing police records pertaining to the investigation. He had requested documents from police such as phone logs, and accident reports. The governor assured Fred he would look into the situation.

After the meeting, Fred told reporters he hoped Gov. Lynch would intervene on his behalf, but in an interview two years later he described the meeting as no more than "window dressing" -- an effort to show the public that the governor was a "good guy."

This was Fred's second appeal to a New Hampshire governor. In May of 2004, three months after Maura disappeared, Fred had petitioned then Gov. Craig Benson for help, based in part on a new lead that developed.

Nearly three months later, after hearing numerous news reports about the search for Maura, Forcier checked his work records and realized it was the same night as Maura's disappearance. Forcier told his story to Fred Murray, who relayed the information to police.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7kj0q7

That same day Fred held a press conference at the Woodsville American Legion Hall with the parents of Brianna Maitland, a 17 year-old girl who was last seen after leaving her waitress job in Montgomery, Vermont, about six weeks after Maura went missing. Montgomery is located about 90 miles north of Woodsville. Maitland's car was found abandoned about a mile from where she worked. At the same press conference were the parents of Aime Riley who was last seen leaving a bar in Manchester, N.H. in August of 2003. Her body was found in April of 2004 in a pond in Manchester, N.H. about 120 miles south of Woodsville.

The press conference was another attempt by Fred to push for FBI help. He and the other families believed the three cases could be connected and since the Maitland and Murray cases crossed state lines, the FBI should be involved, they reasoned.

"Why wouldn't [state police] want the best help in the world?" Fred asked in a later interview. The FBI had been involved on a limited basis shortly after Maura disappeared, but its role was restricted to interviewing Maura's family and friends in Massachusetts. The Bureau would later take a more aggressive role in the Maitland disappearance but it has not been publicly involved in Maura's case.

The fact that the major crimes unit was just now getting involved in the case rankled Fred Murray, who said he was repeatedly assured that Maura's disappearance was being handled in the same manner as a criminal case despite the missing person label.

To this day, the Murray family is still in the dark as to why Maura's belongings were seized by police that day.

Meanwhile Fred Murray was conducting his own search. Nearly every weekend he drove to Woodsville to investigate any tip that came his way. Whether following up on supposed sightings of his daughter or checking out eccentric local characters, Fred was first on the scene.

Caption: "Any rumor, we'll look at," he said. "They are plenty of good suspects ... this is the worst place in the world to have an accident.”

Fred was not the only one carefully watching the local crime scene for a possible link.

"Every time some strange crime happens here people start saying 'maybe it's related to the Maura Murray case,'" said Bryan Flagg, a publisher and editor of the local newspaper, North Country News.

To this day, Fred traipses through remote paths of the New Hampshire forest, peers into strangers' vehicles, rummages in dumpsters and basements and even knocks on the doors of convicted felons. He is fearless in his search.

Fred's persistence resulted in a formal letter of complaint from Haverhill, N.H. Chief of Police Jeff Williams in April of 2004. Williams warned Fred that complaints of trespassing and parking on private property had been filed by area property owners and that repeat offenders would be arrested. Police would not say how many complaints were filed or by whom, though one resident and witness to the accident, Faith Westman, later admitted to submitting an official complaint; many other Woodsville residents have said searches had not been a problem and were sympathetic to Fred's situation.

Fred chased down rumor after rumor. Most led nowhere, but every now and then something turned up that merited further pursuit.

In late 2004, a man came forward to Fred with a stained, rusty jackknife. The stains were a reddish-brown color, Fred said. The man told Fred he thought his brother may have been connected to Maura's disappearance. At the time of Maura's accident the brother was living less than a mile away, the man related. He described his brother as having a record of violence and said that his brother's live-in girlfriend began acting strange around the time of Maura's disappearance.

Fred tried to turn the knife over to police but did not get beyond the plate glass window at state police headquarters, "I have what could be evidence in a capital crime," he recalled saying to the dispatcher, but the dispatcher said no one was available at headquarters to accept such evidence. Fred was told to come back during regular work hours. Fred then mailed the knife to state police along with all the information he received on the suspect. A few days later Fred received a proof of receipt that his package had reached the police but was never contacted by police regarding the knife or the possible suspect.

The brother's identity and the identity of the man who approached Fred are not being disclosed because there is no evidence he is considered a suspect in Maura's disappearance. Police refused comment when asked about the knife.

In March of 2005, Fred, always relentless, made another push for FBI intervention and the release of police records on his daughter's investigation. He met with Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen. Jeff Strelzin, State Police Sgt. Robert Bruno, who is now retired, and State Police Lt. John Scarinza. In this meeting Fred again passed along the information regarding the knife. When Fred still didn't hear back from police after that meeting, he later said, "I knew I was doomed."

Fred's frustration, coupled with failed attempts to access police records for the case, spurred him to file a lawsuit against various law enforcement agencies including the State Police in late 2005.

[deleted] · 2016-09-27T02:04:17+00:00

Whitman & Hanson Express
July 12, 2007
Part 3

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

Fred was also present for the search and aggressively pushed investigators to search an A-frame house on Valley Road near the scene of the accident. He suspected it might be somehow connected.

The property was on the real estate market, so Fred sought out real estate agent Stan Davis and asked permission to search the house. Davis confirmed that he gave Fred his consent and provided him with a key to the house.

On the first day, a cadaver dog searched the house and had hits on the second level; the next day four more cadaver dogs were put to work in the house and went "bonkers," Fred said. The strongest hits by the dogs were in a downstairs closet. Cadaver dogs are skilled in sniffing for decomposing bodies but are not able to distinguish the identities of bodies.

"We do have information that we are pursuing that this may involve a crime," said Nancy Smith, senior assistant attorney general, while testifying in court.

As an investigator, Nason is also sensitive to the police investigation for fear of "compromising" the case. Nason said most information volunteer investigators gather is only released to State Police and the Attorney General's Office; "It doesn't even go to Fred."

Fred has given up hope on the effectiveness of the police, believing "shoddy work" is likely the reason they won't release records. "They didn't do what they were supposed to do, and they've been covering up ever since." He is also disillusioned with the league of private investigators.

Fred continues with his own search.

"Anything I want done, I do it myself," he said.

It's now a warm weekend in June. Nearly three-and-a half years have gone by. Maura's story still has no ending.

Fred Murray is back in New Hampshire. He's checked in to the Well Rivers Motel, the same motel he stayed in the first day he looked for Maura.

Fred sits in an easy chair in the corner of the modest room, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands together and mostly looking down as he recalls many months of court hearings, suspects and searches.

Suddenly, Fred jumps up. He stands squarely in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips. He is talking about Maura. He remembers a hike they took not long before she went missing. These are some of his most cherished memories. Maura tailed him along the steep pitches of Bond Cliff, a three peaked mountain trail in New Hampshire's White Mountains, Fred explains. The two climbed 23 strenuous miles of ascents and descents. When they finally reached the last peak, Maura pulled a Long Trail beer out of her backpack and handed it to her father. It was a celebration of their accomplishment together.

Fred finishes his story and the motel room is silent. He walks to a window overlooking a parking lot, his hands still on his hips.

The anguished father, who does not go more than minutes after waking each day before thinking about his missing daughter, stares out the window.

"Jesus," he sighs.

The Epilogue

I poured over old news articles, checked websites and jotted down questions. Then I called Fred Murray, Maura's father. My editor thought this would be a good start. He was wrong. Fred didn't return my call, or the next one, or the next one.

Plan B was more effective. I got in touch with Helena Murray, a relative who keeps Maura's case alive through a website. She explained that media attention so close to home can be difficult for Fred. "It means people will come up to him more frequently and want to talk about it on a day-to-day basis," she wrote in our first email correspondence.

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

Fred must have heard about my trips up north - my meetings with Helena Murray and Maura's mom and sister - because four months after I began digging up information on Maura's case, Fred called. He wasted no time and got straight to the point. He was heading up to New Hampshire and I was welcome to join him.

I met Fred at the Wells River Motel in the town of Wells River, Vermont, just over the New Hampshire border. The Wells River Motel is the same motel Fred stayed at during the first search for Maura. Where do you begin when interviewing someone who spends much of his free time looking for his daughter's killer? I didn't need to know where to begin. Fred dove right in; he explained what he was doing that weekend in New Hampshire, what he had done his last trip and what the future would bring. He talked about the ongoing court case and liberally shared his criticism and mistrust of N.H. law enforcement.

One line Fred repeated throughout the day was, "it doesn't matter." If you ask what he did for a living, or why Maura packed her things, or didn't tell anyone where she was headed, he'll just answer, "It doesn't matter." "We'll never know why she came up here," Fred said.

All that matters to Fred is "what happened on Wild Ammonoosuc Road."

Fred said there was an empty beer bottle found in Maura's car. I was told by others that the bottle was in the back seat and the rear driver's side window was open a crack. Perhaps someone was in the back seat of Maura's car at some point?

Nearly everyone I have interviewed over the past months suspects foul play. Fred believes Maura may have been drinking while driving as a soda bottle with an alcoholic smell was found by Maura's car along with a box of wine found inside the car. Maura may have feared a confrontation with police and tried to flee the scene by taking a ride from a passing motorist.

One detail I have not been able to wrap my mind around is the rag Officer Cecil Smith found stuffed in the Saturn's tail pipe. Even stranger, is that the rag was from Maura's trunk. Some people assume the rag indicates a suicide attempt while Fred believes Maura was tending to her rickety car. Maybe there is another explanation. Maura could have broken down earlier and received the help of a stranger. She may have opened her trunk to access her emergency kit and the stranger snuck the rag from her trunk and stuck it in her tailpipe without her realizing.

Theories abound about possible suspects living in the woods near the accident scene. This is not the forum to toss out names of potential suspects without specific evidence. If you sit in a room with Fred Murray you will easily walk away with a list of five or six suspects - basically the underbelly of Haverhill society.

While covering this story I found many sources mistrustful of police and hopeful that media involvement would shed light on the truth, while others were protective of the police investigation, believing I could interfere with future prosecution. I was also cautioned to not aggravate Fred's relationship with police, though this warning never came from Fred.

[deleted] · 2016-09-27T02:47:46+00:00

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

Maura Murray's father, Fred Murray, could not be reached for comment. Neither could Sharon Rausch, the mother of Maura's boyfriend, Bill Rausch.

Patriot Ledger
August 7, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7so27o

Fred Murray continues to seek and follow leads in his daughter’s disappearance. He recently appealed, for a second time, a New Hampshire Superior Court ruling denying the release of police records about the case. He is thankful that Let’s Bring Them Home is offering the reward and hopes that it will prompt someone to talk.

Murray said any good citizen who had information would already have come forward. A person on the wrong side of the law might be afraid to talk, but the promise of money could change that, he said.

‘‘The reward is a good idea. I’m glad they’ve come forward with this,’’ Murray said. ‘‘It can only help. It’s kind of a play on human nature. It acts as an influence.’’

Murray said notice of the reward has appeared in Haverhill, N.H.-area newspapers. Meredith and Let’s Bring Them Home volunteers plan to visit the town in the fall, and he will be in town soon - as he often is - to hand out fliers.

And there is always the power of small-town gossip.

‘‘The grapevine there is a powerful thing,’’ Murray said. ‘‘The case is a general topic of conversation and the rumors fly. I’ve chased a million false leads, but I don’t mind hearing them. I’ll chase them all.’’

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

Was Maura upset because she had crashed her father's new Toyota Corolla about 40 hours earlier, causing $10,000 in damage?

Her father, Fred Murray of Weymouth, Mass., wants the FBI to take over the case. He believes the searches came too little, too late to save Maura, that more should have been done the night she crashed the Saturn.

"The police in New Hampshire can't do it. They've had three and a half years of nothing happening; that proves it," said Murray, a persistent critic of New Hampshire State Police Troop F and Haverhill police. "It's similar to a situation with a fire burning out of control. If the locals can't handle it, they call for help, and 'F Troop' is overmatched."

Murray said police waited 11 days to interview some of the people who lived near the accident site and then did so only after they were prompted. And, he said, police waited months before heeding pleas to call Dominic and Linda Salamone, who rent a condominium in Bartlett, even though Maura's phone records indicated she called their number at 1 p.m. the day she disappeared.

"Why would anybody have a reasonable belief (the police) were going to investigate at all?" Murray said.

It took at least 40 hours before a police brought a dog to track Maura's scent, he said. And then, Maura's scent ended in the road 100 yards from the crash with no hint of foul play, leading police to believe she took a ride away from the scene.

"I can't get it out of my mind that something stinks. I want to know what state trooper John Monahan was doing after the (dispatcher's) call when my daughter was walking down the street in pitch black with no one to ask for help, nowhere to run and nowhere to hide," Murray said.

Maura's loved ones and police have disagreed on many issues regarding what happened just before and after the crash. Her father insists Maura would be alive today if not for what he sees as a botched investigation.

New Hampshire Sunday News
October 28, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7u8b79

Saturday, Feb. 7, 2004: Maura and her father, Fred Murray, look for used cars to replace her balky 1996 Saturn. After dinner at a brewpub in Amherst, Mass., Maura drops Fred off at the Quality Inn in Hadley, Mass., takes his new Toyota for the night, and joins friends at a University of Massachusetts dormitory party.

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2004: At about 3:30 a.m., Maura crashes the Toyota while driving back to her father's motel, causing $10,000 in damage. Police gave her a ride to the Quality Inn.

The New Hampshire Union Leader / New Hampshire Sunday News
October 29, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7ot882

Early on, her father, Fred Murray, briefly considered Maura may have committed suicide.

When police assembled the Murray and Rausch families to brief them on the investigation, Maura's father "moaned and rubbed his head and said, 'Oh, no,' " according to Sharon Rausch, the mother of Billy Rausch, Maura's then-boyfriend.

"I remember Fred said, 'I always have told the kids when I got old and worthless I was going to climb my favorite mountain with a bottle of Jack Daniels and drink myself to death.' That was emotional. He thought what if there was something he didn't know about," Rausch said.

"Fred arrived in Haverhill early Wednesday. We arrived Wednesday around 7 p.m. They interviewed Billy. He was a prime suspect. He was totally distraught. I'll never forget the look on his face. He said 'I feel as dirty as Scott Peterson. They think I've got something to do with it.'" Rausch said.

Fred Murray recalls that meeting with police, but remembers talking about a movie he had seen in which an old Indian woman walks off to die when she felt she was too old to go on.

"I hadn't talked about suicide," Murray said. "No, I gave them the analogy of the old Indian woman off the bat," he said. "I remember discussing the old Indian ... It was a freaking nightmare. They just dropped the ball."

[deleted] · 2016-09-27T02:55:04+00:00

The New Hampshire Union Leader
October 30, 2007
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6ub07t

Dad won't give up on the search Fred Murray of Weymouth, Mass., is a man on a sad mission.

Since his daughter, Maura Murray, 21, disappeared after crashing the 1996 black Saturn she was driving Feb. 9, 2004, in Haverhill, he has spent many weekends scouring northern New Hampshire for any hint of her fate.

"I think a dirt bag grabbed her. I said that right off the bat," Murray said.

A few weeks ago, he tracked down tips that Maura had been murdered and her body parts buried in a sand pit.

"It makes me pretty mad. This involves the same people who are my chief suspects and the cops say, 'We looked into that,' but I don't know what that means," Murray said.

Murray talks with people on the street, private investigators and psychics and goes to local bars to find any tidbit of information to lead him to a new search. Many have led nowhere -- like a stained knife someone turned over to Murray, and a search volunteer private investigators conducted of a vacant A-frame.

"That's been debunked," he said.

Murray has been to most surrounding towns on the prowl for "dirt bags" and "renowned dirt bags" in Littleton, Lisbon, Landaff, Bethlehem and Whitefield. He cruises rural roads, looking for turnoffs and secluded areas a killer might seek out.

Critical of police Murray is critical of New Hampshire police, ridiculing state police Troop F as "F Troop bunglers." Murray is also blunt in his disdain for New Hampshire authorities and angry because he believes Maura would be alive if police had done their job properly.

A more thorough search on the dark, winter night she disappeared, leaving her car locked behind her and no solid clues to her whereabouts, may have meant the difference between life and death, he said.

Murray also heaped criticism on several newspapers, including the New Hampshire Union Leader, and accused them of conspiring to cover up mistakes he says were made by law enforcement.

But despite all of his suspects and tips, Murray is no closer to solving the case. That's why he wants access to police files.

"I don't know who grabbed her. All possibilities exist," he said.

He doesn't know why Maura left the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., without a word to anyone. He said the family spoke on the phone often and got together regularly on weekends; he and Maura especially liked to hike in the White Mountains.

"There must have been a series of nearly simultaneous things built up that bothered her, no one thing, maybe a handful of things taken together produced an effect of temporary desperation. I don't think there was one major thing, but a combination of events. It was so unlike her to do something like this," Murray said.

The fateful weekend One thing that bothered Maura a lot was that she crashed Murray's new Toyota in Hadley, Mass., when her father was visiting her at school just 40 hours before she crashed the Saturn in Haverhill.

"On Sunday, she was hurting. She let dad down. I was over that by Sunday night in my phone call to her," Murray said.

Over the weekend, he had been helping Maura find a used car, because the 1996 Saturn was running so poorly. He was staying at a motel in Hadley, Mass., near the campus.

After dinner with her father and a friend at a local brewpub in Amherst, Mass., Maura dropped her father at the motel, took his new Toyota Corolla and partied in a dorm room.

Maura crashed his new Toyota into some guardrails Sunday, Feb. 8, 2004, at 3:30 a.m. on Route 9 in Hadley, causing about $10,000 damage. The accident report cited driver inattention.

After the crash, she got a ride from police to her father's motel.

"We handled the disposition of car repair. She was upset because she let her father down, in her view. My reaction is in 21 years, if this is the only trouble my kid caused me was a car accident, how lucky am I," Murray said.

Maura picked up the accident report forms from the Hadley crash and was going to go over them with her father the night she disappeared. Two copies were left behind in the Saturn.

"She was supposed to call me at 8 that night so I could help her go over them on the phone. She did pick up the accident reports. She had every intention of calling me," Murray said.

Murray doesn't believe his daughter could have been pregnant. "No, she was on birth control pills," he said.

And he doesn't think there were any big problems in her life.

Murray has re-filed his right-to-know appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, after losing his first fight to get access to police files on his daughter's disappearance. No briefs have been filed yet, and that will likely take months.

Murray has also appealed to Gov. John Lynch and his predecessor, Craig Benson, for help.

When Maura disappeared, Murray reportedly worked in radiology in Bridgeport, Conn., but he refuses to say what he does now, although he did say he has held his current job for 2 1/2 years. He said he splits his time between Weymouth and Cape Cod, and doesn't tell coworkers Maura is missing.

"People feel it's an awkward situation. They feel they have to say something like good luck. It's easier on people and myself," Murray said.

Still, every morning when he wakes up, it takes about five seconds before Maura comes to mind.

"I wake up. I know I've got to go to work, but wham," Murray said.

"Fred, he is still up there searching. God love him, he's just hurting. "We've always been here for him," Mrs. Rausch said.

FBI help Murray wants the FBI to take over the investigation. The FBI conducted some interviews with Maura's friends early on, but nothing substantial, he said, adding authorities should invite them to participate now in the full investigation.

"We need an organization to take a fresh look with an unjaundiced eye," Murray said.

"I want the kid to be able to get on with the rest of his life without carrying this as an obligation," Murray said.

If by some chance Maura is alive, Murray would want to say to her: "Miss you, kid. Get back home. You're not in trouble. We'll pick up from where you are ... I want my buddy back.

"She was my buddy; we hung around together," Murray said. After his divorce, when Maura was six, he was determined to see his children every day when they were growing up.

Murray has many fine memories of runs and hikes with Maura, but one of the best was the autumn before she disappeared.

"We were concluding our collection of 4,000-footers. I was doing the last three I hadn't done." One day, they hiked to Owl's Head; the next day 23 miles on three 4,000-foot peaks.

"Then she whipped out of her knapsack for finishing my 48th, a Long Trail Ale, and handed it to me on the summit of West Bond.

"It was typical Maura," Murray said.

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

Four years ago, Maura Murray left her University of Massachusetts-Amherst campus, drove north into the White Mountains of New Hampshire and disappeared. Fred Murray, Maura's father, said it is long past time for federal authorities to enter the investigation because no progress has been made.

What is puzzling to Murray's family and friends is police did not notify Murray's family about the crash until nearly 24 hour later … and conducted a search, led by Fish and Game, 36 hours later.

They said Smith told them he thought the driver of the Saturn was Murray's father, to whom the car was registered.

They want to know why he asked neighbors the night of the crash, "Where was the girl?"

Because of the way the investigation has been handled by Haverhill police, the state police and even the state's major crimes unit, Fred Murray wants outside law enforcement involvement. He cannot fathom why police will not bring the FBI and its resources into the investigation.

"I think it is time for the feds to take a look," he said. "Of course, I wanted that to happen in the beginning, but the state police said they could handle it. They couldn't. It's four years later ... time for someone else to take a crack at it."

Four years later, Murray is still torn about finding out what happened to his daughter. He has spent endless, countless hours searching the rural, wooded areas of Grafton County.

"Every time I come out of the woods, I am relieved," he said. "I have been hanging onto an impossible dream [of finding her alive]."

In talking Thursday night about the lack of movement after the $75,000 reward did not turn up any worthwhile information, he believes at least one key element is in play.

"People are in fear of the dirt bags," Murray said. "It is time for someone to stand up. People, I think, are living on the edge of fear. Maura had an accident in the wrong area."

He believes if Maura's accident had happened in Massachusetts, professionals would have investigated it and the case would be closed.

Helena Murray, one of Maura's relatives, is surprised, like Fred, that the $75,000 reward for information did not lead to any useful tips or information.

[deleted] · 2016-09-27T03:03:06+00:00

The Patriot Ledger
February 9, 2008
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yi9je

A sense of loss always there; Weymouth father of missing woman will again comb New Hampshire woods where his daughter disappeared four years ago Fred Murray will be up in New Hampshire this Saturday, making a trip that any parent would dread.

Murray, of Weymouth, is looking for his daughter, Maura, who was 21 on Feb. 9, 2004, the night her car skidded off Route 112 in Haverhill, N.H. It was the last reported sighting of the young woman.

I want to think she is still alive. I have to think that," Murray said of his daughter. "Until I know otherwise, I have to think that."

Police have long treated her disappearance as a missing person case, while family members have been steadfast in their belief that Maura was the victim of foul play.

Fred Murray and Maura's mother, Laurie Murray of Hanson, both said that there are no new leads in the case.

Fred Murray is still trying to get the New Hampshire State Police to release their records in the case.

One, in particular, is the report of the State Police officer who was at the crash scene that evening," Murray said. "He was riding around that area, and there is no accounting for what he saw, what he didn't see, or where he went."

Murray said it is important for him to see that report because we are trying to recreate the timeline, of what may have happened to Maura that night.

Murray added that he would still like the FBI to get involved in the case, because I want someone to get a fresh look at it. But that agency won't join the investigation, he said, unless the New Hampshire authorities ask them to.

The FBI offered to come in, but they were rebuffed, Murray said.

Fred Murray said the pain of wondering about a missing child is constant.

The sense of loss is always there, always with you, he said. When you wake up in the morning, within 10 seconds you are aware of it.

So he will drive around Haverhill, N.H., today and once again head into the woods to look for any signs of Maura.

When I come out of the woods and I have not found anything, there is a sense of relief, Murray said. It keeps alive that slim flicker. I don't want to find her dead.

The Caledonian-Record
February 11, 2008
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d7r5yn2

Remembering Maura - Fred Murray takes a moment Saturday afternoon to remember his daughter, Maura Murray, who disappeared Feb. 9, 2004, after having a minor car accident near the tree he is standing at off Route 112 in Haverhill, N.H. Fred placed a new ribbon and picture of his daughter on the tree.

[deleted] · 2016-09-27T03:06:45+00:00

ABC News - 20/20
August 14, 2008
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yh2n0

News of that night's events reached Maura's father, Fred Murray, when police called at 4 p.m. the next day.

"My immediate reaction when I found out that my daughter was missing was right at the edge of panic. You found her car? She was in an accident? She's not there? Where is she? Where is the search now? You know, how far have you looked now? And and as it turns out, there was no search," he said.

Maura's father was angered by the lack of progress on the case, and complained that authorities had made up their mind that his daughter had run away and were not devoting enough attention to her disappearance.

But that scenario still makes no sense to Maura's father. "She didn't just wander into the woods to try to commit suicide. She has everything to live for. She was going to graduate in June into a nursing career. She was about to get engaged," he said.

However, Maura's family and closest friends have no idea what drew her to that lonely New Hampshire road. And they were surprised at some of the things police and reporters discovered.

Regardless of what brought Maura to that remote area, her father wants to know where she is now. Most weekends he travels from Massachusetts to the New Hampshire spot where Maura slid off the road and into a tree.

He has gone to the state capitol and met with the governor in a closed-door meeting, demanding answers about the investigation. His confrontations with the police and state officials, and his constant prowling around New Hampshire, raised speculation in some quarters that he was becoming kind of a nutty nuisance.

But Murray's relentless pursuit for answers caught the attention of Tom Shamshak, a former police chief and member of a group of private investigators who offer pro bono help in situations that capture their interest. In January they took on Maura Murray's case.

[deleted] · 2016-09-27T03:16:13+00:00

CNN
Wednesday November 26, 2008
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6yhspo

Every weekend for more than four years, Fred Murray has walked the road where his daughter, Maura, vanished. Family, friends and volunteers help him look in the woods and mountains near Haverhill, New Hampshire, for clues to what happened to her.

There was nothing to hint she'd be motivated to run away, according to her fiance', William Rausch, and her father, Fred Murray.

"She was in good spirits and had no worries or reason to run away from her life," Fred Murray said.

Before she left campus, police learned, Murray had e-mailed her professors and informed them she'd be absent for a few days because of a death in the family. Murray's family and friends said no one in the family had died.

Nashua Telegraph / Pittsfield Berkshire Eagle / Boston Globe / Boston Herald
February 8, 2009
https://www.reddit.com/r/MauraMurrayEvidence/comments/4yq4rq/newspaper_articles/d6q9th4

The mystery has been especially hard on Murray’s family. Her father, Fred Murray, has been pushing the New Hampshire State Police and the Attorney General’s office for answers, but because the case is still under investigation, they have revealed little about what they’ve found.

“She was just 200 yards down the road when (police) got there, two minutes’ worth,” he said. “All they had to do is go grab her and they didn’t. If they did, she’d be here with me now.”

Murray has been critical of state investigators because he believes they didn’t look for Maura quickly enough and were slow to follow up on leads. They aren’t telling him what they’re doing, he said, or if any progress has been made.

But Murray is frustrated after years of battling with investigators. "I want to put it together again from the beginning, but I don't want one arm tied behind my back," said Murray. "I want the public to know that the police have been asked, 'What did your guys do?' and they won't say."

He believes if he knew what they knew, he could put together a timeline of the night and, he hopes, a clearer picture of what happened.

Strelzin said police believe Maura Murray could have essentially run away and is living elsewhere, a scenario her family does not buy.

Murray could have also been injured in the accident, wandered off into the woods and died of exposure or ran into someone who harmed her.

“I’m 100 percent certain that it’s foul play. She was supposed to call me that night. She would have if she could have, but she couldn’t,” said Murray. “It’s a question of who.”

[deleted] · 2016-09-27T03:19:27+00:00

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

A sense of loss always there; Weymouth father of missing woman will again comb New Hampshire woods where his daughter disappeared four years ago

Fred Murray will be up in New Hampshire this Saturday, making a trip that any parent would dread.

I want to think she is still alive. I have to think that," Murray said of his daughter. "Until I know otherwise, I have to think that."

Fred Murray and Maura's mother, Laurie Murray of Hanson, both said that there are no new leads in the case.

By the time police arrived at the accident scene, there was no trace of her. One witness said that he had seen her, but only for a moment.