Crime Junkie is investigating the case of Maura Murray, a nursing student based at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, who took a drive up to New Hampshire one day 20 years ago and vanished without a trace.
On Monday, February 9, 2004, 21-year-old Maura packed up her black Saturn 4-door sedan and headed north. She had lied to her teachers, telling them there had been a death in the family and said she’d be away for a week.
She got as far as Haverhill, New Hampshire before her car came off the road on Route 112. At least two witnesses spotted Maura, seemingly uninjured, standing beside her car at the side of the road, and both of them telephoned the police. One witness spoke to the student, and she told them she had already contacted AAA and asked them not to call the police.
When the cops arrived, they found the locked Saturn but no sign of Maura. There has been no trace of her since then.
The authorities conducted a large-scale search of the area but without any luck. There were reportedly no signs of tracks leading into the woods, which led to speculation that Maura was either snatched by somebody or willingly left with someone from the roadside.
Multiple agencies, including The FBI, have taken on and repeatedly examined Maura’s disappearance. The case is classed as a missing persons, but the circumstances are considered suspicious.
Maura Murray missing: The destination of nursing student was unknown
Maura didn’t tell anyone where she was going. Before her trip, she had searched for directions to Burlington, Vermont, and had made a call to Stowe, Vermont, but she hadn’t made any reservations.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelThe student had also called for information on a condo in Bartlett, NH, somewhere she had previously stayed with her family and an area she knew well. She had always enjoyed hiking in the nearby White Mountains.
Maura’s father, Fred Murray, suspects she was on her way to Bartlett when she was grabbed by a local. In 2014, he told WMUR 9, “My initial thought is still what I think: somebody locally grabbed her who knows the area, knows where to go, knows how to get into someplace and out of someplace without being seen.”
However, local resident Jeanne Foley suggested, “I never had that feeling that it was a local person. I always felt she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and someone came along.”
Maura Murray description: The police and FBI are still looking for missing student
Maura is described as having light brown hair, green and blue eyes, and was 5’7″ tall and weighed 120 to 125 pounds. She has dimples on both cheeks and a scar above. She would now be in her 40s.
If anyone has any information on what happened to or the whereabouts of Maura, they should fill out the tip form on the New Hampshire Department of Justice website or contact the FBI.
MISSING: Maura Murray is available to download now on Crime Junkie.