DiscoverScroll article

On February 9, 2004, Maura Murray, a 21‑year‑old nursing student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, disappeared after a single‑vehicle crash on Route 112 near Woodsville, a village in the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, United States.

Earlier that afternoon, she had emailed her professors and work supervisor to say she would be away for a week due to a death in the family, which her relatives later said had not occurred. Murray left campus in her car and drove north for reasons that remain unknown. At 7:27 p.m., a local resident reported a car off the road near her home, and a passing motorist briefly spoke with the driver, who declined assistance and said she had already called for help. When police arrived at 7:46 p.m., Murray was gone, leaving behind her vehicle and personal belongings. The investigation into Murray's disappearance has been extensive and long‑running. In 2009, the case was transferred to New Hampshire's cold case unit and is now treated as a "suspicious" missing‑person investigation. Murray's disappearance has drawn significant media attention and widespread public speculation, appearing on programs such as 20/20 and Disappeared and generating extensive online discussion.

Maura Murray was born on May 4, 1982, in Brockton, Massachusetts, the fourth child of Frederick "Fred" and Laurie Murray.

About 10 minutes later, police showed up to the scene and Maura Murray was gone."

Fred then contacted Haverhill police and was told that, if Murray was not reported safe by the following morning, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department would start a search. At 5:17 p.m., Murray was first referred to as "missing" by Haverhill police. At 3:05 p.m., police reported Murray might be headed to the Kancamagus Highway area, and she was "listed as endangered and possibly suicidal." The police report also stated Murray was intoxicated at the crash site, although the bus driver who interacted with her had said she did not appear impaired. His brother and his brother's girlfriend were said to have acted strangely after the disappearance, and the man's brother claimed he believed the knife had been used to kill Murray. In 2005, Fred Murray petitioned New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson for help in the search, and appeared on The Montel Williams Show in November 2004 to publicize the case. On February 9, 2005, the first anniversary of Murray's disappearance, a service was held where the car was found, and Fred met briefly with New Hampshire Governor John Lynch. In 2014, on the tenth anniversary of Murray's disappearance, Strelzin stated that "We haven't had any credible sightings of Maura since the night she disappeared." In an article published in the New York Daily News on the tenth anniversary of his daughter's disappearance, it was reported that Fred Murray believed she was dead and had been abducted the night of her disappearance. In February 2024, on the twentieth anniversary of her disappearance, New Hampshire officials released an age-progression photo of Murray. Author and journalist James Renner reported that Murray and Baldwin had been in a relationship at West Point, and that Baldwin had been Murray's student advocate before a review panel that investigated Murray for a breach of discipline.

But when Maura Murray disappeared, the social Web was in its infancy.

In 2017, the Oxygen network produced a six-part television documentary miniseries titled The Disappearance of Maura Murray, hosted by journalist Maggie Freleng. Murray's disappearance was the subject of the nonfiction thriller True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray by journalist and author James Renner. Disappearance of Brianna Maitland, in Vermont in March 2004; her disappearance occurred one month after Murray's and under similar circumstances, with her car being found mysteriously abandoned. True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray.

Repository of information, James Renner's The Disappearance of Maura Murray blog

Quick Facts

• Murray's disappearance was the subject of the nonfiction thriller True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray by journalist and author James Renner.
• Maura Murray was born on May 4, 1982, in Brockton, Massachusetts, the fourth child of Frederick "Fred" and Laurie Murray.
• Murray left campus in her car and drove north for reasons that remain unknown.
• When police arrived at 7:46 p.m., Murray was gone, leaving behind her vehicle and personal belongings.
• In 2009, the case was transferred to New Hampshire's cold case unit and is now treated as a "suspicious" missing‑person investigation.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Disappearance of Maura Murray". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.