Missing From: Haverhill, New Hampshire
Missing: February 9, 2004
Age at Disappearance: 21
Height: 5′ 7″
Weight: 120
Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Blue/Green
Distinguishing Characteristics: Scars, Marks, Tattoos: Caucasian female. Dimples in both cheeks; scar on right calf. Dentals: Available DNA: Available
Details of Disappearance: Some time after 7:00 pm, a Woodsville, New Hampshire, resident heard a loud thump outside of her house. Through her window she could see a car up against the snowbank along Route 112, also known as Wild Ammonoosuc Road. The car pointed west on the eastbound side of the road. She telephoned the Grafton County Sheriff’s Department at 7:27 pm to report the accident. At about the same time another neighbor saw the car as well as someone walking around the vehicle. She witnessed a third neighbor pull up alongside the vehicle. That neighbor, a school bus driver returning home, noticed the young woman was not bleeding but cold and shivering. He offered to telephone for help. She asked him not to call the police (one police report says “pleaded”) and assured him she’d already called AAA. (AAA has no record of any such call.)
Knowing there was no cell phone reception in the area, the bus driver continued home and phoned the police. His call was received by the Sheriff’s Department at 7:43 pm. He was unable to see Maura’s car while he made the phone call but did notice several cars pass on the road before the police arrived. At 7:46 pm, a Haverhill police officer arrived at the scene. No one was inside or around the car. The car’s windshield was cracked on the driver’s side and both airbags had deployed. The car was locked. Inside and outside the car he discovered red stains that looked to be red wine. The officer found a damaged box of Franzia wine on the rear seat.
In addition, he found a AAA card issued to Maura Murray, blank crash report forms, gloves, compact discs, makeup, two sets of MapQuest driving directions (one to Burlington, Vermont, another to Stowe, Vermont), Maura’s favorite stuffed animal, and Not Without Peril, a book about mountain climbing in the White Mountains. Missing were Maura’s debit card, credit cards, and cell phone, none of which have been located or used since her disappearance.
At 8:00 to 8:30 pm, a contractor returning home from Franconia saw a young person moving quickly on foot eastbound on Route 112 about 4 to 5 miles (6 to 8 km) east of where Maura’s vehicle was discovered. He noted that the young person was wearing jeans, a dark coat, and a light-colored hood. He didn’t report it to police immediately due to his own confusion of dates, only discovering three months later (when reviewing his work records) that he’d spotted the young person the same night Maura disappeared.
Just before 8:00 pm, EMS and a fire truck arrived to clear the scene. By 8:49 pm, the car had been towed to a local garage. At about 9:30 pm, the responding officer left. A rag believed to have been part of Maura’s emergency roadside kit was discovered stuffed into the Saturn’s muffler pipe. Authorities would only refer to Maura as missing the next day, almost twenty-four hours after she was last seen.
Investigative Agency: New Hampshire Cold Case Unit 603-271-2663 or 603-271-1255
If you have any information on this case please contact CUE Center For Missing Persons using the contact form below or contact Cue Center at (910) 343-1131 24 hour tipline (910) 232-1687. All information submitted to CUE Center For Missing Persons is confidential.