The Story of Maura Murray Part 2.

That evening, around 7:00 p.m, Maura was traveling along New Hampshire Route 112, locally known as Wild Ammonoosuc Road, when she crashed her car into a snowbank. Faith Westman heard a loud thump from inside her home on Wild Ammonoosuc Road. Faith could see Maura’s car lodged in a snowbank from her window.

Virginia and John Marrotte, could see Maura’s car from their kitchen window. They said Maura was walking around the car and she had her hazard lights on.

Arthur “Butch” Atwood, a school bus driver, drove by the scene of the accident and stopped to provide help. He said Maura was struggling to get out of her car, because her door was hitting the snowbank, but she wasn’t injured. Butch offered to call the police, but Maura told him she had already called AAA, so there was no need to call police. Butch offered Maura to stay at his home, and wait for help to come, Maura declined the offer. Police painted Maura and Butch’s encounter a little different, the police report states Maura pleaded Butch not to call the police.

At 7:27 p.m. Faith called the Grafton County Sheriff's Department to report the accident, she described Maura’s car being in a “ditch.” Butch not completely believing Maura’s story that help was on the way, because of bad cell phone service in the area. Called 9-1-1 to report the accident but had a hard time getting through, at 7:43 p.m. he finally got through.

At 7:46 p.m Sgt. Cecil Smith of the Haverhill Police Department arrived at the scene of the accident. About 7-9 minutes after Butch left Maura, she was no longer with her car, she disappeared. Sgt. Smith saw red stains that seemed to be red wine both inside and outside Maura’s car. On the back seat of the vehicle, Sgt. Smith discovered a damaged Franzia wine box and an empty beer bottle. He also discovered Maura's AAA card, a blank accident report form, gloves, CDs, makeup, diamond jewelry, directions to Burlington, Vermont, Maura's favorite stuffed animal, and the book “Not Without Peril”, a book about mountain climbing in the White Mountains. Maura's debit and credit cards, as well as her cell phone, were missing. During his investigation Sgt. Smith found a rag in the tailpipe of Maura’s car.

After searching the scene of the accident, Sgt. Smith spoke with Faith and her husband Tim to ask what they had seen. Next, he drove to Butch’s home and saw Butch sitting in the school bus. Sgt. Smith asked Butch “where’s the girl,” Butch told him he didn’t see anyone since leaving Maura’s car. Sgt. Smith and Butch both drove around the area to search for Maura. Butch drove around in a loop from Mountain Lakes to Swiftwater Stage Stop General Store in Bath, N.H. and it’s believed Sgt. Smith went westbound on Route 112. Nobody searched Route 112 Eastbound according to Maura’s dad.

At 7:56 p.m. EMS arrived at the scene, followed by a fire truck. EMS finished their job by 8:03 p.m. and by 8:49 p.m. the fire truck finished their job and left the scene. Maura’s car was taken to Lavoie's Auto Care Center on Route 10 in Haverhill, N.H.

New Hampshire State Trooper John Monahan also stopped by at the scene of Maura’s accident, it’s unclear if Monahan was dispatched to the scene or if he was passing by, the time he arrived is also unknown.

Between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m. a contractor heading home from Franconia, N.H. saw a young person walking eastbound on Route 112 around 4-5 miles east of where Maura's car was found. The young person had on jeans, a dark coat, and a light-colored hoodie.

The next day, February 10th, around noon, police issued a “Be on the Lookout” or BOL for Maura. At 3:20 p.m. police left Maura’s dad a voicemail on his home phone. Around 5:00 p.m. Maura’s sister Kathleen called her dad on his cell phone, and told him that Maura’s car had been found abandoned in Woodsville, N.H. and she was missing. Fred called the Haverhill Police Department, and told them to start searching for Maura right away. The police told him that the New Hampshire Fish and Game Service could start searching the next day, if Maura was still missing. Maura was officially referred to as missing at 5:17 p.m. by the Haverhill Police Department, about 22 hours after her last confirmed sighting.

Fred arrived at the Haverhill Police Department just before dawn on February, 11th. Later that day Maura’s sister Kathleen, her brothers Fred and Kurtis, and her boyfriend Billy and his parents arrived in town. Her sister Julie flew in from North Carolina a few days later. They all stayed at the Wells River Motel in Wells River, Vermont. Unfortunately, Maura’s mom had a fractured ankle so she had to stay home. Maura’s family searched the area and spoke with people, and asked if they had seen Maura.

On February 11th, around 8:00 a.m. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Service started their search for Maura, around 36 hours after Maura’s last confirmed sighting. A police dog was given a sniff of one of Maura's gloves, and tracked her scent a 100 yards to the east of the location where she drove into the snowbank; the dog lost Maura’s scent there.

The searches turned up nothing. That evening police started to speculated that Maura was suicidal or had planned to disappear. Police found no evidence of foul play or that Maura had wandered off into the woods. Haverhill Police Chief Jeff Williams said it was within Maura’s legal rights to disappear and to not want to be found.

The next day, February 12th, police had sent a press release claiming that Maura was "listed as endangered and possibly suicidal" and may be headed to the Kancamagus Highway area. According to the press release, "witnesses at the scene reported seeing a lone female with no apparent injuries who appeared impaired due to alcohol consumption." Who the witnesses were that claimed Maura appeared to be drunk are still unknown.

Maura’s family and boyfriend continued their search for her on February 12th, they also posted missing person flyers. Police continued their search for Maura as well. That night, Fred and Billy met with reporters and held a press conference in Bethlehem, N.H. "This is very unusual," Fred told the reporters. "It's not like her to just take off." The Haverhill police department were suspending their search efforts until new leads developed, Billy told the reporters.

On February 13th, Maura’s family extended their search into Vermont, thinking police would’ve been notified about Maura’s disappearance, Fred walked into a local Vermont police station. He was shocked when police told him they knew nothing about Maura’s disappearance. Haverhill, N.H. borders Vermont.

Fred and the rest of Maura's family were relentless, they kept searching for Maura and chased down every lead, no matter how big or small. 10 days after Maura’s disappearance, Fred found out that some local resident, living close to the scene of Maura’s accident, had never been questioned by police. Fred told police he wasn’t happy with their efforts to find his daughter.

Fred's unhappiness resulted in a second search for Maura. The second search was conducted on February 19th. A two-mile radius around Route 112 in Woodsville, N.H. was scoured by state police, members of the New Hampshire's Fish and Game conservation team, three search dogs, and a helicopter crew.

During a press conference that evening, Lt. Todd Bogardus of Fish and Game said the search came up empty. "Ground crews checked trails and roadways...there are no conclusive clues to continue."

When the second search turned up nothing, Maura’s siblings slowly returned home. Fred continued his search for Maura. Maura’s belongings that were in her car were returned to her family at the end of February. About 2 weeks after the second search Billy had to return to Fort Sill, Oklahoma on March 2nd. After checking out of the Wells River Motel where they were staying, Fred came back nearly every weekend for the next year to search for Maura. Fred was determined to find Maura.

On March 19th, 17 year old Brianna Maitland disappeared in Montgomery, Vermont, about 66 miles from the location Maura was last seen. She disappeared under similar circumstances, police have said the disappearance of Maura and the disappearance of Brianna are not connected.

Fred received a letter, dated April 2nd, from Haverhill Police Chief Jeff Williams warning against trespassing. The letter states that residents had filed complaints that Fred, Maura’s family and friends were trespassing. Residents have disputed the claim that they filed trespassing complaints with the police department. Instead, they’ve said people searching for Maura could go on their property, and that it’s no problem at all. They want Maura to be found just like her family and friends.

The items discovered in Maura's car that were returned to the family, at the end of February, police asked the family to return the items back to them for forensic analysis on July 1st. On July 13, up to 100 searchers, including state troopers, rescue workers, and volunteers, conducted a search in a one-mile-radius of the scene of Maura’s accident.

In November, Fred appeared on the Montell Williams Show to bring nationwide attention to his daughter’s disappearance.

A rusty, dirty knife that belonged to a man, who had a criminal background and lived less than 1 mile from where Maura’s car was found, is said to have been given to Fred by the man’s brother in late 2004. The man's brother claimed he thought the knife had been used to kill Maura, both the man's brother and his girlfriend were reported to have behaved oddly the day of Maura’s disappearance. His brother allegedly scrapped his Volvo a few days after Fred got the knife. According to the man's family, he had a history of drug use, and made up the story in order to get paid a reward.

In 2005, Fred petitioned Craig Benson who was the Governor of New Hampshire at the time to help in the search for Maura. On February 9th, the 1 year anniversary of Maura’s disappearance, a service was held at the location where she had her accident. Fred also briefly met with New Hampshire Governor John Lynch on this day.

On November 1st, 2005 a user named “ Tom Davies'' visited notwithoutperil.com, a website dedicated to Maura’s disappearance and left a message claiming he had seen a black backpack behind a restroom at Pemigewasset Overlook in Albany, N.H, about 30 miles east of Woodsville, New Hampshire, on Route 112. Maura did own a black backpack, and police were aware of the backpack as well.

In late 2005, Maura’s dad filed a lawsuit against several law enforcement agencies. He wanted to see the files law enforcement had on Maura's disappearance.

In 2006, the Molly Bish Foundation, the New Hampshire League of Investigators, and ten retired police officers and detectives began investigating Maura’s case. Former police chief Tom Shamshak, a member of the Licensed Private Detectives Association of Massachusetts, stated, "It appears...that this is something beyond a mere missing persons case. Something ominous could have happened here."

In October 2006, volunteers organized a two-day search, not far from Maura's accident’s location. Cadaver dogs apparently went "bonkers" and may have detected the presence of human remains in a closet in an A-frame home about a mile from the crash site. The guy accused of killing Maura by his brother, who gave Fred Murray the rusty knife in 2004, had previously lived in the house. The New Hampshire State Police received a sample of carpet from the home, but the findings were never made public.

In 2007, Arkansas-based organization Let's Bring Them Home offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to Maura’s whereabouts.

In July 2008, volunteers organized a second two-day search through Haverhill, N.H.’s wooded areas.

In February 2009, New Hampshire prosecutor Jeffery Strelzin stated that the case was still open: "We don't know if Maura is a victim, but the state is treating it as a potential homicide. It may be a missing-persons case, but it's being handled as a criminal investigation."

In 2010, Fred requested for the FBI to join the police investigation. He criticized the police for handling the disappearance, as a missing persons case, rather than a criminal case.

On February 9th 2014, the 10th anniversary of her disappearance prosecutor Strelzin stated, "We haven't had any credible sightings of Maura since the night she disappeared." The New York Daily News published an article on the same day, the article stated that Fred believed Maura wasn’t alive and that she had been abducted on the night of her disappearance.

The Boston Globe received an email from prosecutor Strelzin on February 9th, 2017, the 13th anniversary of Maura's disappearance, stating: "It's still an open case with periods of activity and [at] times it goes dormant. There are no new updates to share at this time."

In February 2019, the 15th anniversary of Maura’s disappearance, Fred restated his assumption that his daughter was dead ,and his suspicions about the house close to Maura’s crash site. The home where in October 2006, cadaver dogs possibly identified human remains. Fred said "That's my daughter, I do believe."

In February 2019, after the home was sold the new owners gave permission to search the property. The previous owner didn’t cooperate, that’s the reason it took so long. The house's basement was excavated in the beginning of April 2019. Maura’s remains weren’t found at the home.

In early 2021, a tree marked with a blue ribbon as a memorial for Maura, and location where Maura was last seen, was cut down by the property owner. Maura's family's request to have a New Hampshire historical marker installed at the location, New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, turned down their request.

On September 14, 2021, the New Hampshire State Police reported that remains were found on Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., about 25 miles east of Maura’s crash site. About 2 months later, in November, it was announced that the remains weren’t Maura’s.

In January 2022, a nationwide alert for Maura’s disappearance was issued by the FBI, and a Violent Criminal Apprehension Profile was made, the profile allows information to be shared between other law enforcement organizations.

In July 2022, police conducted searches for Maura in Landaff, N.H. and Easton, N.H.

As of 2023, there are a total 10 Missing Person's Billboards along highways in New Hampshire and Massachusetts for Maura. Maura’s family hopes the billboards will refresh people’s memory, and raise awareness that Maura is still missing.