Maura Murray: 20 Years Missing After New Hampshire Crash

On the evening of February 9, 2004, Maura Murray, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, crashed her vehicle into a snowbank on Route 112 near Woodsville, New Hampshire—and vanished without trace.

Murray had driven north from campus that afternoon, roughly a two-hour journey from her university. Hours earlier, she had sent emails to her professors and work supervisor claiming she would be absent for a week due to a family death. No such death had occurred, according to her family. Before leaving, she had loaded textbooks into her car and purchased approximately $40 worth of alcohol.

At approximately 7:27 p.m., a local resident heard a loud thump and spotted Murray's vehicle after it hit a snowbank and tree on a sharp hairpin turn. Within minutes, Butch Atwood, a local bus driver, came across the crash scene. He later reported that Murray was alone and appeared "just shook up." When Atwood offered assistance, she declined, claiming she had already called AAA for a tow truck. Police would later determine no tow truck had been requested—and there was no cell reception in the area where the crash occurred.

Atwood drove home and called 911 to report the accident at 7:46 p.m. When police arrived, Murray's vehicle remained at the scene, but Maura Murray was gone.

A potential clue emerged from a contractor who was returning from Franconia, New Hampshire, between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m. that evening. The contractor reported seeing a young person moving quickly eastbound on Route 112, approximately 4 to 5 miles from the crash site. The figure was described as wearing jeans, a dark coat, and a light-colored hood. However, the contractor did not report this sighting to police until three months later, after checking work records.