Maura Murray: Jacket and Jeans

FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE POLICE WEBSITE

Around 7:00-7:30 PM on 09 February 2004, a 1996 Saturn skidded off the road at a sharp curve on Route 112 in Haverhill NH. Shortly after, a school bus driver, Butch Atwood (now deceased), was returning to his nearby home in his school bus. He had just finished transporting students back to town from a ski trip.

Atwood stopped at the scene of the Saturn’s spin-out, often known as the Weathered Barn Curve (WBC). There was little to no lighting, although Atwood possibly used a flashlight to illuminate the driver and general scene.

According to reports, he spoke briefly with a young woman of average height and weight, dressed in a jacket and jeans. 

But he had never seen this young woman before. Evidently, there was nothing uniquely identifiable about her appearance, such as a previous injury, an unusual piece of jewelry, a visible tattoo, crutches, etc.

The woman Atwood saw could have been one of thousands of young women within a three-hour drive of the WBC. His identification merely narrowed the range to young females of average height and weight, dressed in a jacket and jeans. 

In missing-person posters distributed throughout the area after her disappearance, and in the NHSP CCU's own information sheet, Maura’s description was and still is similarly vague - and useless. She could be almost anyone.

The photos police possessed of Maura - those from the so-called UMass credit card case (the mug shot) and the ATM, plus her driver's license and student ID - were never used even though those four photos were the most recent and most representative. Only the flattering photos from family and/or friends were used, photos that most idealized but, realistically, least resembled Maura's most recent facial appearance. In other words, the photos used were all of one kind, therefore least likely to result in a recognition of her. They could have used both types of photos, but they didn't. Why not? Maura's description was, and still is, so vague as to be useless, a fact that LE, and perhaps even her family (or most of her family), surely must have known.

Also, it might have been helpful if the missing person sheet and posters had said Maura was left handed.

It is also worth noting that the NHSP CCU information sheet does not say Maura herself was at the WBC, only that she disappeared.

From the CCU missing persons sheet: "On February 9, 2004 Maura Murray's vehicle was reported to have been involved in a single-car accident along Rt. 112 in Haverhill, NH. When the North Haverhill police arrived at the scene, they found no trace of Maura."

"Maura Murray's vehicle was reported..." Looks to me like a pretty non-committal statement from the state police. Doesn't say Maura had ever even been there, only her car. Doesn't even say an accident actually happened, only that an accident was reported to have happened. Words matter.