NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - #13

[cutter99]

Take it from someone who knows firsthand, any time alcohol impacts your life in a negative way repeatedly, you are most likely an alcoholic. There is no such thing as a “hardcore” alcoholic. Some alcoholics function day to day better than others, and can be physically dependent even if it appears they are just sipping periodically throughout the day. There is no such thing as a “sweet spot” for alcoholics.

That being said, there are potentially a couple clues that could lead you to believe Maura had an issue with alcohol. 1) Two separate accidents within the span of a week. The potential for alcohol being involved is more likely than less likely. Maura attended a party just prior to the first accident. Alcohol was found in the car on the night she disappeared. 2) There is a family history of substance abuse with Maura’s oldest sister. There are both genetic and environmental components in addiction.

 

[Claireishere]

Take it from someone who knows firsthand, any time alcohol impacts your life in a negative way repeatedly, you are most likely an alcoholic. There is no such thing as a “hardcore” alcoholic. Some alcoholics function day to day better than others, and can be physically dependent even if it appears they are just sipping periodically throughout the day. There is no such thing as a “sweet spot” for alcoholics.

That being said, there are potentially a couple clues that could lead you to believe Maura had an issue with alcohol. 1) Two separate accidents within the span of a week. The potential for alcohol being involved is more likely than less likely. Maura attended a party just prior to the first accident. Alcohol was found in the car on the night she disappeared. 2) There is a family history of substance abuse with Maura’s oldest sister. There are both genetic and environmental components in addiction.

Being the age she was alcohol could also have also been self medicating for an undiagnosed mental issue. Most likely being Bipolar or Borderline Personality disorder.


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[thenotebook]

I am always amazed how people look for complicated conspiracies in cases like this when the answer is probably pretty simple: she was a woman who had a car accident ,she was alone, some bad person offered her a lift, she took it and she was murdered. That is my opinion anyway.

I completely agree. In most cases it's the simplest explanation. People had allll sorts of strange theories about Jacob Wetterling (sex trafficking, living in California, down in IL in a red car) and in the end it was the most likely theory: A stranger abduction and killed within an hour or two and buried.

 

[Gene S.]

"The danger of rumors like this is how fast they can be viewed as fact when people want a resolution."

Not so much with the self-awareness.

 

[sony12]

I also agree that she likely wasn't abducted and whatever happened to her was mostly of her own doing. I also think her dying of exposure in the woods is a very plausible scenario. In that case though I'm not sure her body would ever be found as by now wouldn't her body have been carried off and eaten by wild animals?

 

[MaggieSky]

I also agree that she likely wasn't abducted and whatever happened to her was mostly of her own doing. I also think her dying of exposure in the woods is a very plausible scenario. In that case though I'm not sure her body would ever be found as by now wouldn't her body have been carried off and eaten by wild animals?

Let's say she did run in several feet of snow and die in the woods naturally. That she was somehow outside of the search efforts of boots on the ground, thermal imaging cameras, helicopters, tracking and cadaver dogs, fbi nationwide search. Not to mention the high profile case that it is now and all the people curiously visiting the area, even now. Let's say all those people missed her body and yes animals could scatter the bones, make them less noticeable. She was, however, wearing winter clothes, coat, shoes, backpack. These items do not hide so easily in the snow, or after snow melts if she did die naturally. This is just one of the reasons her dying of natural causes seems somehow less plausible. Also it's documented as a criminal investigation, LE must feel the same.

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[Skigirl]

Let's say she did run in several feet of snow and die in the woods naturally. That she was somehow outside of the search efforts of boots on the ground, thermal imaging cameras, helicopters, tracking and cadaver dogs, fbi nationwide search. Not to mention the high profile case that it is now and all the people curiously visiting the area, even now. Let's say all those people missed her body and yes animals could scatter the bones, make them less noticeable. She was, however, wearing winter clothes, coat, shoes, backpack. These items do not hide so easily in the snow, or after snow melts if she did die naturally. This is just one of the reasons her dying of natural causes seems somehow less plausible. Also it's documented as a criminal investigation, LE must feel the same.

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Were there several feet of snow on the ground? I own a home in Maine and that's not very common for the area, even in the mountains, even in the dead of winter.

Also, here in North Carolina, we had one guy wander into his back yard and kill himself, and despite people were worried that he was going to do exactly that, it took literally months to find his body, which was less than 10 yards from his house. Something similar happened in East Haven, CT -- a dentist disappeared outside his house and his body wasn't found for around 10 years, less than 1/4 of a mile away: http://articles.courant.com/2001-06-13/news/0106130400_1_medical-examiner-coffee-table-remains

 

[MaggieSky]

Were there several feet of snow on the ground? I own a home in Maine and that's not very common for the area, even in the mountains, even in the dead of winter.

Also, here in North Carolina, we had one guy wander into his back yard and kill himself, and despite people were worried that he was going to do exactly that, it took literally months to find his body, which was less than 10 yards from his house. Something similar happened in East Haven, CT -- a dentist disappeared outside his house and his body wasn't found for around 10 years, less than 1/4 of a mile away: http://articles.courant.com/2001-06-13/news/0106130400_1_medical-examiner-coffee-table-remains

No I don't honestly know how much snow was on the ground. Maybe someone else can answer that.

I'm not saying her dying naturally or by elements is impossible just less likely. IMO. We must leave our minds open to any possibility.

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[PaulR]

Let's say she did run in several feet of snow and die in the woods naturally. That she was somehow outside of the search efforts of boots on the ground, thermal imaging cameras, helicopters, tracking and cadaver dogs, fbi nationwide search. Not to mention the high profile case that it is now and all the people curiously visiting the area, even now. Let's say all those people missed her body and yes animals could scatter the bones, make them less noticeable. She was, however, wearing winter clothes, coat, shoes, backpack. These items do not hide so easily in the snow, or after snow melts if she did die naturally. This is just one of the reasons her dying of natural causes seems somehow less plausible. Also it's documented as a criminal investigation, LE must feel the same.

Or she's outside the area that everyone has been searching. Everyone was looking near the car. If Maura hiked a few miles down the road then ducked into the woods as soon as she saw a cop car or something, and she got lost and died there, it's really easy for someone to have never found her.

 

[Tricia]

Time for a new thread. Please continue on thread #14