I do not know the answers to the questions I'm about to ask and don't want to read through 12 threads to try and find the answers.
My theory has always been Maura intended to return to the University and that's the reason for the email to her professor.
1. Has anyone associated with Maura ever confirmed that she was or intended to leave the nursing program?
2. Has anyone associated with Maura ever confirmed she was leaving UMass?
I'm not certain about the first question, but with the second question it seems the assumption is she was leaving UMass because she had boxes packed and pictures off the wall. Maybe she was moving to a different dorm. Maybe she was moving off campus. Maybe she was quitting. Maybe she was doing something that I'm not thinking of. It seems in general people consider a lot of her actions eradicate / impulsive / illogical and then try to apply logic to some of her other actions. If she has boxes packed and pictures off the wall it would logically appear that Maura's leaving UMass, but Maura is often illogical and impulsive so logic doesn't apply or maybe she was having a lucid moment and logic does apply. Did the helicopter fly over an area that one would logically take if fleeing on foot or did they also consider that it's not uncommon for Maura to be eradicate and illogical and maybe she went in a direction that makes no logical sense at all. It's further complicated by the fact her friends and family won't discuss the case and if they did it's likely they'd paint a picture of Maura that's not accurate.
I agree with this 100%.
In regards to James Renner, I think this case/book has made him less than credible, at least with people in this forum. I went back and read some of his blog entries from June 2011 and it's clear that the book was going to be about the Maura Murray case and not his addiction to the Maura Murray case. Through the years the blog has been consistent with his belief that Maura is off living a new life somewhere. He recently posted about major new information, a big announcement, his belief that she's now most likely deceased, the moratorium, the original intent of the blog and now all of those blog entries have now been deleted. He's now 90% certain she's deceased (no reference to this on his blog), and yet he leaves up the blog entries about people having disappeared only to be found later. The case is no longer about Maura Murray, but his addiction to the Maura Murray case. I think it would've fairly easy to put a different spin on the book that would've still make him appear credible.
On a random side note. A lot is often discussed about the ATM footage. I suspect if it's ever released people will be disappointed. It'll likely just show Maura walking up, withdrawing cash, taking the cash and walking away.