NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - #14

[HeartOfGranite]

You might be right but it seems there should have been some sign, or a body found. After 15 years and all the searching? To find nothing, no tracks, no scent, no clothing? To me that is as odd a circumstance as a predator out on a remote road late at night.

Where this occurred, it's not at all surprising that if she walked away from the crash site heading east and left the road for some reason that her body hasn't been found if she died from exposure. That area is very, very remote, with acres upon acres of nothing but woods, much of it with heavy underbrush. In the dark, it would be very easy to get lost even a short distance from the road. There are plenty of reasons why a person would leave the road--to hide from passing traffic if you didn't want to be seen, to relieve yourself, to follow what you thought was a trail...if Maura had been drinking, any of those is a possibility.

Once off the road, it's also easy to get hurt: slipping on ice, falling into a ravine or even a tree well (I don't recall how much snow we had in the area that winter), getting caught in brush under the snow, falling into the river...if a person slipped and fell in the river, got disoriented, climbed out on the opposite bank without realizing (very easy if you are drunk or not in a good place and not thinking clearly), and walked into the woods thinking they were heading toward the road, hypothermia would be very quick. If someone went into the woods to relieve themself and fell into a ravine in the dark and broke a leg...they might not be able to make it out of the ravine. Add in that those woods have bears, coyote, bobcats and possibly panthers which would scatter any bones and it's entirely possible that no trace will ever be found, or a bone or two will be found by a hunter years down the road and that's all.

 

[sony12]

You might be right but it seems there should have been some sign, or a body found. After 15 years and all the searching? To find nothing, no tracks, no scent, no clothing? To me that is as odd a circumstance as a predator out on a remote road late at night.

It is a very densely forested area with rough terrain on top of that. It wouldn't be that hard for a body to fall into a spot that would be easy to overlook. On top of that she very easily could have traveled on foot for a period of time before she entered into the woods (which would have been likely for her to do since she would have wanted to get away from the crash scene) and her body may have been somewhere in those woods outside of the scope they were searching.

She also may have hitch hiked out of there and simply died on her own (without being murdered) somewhere totally out of the state. If she had gotten rid of her I.D. her body may be difficult to identify.

 

[sony12]

Here is a youtube video of some people skiing who had an extremely close call with a tree well. They themselves decided to post it on youtube and there is no way to identify them (they are wearing their masks the entire time) so I guess it is ok to post it here just to give an example of how dangerous it can be.

 

[Chad_York]

This is heart-breaking. I feel sorry for the Murray family after another possible lead is now ruled out. This shouldn't deter us from wanting to keep searching for Maura. If anything, we can at least cross another rumor off the list.

Maura will be found. It will happen. My theory still is that she acquired a ride and met with some kind of foul play. Her body could be miles away from the accident site. We don't know. But at the very least, we have to keep her case alive.

 

[sony12]

Just like to mention that for those thinking the police treated the Murray family poorly on this particular dig based on the news clips coming out this was a planned dig for a while. The Murray's arrived early in the morning. So it wasn't a situation where the Murray's were suddenly summoned out of the blue to come up. It seems they got to the location even before the dig began.

 

[harvgr81]

I cant accept the idea that she must have wandered into the woods & succumbed to the elements when LE didn't find evidence of that theory... My understanding that in the initial investigation, LE didn't find any footprints leading to the woods & car was locked. MM had purchased some booze for this trip & some of it (based off the receipt) was not in the car. LE did a more extensive search of area & also had a bloodhound that went 100 yards east on 112 and lost the scent. Was she picked up by another driver?

 

[Chad_York]

I cant accept the idea that she must have wandered into the woods & succumbed to the elements when LE didn't find evidence of that theory... My understanding that in the initial investigation, LE didn't find any footprints leading to the woods & car was locked. MM had purchased some booze for this trip & some of it (based off the receipt) was not in the car. LE did a more extensive search of area & also had a bloodhound that went 100 yards east on 112 and lost the scent. Was she picked up by another driver?

That's what I think. While it's possible that she could remain somewhere farther outside the search radius, it's just as likely that if she acquired a ride from a strange that met with foul play, she could be nowhere near the area. A stranger who tried to take advantage of her and murdered her would try to distance themselves are far as possible from the last location. Samantha Josephson, who was killed by the imposter UBER driver, drove 65 miles away from Columbia South Carolina where she was last seen. In tangent with that, Maura could have met a similiar fate if she did request help from a stranger. This is purely just speculation but merely voicing my thoughts on possible scenarios.

 

[Chad_York]

Fred and Kurt's statements

 

[bakersfield3]

I read somewhere where BR was under investigation for two sexual assault claims in DC. Don't know if he was arrested yet.

 

[harvgr81]

I read somewhere where BR was under investigation for two sexual assault claims in DC. Don't know if he was arrested yet.

Looks like there is an arrest warrant out for his arrest in DC according to JR twitter...

Breaking News in the Maura Murray Case, an Arrest Warrant Has Been Issued for Bill Rausch in Connection to Sex Assault in D.C. https://t.co/tB7mrqQM9C https://t.co/tB7mrqQM9C

 

[harvgr81]

"Here's the warrant for Bill Rausch's arrest on felony sex abuse charges. He faces 10 years if convicted of the crime. Victim is asking police to look into his whereabouts in the days following Maura's disappearance."
James Renner on Twitter

 

[jaejae]

I am sorry to hear that this search resulted in no positive results for Maura's family and particularly her Dad. As I have said before I cannot find Maura but I can name a possible suspect in her disappearance that of Ralph Leon Jackson who I am certain was the Connecticut River Valley Killer amongst his other monikers.

 

[sony12]

I have always wondered why BR was never looked into anymore than he was. We all know that in most instances the people that were closest to the victim are often the ones involved and Maura and he seemed to be on shaky ground at the time she vanished.

I know they talked a lot the day she disappeared and it is very possible he could have been the one to pick her up after the wreck. I think his whereabouts have largely been unknown on that particular day.

They very easily could have gone somewhere just the two of them and later that night/next day tempers may have flared and he may have done something to her (nothing planned out but just something that happened at the spur of the moment).

 

[rob525]

I have always wondered why BR was never looked into anymore than he was. We all know that in most instances the people that were closest to the victim are often the ones involved and Maura and he seemed to be on shaky ground at the time she vanished.

I know they talked a lot the day she disappeared and it is very possible he could have been the one to pick her up after the wreck. I think his whereabouts have largely been unknown on that particular day.

They very easily could have gone somewhere just the two of them and later that night/next day tempers may have flared and he may have done something to her (nothing planned out but just something that happened at the spur of the moment).

Wasn't he supposedly in Kansas or somewhere in the midwest on the day she disappeared? I seem to remember that.

 

[sony12]

Wasn't he supposedly in Kansas or somewhere in the midwest on the day she disappeared? I seem to remember that.

He was stationed somewhere in the Midwest. However you can easily get to OKC to the New England area in about 18 to 20 hours. So to truly eliminate him as a suspect you would need to officially know he was physically at that location the day the disappearance happened. From what I have seen so far the people that eliminate him as a suspect do so by simply saying he was stationed there. I am not sure there has been any eye witness accounts though that he was physically in the Midwest when Maura vanished.

 

[harvgr81]

Wasn't he supposedly in Kansas or somewhere in the midwest on the day she disappeared? I seem to remember that.

Here's an article from Caledonian Record 2-13-04 ... He was stationed at Fort Sill in Lawton Okl. He said he flew up to NH Wed AM

 

[harvgr81]

I would like to know was his whereabouts / alibi verified by Fort Sill? Cell phone pings? etc

 

[sony12]

Here's an article from Caledonian Record 2-13-04 ... He was stationed at Fort Sill in Lawton Okl. He said he flew up to NH Wed AM

View attachment 177998 View attachment 177999

That's all well and good. But that article does not indicate at all where Bill was Saturday, where he was Sunday, where he was Monday, or even where he was Tuesday. All that is clear is that he was in Oklahoma on Wednesday in order to catch a flight.

To officially eliminate him as a suspect you would need to have eye witness accounts that he was where he was supposed to be during that time period.

Has there ever been any eye witness accounts that Bill was indeed in Oklahoma on Sunday or Monday?

 

[harvgr81]

That's all well and good. But that article does not indicate at all where Bill was Saturday, where he was Sunday, where he was Monday, or even where he was Tuesday.

To officially eliminate him as a suspect you would need to have eye witness accounts that he was where he was supposed to be during that time period.

Has there ever been any eye witness accounts that Bill was indeed in Oklahoma on Sunday or Monday?

I agree! I was just posting article to show what the article said to confirm he was stationed in OKL. I too would like to know if this was verified and also his whereabouts Sat-Tues.

 

[Lavinia]

I went to high school with a kid who was drunk driving, and crashed his car in a relatively isolated area.

He was so scared of being busted, that he spent a freezing night in the woods.

When he emerged the next morning, he claimed that he was disoriented from the crash, and didn’t know what he was doing.

Ever since Maura disappeared, that’s the scenario I’ve put the most stock in.

All the elements are there.

I think she’s (her body) in the woods, and probably not far from where the crash happened.

I agree. Obviously nothing is impossible, but the thought that this was an opportunity abduction/killing within the window of time/no witnesses/no crime scene/no solid suspects is so extremely low to me. The winter climate and overgrown terrain in New Hampshire are harsh to say the least and her body may be no less visible than it was a day after she disappeared. I don't think this case will be solved by tips or from NHPD's investigation. If it is solved, it will likely be someone coming across her remains by chance assuming my theory about her being in the woods/dying of exposure is correct.