NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - # 3

[docwho3]

DocWho,

I don't mean to be "in your face", but truly, listing those people who have run away is not any supporting evidence in Maura's case any more than listing those who have vanished without a trace to only be found dead years later supports that she has been harmed.

I specifically mention this because, although I have not researched the statistics, sadly the "daily news" seems to support that the vast majority of missing females are found murdered, not living a new life.

Well, as you know, I have previously posted links an to L.E. site that says the majority of those missing persons are actually not victems of foul play and that most are found so the fact that you interpret the "daily news" items that you read to be of more statistical import is more in the realm of opinion than fact.

My posting those few posts about people who go willfully missing is relevant in that it goes to the point that people keep making again and again that Maura would not just leave. And I haven't pointed this out nearly as many times as that opposite view has been said. No offense but I feel I have the right to point out, and provide examples to support the fact, that people can & do willlfully leave even when you would think it not a likely thing for that person to do. We have all read many statements, both recently and ealier in the case posts, saying that in some posters opinions Maura had no reason to leave and/or would never do such a thing. My providing responses that point out that people do often leave without having what you or I might think of as a valid reason to do so or when it looks like it would be totally out of character for the missing person seems to me to be a legitimate point that goes to the heart of this case particularly due to the circumstances immediately prior to her leaving.

Quite frankly it seems to be that some people feel that it is somehow dirtying Maura's name to post the possibility of her having left on her own and that sort of reaction, if allowed to take over case discussion and shut down posts contrary to that opinion, simply blinds the investigation to one possibiility of finding the truth.

It harms nothing to see all the possibilities.

 

[WholeLottaRosie]

Does anyone know if Maura had with her her birth certificate and social security card? Her old tax forms ? Or did she leave these behind? Has LE checked her credit report? I assume only they could, I don't think a family member could get one, although maybe they did?

Has anyone checked vital records where Maura was born to see if she got a new copy of her birth certificate? I don't know if they keep records of requests, but, they might. I read somewhere, can't recall where, that someone checked her Soc Sec record and her number has not been used. I again assume LE did that? Does anyone know if someone does succeed in changing their SSN - difficult but not impossible - what record is on the old one? Just shows no activity at all, or would SSA tell someone that the account is closed out?

Thanks.

 

[docwho3]

About getting new SS #'s in general: I did a quick simple web search and found at least one book that claims to list

. . .Chapter 4 - How To Get a New Social Security Number
Instructions on how to get a new, useable real social security number.
Two effective ways to get a new SSN. . .

Also :

. . .How to Get a New Social Security Number (Separate Website)
If you are a victim of domestic violence and need to relocate and establish a new identity, it may be helpful to get a new Social Security number. Social Security does not routinely assign new numbers, but will do so when evidence shows you are being harassed or abused or your life is endangered.
By: Social Security Online. . .

http://www.coloradolegalservices.org/CO/StateChannelResults.cfm/County/%20/City/%20/demoMode/%3D%201/Language/1/State/CO/TextOnly/N/ZipCode/%20/LoggedIn/0/sTopicImage/familyJuvenile.gif/iTopicID/725/faction/viewAll/bAllState/0/ichannelid/108

. . . Although Social Security does not routinely assign new numbers, we will do so when evidence shows you are being harassed or abused or your life is endangered.
Applying for a new number is a big decision. It may impact your ability to interact with federal and state agencies, employers and others. This is because your financial, medical, employment and other records will be under your former Social Security number and name (if you change your name). If you expect to change your name, we recommend you do so before applying for a new number. . . .

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10093.html

My question then becomes:"How do we know what Maura's SS# really is now especially if she also changed names?" So far I have only considered the legal ways to switch names and numbers but what about identity theft?

On the first try I found 3 pages of search results about getting a new SS#.

 

[docwho3]

Does anyone know if Maura had with her her birth certificate and social security card? Her old tax forms ? Or did she leave these behind? Has LE checked her credit report? I assume only they could, I don't think a family member could get one, although maybe they did?

Has anyone checked vital records where Maura was born to see if she got a new copy of her birth certificate? I don't know if they keep records of requests, but, they might. I read somewhere, can't recall where, that someone checked her Soc Sec record and her number has not been used. I again assume LE did that? Does anyone know if someone does succeed in changing their SSN - difficult but not impossible - what record is on the old one? Just shows no activity at all, or would SSA tell someone that the account is closed out?

Thanks.

Some of the same questions as yours were answered at the forum at http://mauramurray.com/phpBB2/

When you get there click the link to "Discuss Maura's Case" and once there, look at the last 8 pages or so.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

armywife- I don't know if anyone answered you yet but if you log onto AKO under the white pages you can look up Bill Rausch and it will tell you exactly where he is and what unit he is with etc..

I have numerous questions about this case, and I am wondering if perhaps the answers are out there and I just haven't located them. Some of them may not seem that important to you, but they may be. Perhaps someone can help me answer them.

What is with the letter that is said to have been left in her room? The one ?TO? or
?FROM? her Bill Rausch? I have found conflicting accounts of this. It's a pretty black and white question, doesn't seem like there should be conflicting accounts about it. If there was a letter from him, what did it say? I read somewhere that all letters found in her room to and from Bill were just of the mushy variety.

What was her reason for transferring from West Point and how long before her disappearance did she do that? West Point is a very elite school, one that is outstanding to have graduated from. GO ARMY BEAT NAVY!

Where is Bill Rausch now? Still at FT Sill Oklahoma or has he been stationed elsewhere? Is he seeing anyone else? This may seem like a nosey he said she said sort of question, but I think it may be important to know if he has moved on.

Those are my starting blocks.

I don't think that Maura disappeared on her own accord. There is something very wrong here, and it has nothing to do with her family.
I know she lied about why she took off for a week, but to think that her family would have automatically found out about that is crazy. She had her cell phone with her so she was reachable by her family. She was 22, it's not like she needed a note from her dad to miss class. Perhaps she just needed time away alone to think. It seems to me that she was losing her way. I think she was confused about what she wanted out of life, and she was scared of that. So why did she pack up her room? Maybe she wasn't sure what was going to happen when she got back. Maybe she didn't think that she would opt to stay at UMass. and just wanted to have everything ready for when she got back. Honestly it sounds like she was "stir crazy" just before she left because she knew she had to get away and think FOR A WEEK, and just wanted to have everything set for whatever her week of decisions led her to choose to do. In the end, I don't think she had that choice.

These are some of my rantings, I am sure I will have more.
Pray for Maura

 

[CyberLaw]

Peabody: Please cite your source for the following information:

I specifically mention this because, although I have not researched the statistics, sadly the "daily news" seems to support that the vast majority of missing females are found murdered, not living a new life.

I guess the "daily" news prints or reports stories that will sell papers or have someone "tune" into their newsbroadcast. Saying that a missing person(who never made the news) has been found alive and well after 16 years is just not going to sell papers or is newsworthy. By the way: You are subject to whatever the "daily news" decides to play that day, your whole perspective is formed by the "daily news".

The researched stats reach a far different conclusion about the "real" story about "missing persons". These stats are based on facts and stats, not what some editor or producer decides to run that day to sell more papers or increase rating for the news cast.

May I bring your attention to the "How to disappear in America" site.

One of the "tips" they offer is never, ever use any ATM, Credit Cards or any other cards with a 'mag" strip as it can be traced. Take out most if not all of your money from your bank account and never access it again.

How about this: Maura ran away from her unhappy life and started a new life where she makes decision for herself, she is under no "pressure" to continue school or a relationship. She is a free person, not constrained by family "obligations". She left everyone behind. She was looking out for her own happiness both in the present and future. She was putting herself first, she was putting what she wanted first and foremost over what others wanted for her. She is free to make her own choices in every aspect of her life.

Have you ever heard an adult child say to their parent: Don't treat me like a child, don't make decisions for me, don't tell me what to do. I am 21 and I am an adult. I can run my own life and do what I want with my own life. I am an adult.

But the reply from the parents: "Well I am your parent, older and wiser and you are still my child. So of course it is up to me to make decisions for you that I feel are right for you, all I want is the best for you.

So that "young man" that you have choosen to "date" is just not right for you. I know that you say you love him with all your heart, but after all I am the parents and I just know what is the best for you. Therefore tell him to hit the road.

Well I am not going to do that because I really love him and I am not going to be "dictated" to. I am an adult, I know what is best for me.

What you are not doing what I say: I am THE PARENT, how dare you go against my wishes, how dare you feel that you can make decisions for yourself, how dare you think that you know "better" then me. You are a mere child. Power and control at the best here, domination, lack of respect, lack of seeing your child as an adult.

Also the parent "fully" expect you to abide by their "wishes" and if you don't, they will make you life a "living" hell.

Maura is now the "master of her own destiny", she is an adult, she can make her own choices, free from any outside influence. She can do what ever she wants as she is 21 and an adult.

Well now no one has power and control over Maura. People don't seem to understand one thing: Behavior follows intent. Words are just words.

What a person says and what they display in their behavior are two different things.

So when I read all of the "hearsay" that is attributed to Maura. I look at her actions instead, because the actions are much, much more telling. Actions don't lie, words do.

Like telling her former B.F. that everything is just fine, all the while her actions are that she is packing up her room to leave for good.

The words were meant to "not tip" off anyone to her intent and to placate and not arouse suspicion. Even if the words are written, you still look at behavior.

But her behavior was that she was planning to leave......and not tell anyone. That again is one of the tips in "How to disappear in America" gives.

Actually Maura's "disappearance" follows quite a few of these tips given on this site.

If someone has no intention of drinking booze while they are driving, they lock the booze up in their trunk. They don't keep it beside them in the front seat. The reason for that is that it is "too tempting" to reach over and open it up as it is "readily" available.

I saw a wine box one time. All it took to open it up was(it was a long time ago)either by cutting the top(like a juice box) or seperating the top to allow a type of triangle to pour(like a milk carton)either way, wine boxes just "dont open up themselves and spill on the front seat if it was not opened up first. They are designed this way.........

Also if ones person is "challenged" in opening up a "wine box" that does not mean that everyone is. Trust me if that was the case, then the wine box makers would change the design to make it easier. Because who would buy a wine box by a specific company if is is "impossible" to open up. Consumers would never by that wine box more then once and the company would soon be out of business.

If you have been drinking, you have booze in the front seat of your car, several bottles, you are involved in a single car accident along a road, you "display" signs of having consumed booze and you know the cops are on the way. Anyone who wants to avoid "scrunity" and some "pretty hard questions", not to mention a "breathalyzer" by LE is going to flee to avoid the consequences of their actions.

Now the one thing that LE would look for: They would give you a breathalyzer test and record the reading. A short time(I think an hour or two) they would give you another breathalyzer. If the reading goes up on the second test, you were drinking while you were driving. If the reading goes down, then you were drinking before you started driving.

So when you flee from an "accident" it is called "saving your own skin" or in other words, avoiding responsibility for your actions with the "resulting criminal consequences".

I mean it is a no brainer that people flee accident where booze is involved. Happens everyday.......

Maura did not have a high tolerance to booze as she was not a long term experienced drinker. She had bought the type of booze that was very easy going down. Sweet booze.........she had a low level of tolerance so she could easily get drunk on much less booze then someone who drank everyday.

There was a "significant" amount of time between her buying booze and the "accident" especially given the fact that all of the booze was in the front seat.

I have seen someone drink 5 glasses of wine and "seem" fine and I have seen a person drink one glass of wine and "appear drunk".

The differences is: The former drinks five glasses of wine everyday, while the latter drinks a glass of wine a week.

I guess no one knows if the other bottles of booze that Maura bought had been opened and consumed while she was on the road. She took those bottles with her. At least with bottles of sweet booze and Vodka, they can be closed for transportation in a knapsack.

Again, I have no doubt that Maura ran away and has no intention of contacting people from her "old life". Why bother, that would be just a reminder of how unhappy she was with her old life and the people that were in it. Out with the old, in with the new.

 

[KatherineQ]

Cyberlaw - I think you're half right. I think that was her intent, to leave and never return.

But there's the other half - then what happened? Then what happened to her, and is there a murderer out there who is waiting to grab someone else and make them a victim?

I have spent so much time thinking and thinking of her case, and trying to put myself in her shoes. Here's what I come up with.

Everyone says she's strong, responsible, capable, not flighty, dependable, etc. (I know whenever someone goes missing there's always someone who pops up and declares it's not in their character to do that, and they're totally wrong, it IS in their character and they do weird stuff all the time, but in Maura's case, I believe her reputation was really sound.)

She is extremely close to her father, who holds an image of her that's she's tough and rugged and dependable. She seems to really like that opinion of herself and worked fairly hard to keep that reputation in his eyes. Children in a family dymanic often subvert their true personalities to fit a parent's image when that image is positively rewarded.

That's how it seems in Maura's case. When push came to shove, she really isn't made of steel, she isn't "totally responsible", she's in fact uncertain, a little flighty and irresponsible. Much more so than your average 21 year old.

She pretends to be tough enough for military school, but it appears she really didn't want that at all. Her desire to maintain her father's opinion of her seems all-encompassing, but she can't live that way, because that isn't actually what she is.

Her last couple weeks are marked by very bizarre and irresponsible behavior, and kind of a desperate attempt to keep touching base with her father. Going to his home at 3 a.m.? What's that about, except a red flag that she keeps needing positive reinforcement from him, even while she's messing up a lot.

Where is her mother? I know her mother lives with her siblings, but "where" is she in this? Has she ever made a single comment to anyone about Maura? Does Maura have any relationship at all - did they even communicate ever? Sharon Rausch seems to be functioning as Maura's mother, giving her a cell phone, continuing to search for her and speak out for her. Sharon Rausch and Fred Murray are the ones searching.

Her family dynamic - of caring SO DEEPLY what her father thinks of her, and appearing to have not much of a relationship with her mother, is very enlightening.

She left the military academy. She left nursing school. She was leaving her life, it seems, from pressure to be something she wasn't. The world needs poets AND bricklayers, but it appears she didn't know how to get out of the reputation of being a bricklayer, and couldn't face people not viewing her that way.

VERY long winded, sorry.

So. She left, packed up all her stuff to run away, and then what happened? Prayers she is, as you say, living elsewhere, but the last clues don't point that way.

 

[docwho3]

. . .Prayers she is, as you say, living elsewhere, but the last clues don't point that way.

Note:I added the bolding.

Before I continue let me comment on your post:Very eloquent.

So what clues are you referring to that you believe point to her being dead? I have looked and read much material about this case and I have not yet found anything at all that suggests she was kidnapped. There was no sign of struggle, no bloody weapon left behind, in fact no blood that I recall (although a car windshield was "spidered" if I remember right and I would have expected there might have been some blood from that but I don't recall reading anything in the news reports that mentioned any blood.) There was never a ransom call reported, and multiple searches of the area turned up nothing. The only witnesses in the case all said she was alive when they saw her.

Only one witness ever placed himself on the road alone with maura and even then we seem to have no evidence of wrongdoing on his part. The other two witnesses were sort of in sight of each other enough to have made a kidnap an extremely risky and nearly impossible thing to accomplish.

The school bus driver drove around looking for her after the police arrived (and they had arrived within 10 minutes of being called according to news reports.) She could not have gotten too many miles down the road in under 10 minutes so if she was not found by the driver looking for her then she was either already gone or she wanted to hide.

At some point down the road she had to be picked up or hike out or die on foot. Searches seem to have ruled out dying on foot although I realize that probably can't be said with any finality.

So I ask again, What evidence, what clues point to her being dead? I really want to know because if there is evidence or actual clues to indicate her being dead I want to know.

 

[docwho3]

. . .Again, I have no doubt that Maura ran away and has no intention of contacting people from her "old life". Why bother, that would be just a reminder of how unhappy she was with her old life and the people that were in it. Out with the old, in with the new.

You make some very good points. It is good to read your words again.

 

[KatherineQ]

Thanks, Doc.

The "clues" I'm referring to aren't really solid clues - more like hunches and ruling out things.

I think you're right, there is a possibility she died of exposure within 10 miles or so of where she crashed. There have been a lot of searches, though, as you say, but it could still be possible she's there.

I can't see how she could have been picked up by a friend. She had no cell phone service, no way to contact anyone, the chances that a very close friend happened along and has kept her secret this whole time seems out of the realm of possibility.

Her only hope of having gotten out of there safely is that a stranger gave her a ride, and then didn't report it despite massive publicity and a large reward. That possibility seems very slim.

So that's it - getting from the crash site to somewhere safe - I just can't think how she could do it, without leaving a trace.

 

[docwho3]

I can't see how she could have been picked up by a friend. She had no cell phone service, no way to contact anyone, the chances that a very close friend happened along and has kept her secret this whole time seems out of the realm of possibility.

Her only hope of having gotten out of there safely is that a stranger gave her a ride, and then didn't report it despite massive publicity and a large reward. That possibility seems very slim.

So that's it - getting from the crash site to somewhere safe - I just can't think how she could do it, without leaving a trace.

I have had times where I had to go somewhere in a car that was not running dependably and so I had asked in advance to have a friend or relative follow my route. They didn't have to follow directly behind me but just drive the route some amount of time later and watch for my car to be at the side of the road in case I got stranded. That way if it broke down I would know I had help on the way if I just waited.

I think this might be what happened with Maura that night. I admit that so far I have no actual evidence to prove that's what happened but to me it sounds more likely to have been the case than for a homicidal maniac happening along at just that tiny window of time to see and kidnap her.
I think at one time L.E. perhaps expected something similar since one of the last things I read of quotes from that state police person. . . scarazina? (can't remember his exact name at the moment) said something like he was waiting for someone from her college to come forth with info.

As to the person not reporting it:some people won't report an adult friend who is running away. They might even consider it a point of honor.

 

[armywife210]

armywife- I don't know if anyone answered you yet but if you log onto AKO under the white pages you can look up Bill Rausch and it will tell you exactly where he is and what unit he is with etc..

yep, found him and my husband knows him.

 

[docwho3]

Even though that isn't my favorite thought, I share this news item just because it harms nothing to look at all possibilities. For those that think she may have hiked out on foot :

. . .Published 2/19/04
Fred Murray and his son returned to the motel last night after spending much of the day combing the snowy woods in the White Mountains National Forest not far from the Haverhill site where Maura was last seen. Her father said he followed boot prints over about a half-mile of rugged terrain before he saw a clear enough print to determine that they had been made by boots larger that his daughter's size 8è shoes. . .

http://www.vnews.com/02192004/1598142.htm

Thought:Ever wear overshoes in snow or maybe wear large shoes with more layers of socks in snow?

 

[Mygirlsadie]

Oh ok! I found his info. and was going to post it here but thought I better not since its coming from AKO i'm not sure of the rules on that ...

yep, found him and my husband knows him.

 

[armywife210]

Does anyone know if Maura had with her her birth certificate and social security card? Her old tax forms ? Or did she leave these behind? Has LE checked her credit report? I assume only they could, I don't think a family member could get one, although maybe they did?

Has anyone checked vital records where Maura was born to see if she got a new copy of her birth certificate? I don't know if they keep records of requests, but, they might. I read somewhere, can't recall where, that someone checked her Soc Sec record and her number has not been used. I again assume LE did that? Does anyone know if someone does succeed in changing their SSN - difficult but not impossible - what record is on the old one? Just shows no activity at all, or would SSA tell someone that the account is closed out?

Thanks.

none of that stuff. her drivers license, a couple of credit cards and thats it. Her social security number has had no activity what so ever, same with her credit report.

 

[armywife210]

Oh ok! I found his info. and was going to post it here but thought I better not since its coming from AKO i'm not sure of the rules on that ...

no dont ever post anything anywhere that you got off AKO.
They have such high level of security on that site for a reason.
I thought of going on AKO and finding it immediately but ... you know how your account expires if you dont keep changing your password. I hadnt gone on that site for awhile and wasnt really paying attention. My husband would send reminders to our home email to redo my password but I just didnt even pay attention. I had to get him when he had time to reactivate my account, which he did for me. That is when I found out that he knows CPT Rausch. I had no idea because of all of the changes that have been going on recently with merging units and things like that.... but right now they do the same job, just on different levels.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

I kinda thought that..thanks! Don't want Uncle Sam knocking on my door! Anyway it's funny you said about your password because when i logged on to check for Rausch I couldnt get on due to I needed to update my password also so I just logged into hubby's account and got the info from there. So this guy is the fiance but has no involvement whatsoever right? I am just starting to get into this case...

no dont ever post anything anywhere that you got off AKO.
They have such high level of security on that site for a reason.
I thought of going on AKO and finding it immediately but ... you know how your account expires if you dont keep changing your password. I hadnt gone on that site for awhile and wasnt really paying attention. My husband would send reminders to our home email to redo my password but I just didnt even pay attention. I had to get him when he had time to reactivate my account, which he did for me. That is when I found out that he knows CPT Rausch. I had no idea because of all of the changes that have been going on recently with merging units and things like that.... but right now they do the same job, just on different levels.

 

[Peabody]

LEDGER UPDATE: WHERE IS MAURA? 2 YEARS LATER, MISSING HANSON WOMAN’S FAMILY CLINGS TO HOPE, WAITS FOR ANSWERS

http://www.southofboston.com/conten...news/news02.jpg
Family photo of Maura Murray as a teenager. (Courtesy The Murray family)




By JOE McGEE
The Patriot Ledger



Laurie Murray has had the same bedtime ritual every night for the past two years. She prays to the Catholic patron saint of lost things, hoping that she’ll awaken to good news. ‘‘What I do every night is pray to St. Anthony,’’ Murray said. ‘‘I have a statue right here.’’

It will be two years tomorrow since Laurie’s daughter, Hanson native Maura Murray, a student at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, disappeared after a minor traffic accident in Haverhill,

<snip>

Murray’s boyfriend, Army Capt. William Rausch, said he still has a special place in his heart for Maura, the girl he planned to marry.

Still single, Rausch, 25, said he finds strength by dedicating himself to his job at Fort Sill, Okla., and staying close with friends from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he and Murray met. Some of his colleagues knew Murray from the year she spent at West Point and have fond memories of her, Rausch said.

‘‘It seems evident that whatever happened is concrete,’’ Rausch said, ‘‘but I still love her like many others do, and I feel lucky to have had what we had.’’

Complete story at Link:

http://N.H.www.southofboston.com/articles/2006/02/08/headlines/news/news02.txt

 

[Peabody]

Cyberlaw - I think you're half right. I think that was her intent, to leave and never return.

But there's the other half - then what happened? Then what happened to her, and is there a murderer out there who is waiting to grab someone else and make them a victim?

I have spent so much time thinking and thinking of her case, and trying to put myself in her shoes. Here's what I come up with.

Everyone says she's strong, responsible, capable, not flighty, dependable, etc. (I know whenever someone goes missing there's always someone who pops up and declares it's not in their character to do that, and they're totally wrong, it IS in their character and they do weird stuff all the time, but in Maura's case, I believe her reputation was really sound.)

She is extremely close to her father, who holds an image of her that's she's tough and rugged and dependable. She seems to really like that opinion of herself and worked fairly hard to keep that reputation in his eyes. Children in a family dymanic often subvert their true personalities to fit a parent's image when that image is positively rewarded.

That's how it seems in Maura's case. When push came to shove, she really isn't made of steel, she isn't "totally responsible", she's in fact uncertain, a little flighty and irresponsible. Much more so than your average 21 year old.

She pretends to be tough enough for military school, but it appears she really didn't want that at all. Her desire to maintain her father's opinion of her seems all-encompassing, but she can't live that way, because that isn't actually what she is.

Her last couple weeks are marked by very bizarre and irresponsible behavior, and kind of a desperate attempt to keep touching base with her father. Going to his home at 3 a.m.? What's that about, except a red flag that she keeps needing positive reinforcement from him, even while she's messing up a lot.

Where is her mother? I know her mother lives with her siblings, but "where" is she in this? Has she ever made a single comment to anyone about Maura? Does Maura have any relationship at all - did they even communicate ever? Sharon Rausch seems to be functioning as Maura's mother, giving her a cell phone, continuing to search for her and speak out for her. Sharon Rausch and Fred Murray are the ones searching.

Her family dynamic - of caring SO DEEPLY what her father thinks of her, and appearing to have not much of a relationship with her mother, is very enlightening.

She left the military academy. She left nursing school. She was leaving her life, it seems, from pressure to be something she wasn't. The world needs poets AND bricklayers, but it appears she didn't know how to get out of the reputation of being a bricklayer, and couldn't face people not viewing her that way.

VERY long winded, sorry.

So. She left, packed up all her stuff to run away, and then what happened? Prayers she is, as you say, living elsewhere, but the last clues don't point that way.

The story in this link should answer the questions which have highlighted in both bold and red.

http://www.southofboston.com/articles/2006/02/08/headlines/news/news02.txt

Laurie Murray had a broken foot/leg when Maura first went mentioned - this was published along with photographs at the beginning. Soon after she was diagnosed with cancer.......these physical ailments alone are enough to prevent her from being in the public eye "looking" for her daughter.

Aside from that, there are always personalities to be considered. Because Fred and Sharon are in the public eye does not mean that others are not looking. Just as it takes each member of a successful team in any sport or work envirionment to fulfil their role, I know first hand that there are many "players" working in their role to bring Maura home.

Also, there are those who love Maura who, because of their occupation (i.e. Julie and Billy, Captains in the army) are prevented from taking an active role in searching for her. Does this mean they love her less? Absolutely not. In fact, they may even have a more difficult time because of their limitations.

From my perspective, it is insensitive to judge what a loved one may be doing or not doing in the case of the missing person in their family.

With prayers for Maura and all those who love her.

 

[KatherineQ]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be insulting, I'm really just trying to read between the lines and sometimes guesses are wrong.

This is a confusing story, with people saying confusing things like that Maura was the picture of stability when all that seems to be reported of her last few weeks were someone who was completely unstable, and maybe depressed.

It seems the closer people are to someone they love who is missing, the more they may believe the person would never purposely leave, and yet that does happen.

prayers from me, also, that she is found alive although the possibility seems remote.