• Maura Murray
  Born: May 4, 1982
  Hometown: Hanson, Massachusetts
  Status: Missing since February 9, 2004 (age 21 at time of disappearance)
  Occupation: Nursing student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Early Life and Background

Maura Murray was the fourth of five children born to Fred and Laurie Murray. Raised in Hanson, Massachusetts, she came from a close-knit family with a background in Irish Catholic values. Her parents divorced when she was young, but both remained involved in her life.

She was known for being intelligent, athletic, and ambitious. In high school, she excelled academically and was a standout athlete on the track and cross-country teams.

Education

Maura started her college education at the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point, where she studied chemical engineering for three semesters. However, she transferred to UMass Amherst, majoring in nursing, possibly because of struggles at West Point or a desire for a different environment.

At UMass, she was a good student and had a part-time campus security job.

Despite her bright future, Maura had some personal struggles leading up to her disappearance:

• November 2003, she got in trouble for using a stolen credit card number to order food.
• February 2004, she had an emotional breakdown at work after a call with her sister.

She had a minor car accident on February 8, while borrowing her father’s car.

Timeline

Maura Murray was a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst when she disappeared on February 9, 2004. Her case remains unsolved and has garnered significant public interest. Below is a detailed timeline of events leading up to and following her disappearance:

Thursday, February 5, 2004:

• Evening: While working a security shift at her campus job, Maura spoke on the phone with her older sister, Kathleen, about Kathleen’s relationship issues. Later that night, Maura became visibly upset during her shift and was escorted back to her dorm room by her supervisor.

Saturday, 7, 2004:

• Afternoon: Maura’s father, Fred Murray, visited Amherst to assist her in car shopping.
• Evening: Maura borrowed her father’s car to attend a dorm party.

Sunday, February 8, 2004:

• Early Morning: Around 3:30 a.m., while returning to her father’s motel, Maura had a minor car accident, causing damage to his vehicle.
• Morning: Fred learned that the car’s damage would be covered by insurance. He rented a car, dropped Maura off at the university, and departed for Connecticut.

Monday, February 9, 2004:

• Early Morning: After midnight, Maura used her computer to search for directions to the Berkshires and Burlington, Vermont.
• 1:00 p.m.: She emailed her boyfriend, stating she didn’t feel like talking but promised to call later.
• 1:13 p.m.: Maura called a fellow nursing student. 
• 1:24 p.m.: She emailed her professors and work supervisor, informing them she would be out of town for a week due to a death in the family—a claim her family later stated was untrue.
• 2:05 p.m.: Maura called a number providing information about lodging in Stowe, Vermont.
• 2:18 p.m.: She left a voicemail for her boyfriend, promising they would talk later.
• 3:30 p.m.: Maura departed the UMass Amherst campus in her black 1996 Saturn sedan.
• 3:40 p.m.: She withdrew $280 from an ATM; surveillance footage showed she was alone.
• Afternoon: Maura purchased approximately $40 worth of alcohol, including Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlúa, vodka, and a box of Franzia wine.
• 4:37 p.m.: She checked her voicemail—the last recorded use of her cell phone.

Evening of February 9, 2004:

• 7:27 p.m.: A resident of Woodsville, New Hampshire, reported a car accident on Route 112 near her home. The vehicle, a black Saturn, was found against a snowbank.
• 7:43 p.m.: A passing motorist, a school bus driver, stopped and spoke with a young woman, presumed to be Maura, who declined his offer to call the police, claiming she had already contacted AAA.
• 7:46 p.m.: Police arrived at the scene to find the car abandoned. Inside the vehicle, they discovered items including Maura’s AAA card, gloves, CDs, makeup, and a box of Franzia wine.

Subsequent Events:

• Despite extensive searches and investigations, Maura’s whereabouts remain unknown.
• Her case has been treated as a potential homicide by authorities, though no definitive evidence has been found to confirm this.
• Over the years, various searches and investigations have been conducted, but Maura’s disappearance remains unsolved.
• Maura Murray’s disappearance continues to be a subject of widespread interest and speculation. Her family and investigators remain committed to uncovering the truth about what happened to her on that February evening in 2004.

Investigation

Initial Response: February 9, 2004

Scene arrival: Police arrived at the crash site on Route 112 in Haverhill, NH, at 7:46 p.m., minutes after a witness had seen Maura standing beside her car. She was gone when officers arrived.

Items found in the car:

• Her AAA card
• Her school books and supplies
• A box of Franzia wine (some of which had spilled inside the car)
• Her favorite stuffed animal
• Most of her belongings were still packed inside
• No footprints or signs of struggle were found in the snow, despite it being a cold winter evening.

Witnesses:

Butch Atwood – The Bus Driver

• Butch Atwood was a local school bus driver who was one of the last people to see Maura alive. He stopped at the crash site and spoke with her. She declined his offer to help, saying she had called AAA (which was untrue—there was no cell service there).
• He returned home and called 911. His home was within sight of the crash site, and he reportedly went back out after the police arrived.
• While Atwood’s timeline was questioned early on, he was cooperative with police and never officially a suspect. He passed away in 2006.

Bill Rausch – Boyfriend

• Bill Rausch, Maura’s boyfriend at the time, was working in Oklahoma with the Army. He was reportedly in touch with her the day she vanished. Maura met her boyfriend, Billy Rausch, in the fall of 2001 while attending West Point. Maura was following in her sister Julie’s footsteps, but later decided military life wasn’t for her and transferred to UMass. Despite the distance apart the couple remained close.
• 4:49 AM on Sunday morning a little while after the accident Maura called her boyfriend, Billy Rausch, on her father’s cell phone. Billy consoled her over the phone, though he would later say he thought there was more than just the accident on Maura’s mind. Billy was an army lieutenant who was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Steffen Baldwin – Ex-Boyfriend

• Steffen Baldwin West Point Cadet – We are not sure if he was questioned

Surveillance Footage

ATM Surveillance Footage (February 9, 2004) 3:40 PM:
Bank of America, Amherst, MA

• Around 3:40 p.m., Maura withdrew $280 in cash from an ATM in Amherst, Massachusetts, shortly before she began her drive north.
• Surveillance video from the ATM captured her making the transaction.

According to law enforcement:

• Maura was alone in the footage.
• No one else appeared with her in the vehicle or nearby.
• This is the last confirmed sighting of her on camera.
• The video was not released publicly for years. Note: 2020, on the 16th anniversary of Maura’s disappearance, her family announced that they had finally been allowed to view the footage.

Liquor Store Surveillance 3:45–4:00 PM:
Liquor Store – Amherst, MA

• After the ATM, Maura stopped at a nearby liquor store, where she purchased around $40 of alcohol (Baileys, Kahlúa, vodka, and a box of Franzia wine). Surveillance footage reportedly also captured this transaction.
• As with the ATM footage, she was seen alone.
• This tape has not been publicly released, but law enforcement has confirmed she appeared normal and calm in the store.

Crash site: Route 112, Woodsville, NH

• 7:27 PM: Her car was found crashed into a snowbank.

Key details:

• Witness (school bus driver) saw her and spoke to her.
• She reportedly refused help and said she’d called AAA.
• By the time police arrived (~7:46 PM), she had vanished.

Gaps in Surveillance

Between Amherst and Woodsville (2.5–3.5 hr drive):

• No confirmed gas station, toll booth, or traffic cam footage of Maura’s route.
• In 2004, surveillance tech on rural roads was sparse.
• No known footage exists of Maura after the crash.

Search Efforts

Immediate search: Local police, search dogs, and helicopters searched the area. A tracking dog allegedly followed her scent for about 100 yards east down the road, then lost it—suggesting she may have entered a vehicle.

Family involvement: Fred Murray, Maura’s father, arrived quickly and has remained deeply involved in trying to solve the case.

Expanded searches: Over the next few days and weeks, the search radius widened with help from state police, volunteer searchers, cadaver dogs, and dive teams.

• 2005: The New Hampshire State Police took over the investigation from local authorities.
• 2012: Fred Murray filed a lawsuit to access police records under the state’s Right-to-Know law; he was denied.
• 2017: A home near the crash site was excavated based on cadaver dog alerts and ground-penetrating radar. No evidence was found.
• 2019: The FBI launched a special webpage and initiative seeking tips on Maura’s case.
• 2021: A new search using high-tech methods was conducted in the area near the crash—still no sign of Maura.

Current Status

2018–2020: Growing Federal Interest

• 2018, the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit was officially created and began working more closely with the FBI and U.S. Marshals to re-examine unresolved disappearances, including Maura’s.
• Around this time, Maura’s case was formally added to NAMUS (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System) and cross-referenced in other federal databases.

April 2021: FBI Launches Official Maura Murray Tip Portal

• The FBI took a major public step in April 2021 by launching a dedicated webpage for Maura’s case: It included her photos, physical description, circumstances of her disappearance, and contact information for submitting tips. The page is part of the FBI’s ViCAP (Violent Criminal Apprehension Program), which helps connect cases that may be related across jurisdictions.
• Link: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/maura-murray—haverhill-new-hampshire
• This marked the first time the FBI formally asked the public for help in the case and made it clear they considered the case suspicious and unresolved.

Maura Murray is still missing.

• The case remains open with the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit and is considered suspicious.
• There’s a $5,000 reward for information leading to arrest

February 9, 2004, Maura Murray dissapeared after a car crash on Route 112 near Woodsville, New Hampshire, a village in the town of Haverhill. Her whereabouts remain unknown.