News/Archive — 107 ° Maura Murray

Key Developments

From NBC 10 Boston, the NHSP in conjunction with the FBI have released an aged-progressed image of what they believe Maura Murray may look like at 41. Read the official press release here.
From Western Mass News, the New Hampshire State Police, with the assistance of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department conducted a ground-search of an area located off Route 112 in the towns of Landaff and Easton, New Hampshire, in connection with the investigation into the disappearance of Maura Murray. Read the official press release here.
From Boston.com, the FBI has issued a nationwide alert adding Maura Murray to ViCAP, the bureau’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. ViCAP focuses on crimes such as serial killings, sexual assaults, missing persons, and unidentified human remains. The purpose is to facilitate cooperation and communication between law enforcement agencies across the country. See the official FBI poster and alert here.
From the Patriot Ledger, human bones uncovered on Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH during a construction project in September of 2021 were confirmed not to belong to Maura Murray.
From WMUR, homeowners near the site of where Maura Murray disappeared allowed the NH State Police and FBI to search their basement, however no evidence was uncovered as a result of their effort.
From CBS News, in late 2018, cadaver dogs twice signaled potential human remains in a basement near where Maura Murray's car crashed in 2004. An early tip suggested a body might be buried there in the home but the homeowners never permitted access. Fred Murray pushes the state police to search the home but receives pushback from state police.
From the Boston Globe, Fred Murray, who has been highly critical of law enforcement’s investigation into the disappearance of his daughter, sued Governor Lynch, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, the state police, and other law-enforcement agencies seeking the release of information tied to the investigation. [For more information about this case, see the Records section of this site.]
From The Caledonian-Record, nearly 100 searchers from across New Hampshire combed a one-mile radius in Swiftwater, N.H.
From The Caledonian-Record, the Murray and Rausch families believe the police are misinforming the public and are upset about comments made by Lt. John Scarinza. who pointed to a book in Maura’s car, “Not Without Peril” by Nicholas Howe, as a possible source of why Maura disappeared. "You don't try to provide spin unless you are trying to cover something up," said Sharon Rausch.
From The Caledonian-Record, police repossess items including the contents of her car and the vehicle itself back into police custody.
From The Boston Globe, a local contractor came forward to say they saw someone matching Maura’s description on the road at around 7:00 PM and about 4 or 5 miles from where she disappeared.
From The Caledonian-Record, a helicopter team searched an area that had been searched previously, but at the time, had been covered by snow. The team searched the river area and Bradley Hill Road areas as well as other side roads.
From The Caledonian-Record, K-9 teams from the Adirondack Rescue Dog Association conduct a search of the area surrounding the accident site. Maura’s boyfriend, Bill Rausch, enlists the help of the UMass-Amherst to distribute an email to all university students, faculty, and staff in hopes of spreading awareness.
From The Caledonian-Record, six weeks after the disappearance of Maura Murray, Brianna Maitland, 17, of Sheldon, Vt., disappeared after being involved in a one-car accident late at night on the East Berkshire Road in northern Vermont.
From The Caledonian-Record, Kathleen Murray finds a pair of white, women's underwear lying on the snow near French Pond Road in Haverhill and explains that she hoped to hold a fundraiser to boost the reward fund which stood at $30,000 at that time.
From The Caledonian-Record, an in-depth review of the search efforts and frustrations with law enforcement several weeks following Maura’s disappearance. It quotes Butch Atwood (the only witness to speak with Maura) as saying that Murray didn't appear to be intoxicated, despite police having said a witness indicated she had appeared to be impaired due to alcohol. It also notes outside efforts to assist including help from private investors and an unspecified amount being offered in reward money by Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Media/Outreach

From CBS News, Maura Murray’s sister, Julie Murray, launched a podcast titled Media Pressure Season 1: The Untold Story of Maura Murray. The show tells the story of Maura’s disappearance through the voices of those who knew her best. You can listen to Media Pressure here.
From The Nashua Telegraph, families of some of the 130 unsolved cases in NH, including the family of Maura Murray, gathered outside the Attorney General’s office in New Hampshire to push for more action on unsolved cases.
From WMUR, the family of Maura Murray awarded a senior at Whitman-Hanson High School in Massachusetts with the first ever scholarship in Maura’s honor.
From the New Hampshire Union Leader, billboards near Stoneham, MA and Methuen, MA were erected in hopes of raising awareness about Maura Murray ahead of the 19th anniversary of her disappearance.
From Oxygen.com, a six part documentary series featuring the investigation into the disappearance of Maura Murray and produced by Texas Crew Productions aired over the course of six weeks in the fall of 2017 on the Oxygen Network. Find and watch the series here.
Season 1, Episode 6 of Investigation Discovery’s Disappeared is titled “Miles to Nowhere” and features Maura’s disappearance along with interviews with Fred Murray, Sharon Rausch, reporter Maribeth Conway, Liz Drewniak, Katie Jones, Linda Salamone, and Lt. John Scarinza. It is available to stream with subscriptions to Amazon Prime, Max, Apple TV, YouTube Premium, and Hulu Premium.
ABC News 20/20 details Maura’s disappearance and features Fred Murray, Sharon Rausch, Bill Rausch, Liz Drewniak, Lt. John Scarinza, and reporter Joe McGee. The 2004 abduction and murder of Brook Wilberger in Oregon is also featured.
Season 14, Episode 159 of The Montel Williams Show is titled “Vanished Without a Trace” and features Fred Murray and Sharon Rausch discussing Maura’s disappearance.

Archive/Collections

Composite of reports from 2004 that were published in The Caledonian-Record, which is a daily newspaper published in St. Johnsbury, VT. The majority of the pieces are written by Gary E. Lindsley, who was one of the few journalists covering Maura’s disappearance in 2004 that used primary sources and obtained direct quotes from witnesses in his reporting.
This is a link to a selection of articles that appeared in The Boston Globe in 2004.
This is a link to a composite of all articles to feature the disappearance of Maura Murray in The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the student newspaper at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.
From Boston Magazine, this 2014 piece by Billy Jensen, published just before the 10th anniversary of Maura’s disappearance, highlights the role of the internet and online sleuths in the search for Maura Murray.
From SOCO Magazine, this piece by Kerry Miller appeared in a 2011 issue of SOCO Magazine and details some past reporting by Maribeth Conway, as well as work being done by Terrence O’Connell. The piece also features an interview with a witness, Susan Champy.
From the Whitman-Hanson Express, This 5-part series written by Maribeth Conway and Josh Cutler appeared in the Whitman-Hanson Express in 2007. This thoroughly researched piece utilized primary sources an interviews with witnesses in the case.
This investigative piece by Vanessa Grigoriadis was published in the July 2004 issue of Seventeen Magazine and features quotes by Maura’s friend, Kate Markopolous.