The disappearance of Maura Murray is perhaps the most highly speculated case of the 21st century.
There are numerous podcasts, websites, and docuseries dedicated to finding the truth.
Nevertheless, the 16th anniversary of Mauras disappearance has passed and it remains an unsolved mystery.
Maura was born May 4, 1982 in Hanson, Massachuessettes.
During her freshman year, Maura received an honor code violation for stealing makeup from a Fort Knox commissary.
She wasnt formally expelled and transferred into the nursing program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Herarrest recordshows that the charge would be dismissed after 3 months of good behavior.
On Saturday, February 7th, Mauras dad, Fred, arrived in town to take her car shopping.
That night, Maura borrowed Freds car and attended a party on campus.
Cops arrived at the scene and drove her to the motel.
There is no documentation of a sobriety test in the accident report.
Fred rented a car and returned to his home in Connecticut on February 8th.
Just after midnight:Maura searched MapQuest for directions to the Berkshires and Burlington, Vermont.
1:00 PM:Maura emailed her boyfriend to say she hadnt felt like talking to anyone lately.
She promised to call him later.
1:00-1:13 PM:She made a phone call inquiring about a condo rental in Bartlett, New Hampshire.
She was familiar with the condos as her family had vacationed there in the past.
The phone call lasted 3 minutes and no rental plans were made.
Maura then called a fellow nursing student.
(Her family insists there was no death.)
2:05 PM:Maura called a number that provides pre-recorded information about booking hotels in Stowe, Vermont.
The phone call lasted 5 minutes.
2:18 PM:Maura left her boyfriend a voicemail.
The call lasted 1 minute and she said they would talk later.
Maura then packed her car with clothes, birth control pills, textbooks, and toiletries.
Police found a printed email in the room between Maura and her boyfriend that indicated relationship problems.
3:30 PM:Maura drove away in her 1996 Saturn sedan.
Classes that day were cancelled due to an impending snowstorm.
Security footage at both the ATM and liquor store determined she was alone at the time.
Around 4:00-5:00 PM:Maura left Amherst.
Her last recorded phone call was at 4:37 PM to check her voicemail.
She heard a loud thump and saw a car along the snow bank on Route 112.
The car was pointing west in the eastbound lane.
Westmans neighbors, Virginia and John Marrotte, also noticed Mauras car out their kitchen window.
Its hazard lights were on and they noticed someone walking around the car.
Atwood got out of his bus and asked if Maura needed him to call the police.
Maura said no, claiming that she had already called AAA.
Knowing that the area didnt have cell service, Atwood doubted her story.
Atwood returned home and called 911.
7:46 PM:Haverhill Police Sergeant Cecil Smith arrived at the scene.
He was dispatched at 7:29 following Westmans 911 call.
The car was locked and there was no sign of Maura.
The airbags had deployed and there was a crack in the drivers side windshield.
Smith saw a box of Franzia behind the drivers seat and an empty beer bottle.
There was red liquid on the drivers side door, the cars ceiling, and on the road.
Later searches found a coke bottle filled with a red drink that smelled like alcohol.
Her cell phone, wallet, and credit cards have never been located.
After telling the officer he hadnt seen anyone since he left the vehicle, both Atwood and Sgt.
Smith drove around the area looking for Maura.
10 minutes after Sgt.
Smiths arrival, EMS and a fire truck pulled up to the scene.
8:49 PM:The scene was cleared and Mauras car was towed.
The FBI was called in 10 days after the disappearance and it became a nationwide search.
Although her family disputes these claims, police repeatedly expressed concern that Maura was suicidal.
Many criticize the police for their lack of urgency during the initial days.
Mauras intention was to disappear that day.
She was planning to meet up with someone, and that individual picked her up after the crash.
Maura left that day to kill herself in the mountains.
To elaborate on the first theory, its worth diving into theclaims of James Renner.
(Maura had searched online for the effects of alcohol on a fetus.
Some of her nursing school friends later said this was research for an assignment.)
Renner reported that a friend of Mauras emailed him and accused Bill, Mauras boyfriend, of being abusive.
Just last year,Bill Rauschwas indicted by a Grand Jury on felony sex abuse.
The UMass Outing Club owns a cabin in the White Mountains and some believe thats where she was heading.
Theres no reports indicating that Maura and Baghdadi were in communication in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.
Fred wholeheartedly believes that Maura was abducted.
By 2006, Claude no longer lived there and the new owners allowed private investigators to inspect it.
Cadaver dogs made a hit and carpet samples were taken for testing.
Unfortunately, the chain of custody is unclear and the samples were lost.
Moultons knife had been turned over to New Hampshire State Police, but results were never released.
In 2016, theMissing Maura Murraypodcast returned to the A-frame.
They found what appeared to be blood stains in a closet.
Wood chips were turned over to a molecular geneticist who was able to confirm the presence of human blood.
Unfortunately, the samples are too deteriorated to determine with 100% certainty whether the blood is Mauras.
Investigators removed concrete and searched several feet down, but no evidence was found.
The opportunistic killer theory may be statistically less likely, but it cant be ruled out.
One month after Maura went missing, 17-year-old Brianna Maitland disappeared in Vermont.
Some feel its possible that both women fell prey to a serial killer.
Many online sleuths still point to Keyes.
Rick Forcier is another name thats frequently brought up when discussing Maura Murray.
Some find his story suspicious because he didnt report the sighting until months later.
Occams Razor is widely referenced by those who consider this the simplest explanation.
No matter which theory you believe, its astounding how many persons of interest have been named.
Particularly for a case that lacks any true suspects.
This unsolved mystery has more twists and turns than the route Maura set out on that fateful night.
We can only hope that one day the record is set straight.
