Kudos to Clint Harting for digging up some old articles from the Patriot-Ledger from the first weeks after Maura Murray disappeared. I don't think I can upload the entire article but here are a few snippets I found most interesting:
About Maura's mother:
About a possible second vehicle:
About Maura's mother:
Lauri Murray has not left her home since Feb 9. She said her emotions have changed from feeling sad and depressed, to the point she is angry and wants to investigate her daughter’s disappearance on her own.
“I want to talk to the last one to see her. All the information we got was that she was walking up that road and just disappeared. Nobody just disappears like that and as far as being picked up or that she ran away … I’m getting angry. She would not do this and she would’ve contacted someone. We’re pushing 10 days now and somebody knows something,” Lauri Murray said.
About a possible second vehicle:
New Hampshire State Police Lt. John Scarinza said police now believe Murray got a ride from the accident scene. There was no evidence, however, to suggest there was a struggle.
“From that point on, it’s destination unknown,” Scarinza said.
From childhood friend Katie Jones:
Katie Jones, Murray's childhood friend and a student at Western New England College in Springfield, said although they've lived a few miles apart, they never visited each other at school.
“She was a very secretive person,'' Jones said.
“She never even told us about transferring to UMass until after it happened. Sometimes we think there might be more to that story than we know,'' she said
From Sara Alfieri:
At about 1 a.m., Alfieri said she was passed out from drinking. Markopoulos was still up with Murray and they were talking about going home at about 2:30 a.m. But Murray wanted to go to her father's hotel, according to Markopoulos.
“I told her just to go back to her room and meet him in the morning, but she wouldn't listen,'' she said.
From Kate Markopoulos
Their birthdays are 11 days apart. Their friendship blossomed last year when they turned 21. Then a new Murray came out - someone who could be “somewhat flirtatious'' when she drank.
All along, however, she was focused on settling down with Rausch and starting a career, said Markopoulos. She held two jobs so she could fly to Oklahoma, where Rausch is stationed at Fort Sill. She planned to move there after graduation.