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Maura Murray_ Did Someone Take Her From That Dark Road · Midday Missing

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Speaker 1: On the evening of February 9th, 2004, 21-year-old nursing student
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Speaker 1: Mara Murray crashed her black Saturn along a dark, snow-covered
0:12
Speaker 1: road in Haverville, New Hampshire. A school bus driver stopped
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Speaker 1: to offer help, but Mara insisted she had already called
0:21
Speaker 1: for roadside assistance. She was alive, able to speak, and
0:25
Speaker 1: standing beside her vehicle when he left. But when police
0:29
Speaker 1: arrived just minutes later, Mara was gone. Her car was
0:33
Speaker 1: still there along with her belongings, but there was no
0:36
Speaker 1: sign of the young woman who had been seen only
0:40
Speaker 1: moments earlier. More than 22 years later, investigators still cannot
0:45
Speaker 1: explain how Mara disappeared in such a short window of time.
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Speaker 1: Had she walked into the freezing New Hampshire wilderness, accepted
0:54
Speaker 1: a ride from a stranger, or encountered someone who never
0:59
Speaker 1: intended to let her go? And perhaps the most haunting
1:02
Speaker 1: question of all, was Mara's mysterious trip north connected to
1:08
Speaker 1: her disappearance? Or did something completely unexpected happen on that long,
1:13
Speaker 1: lonely stretch of Route 112?
1:15
Speaker 2: Music Hello, lovelies.
1:43
Speaker 1: I am Terry True Crime, and welcome to Midday Missing,
1:47
Speaker 1: where we shine a light on missing person cases. Why?
1:51
Speaker 1: Because they deserve more attention, more awareness, and and more
1:55
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Speaker 1: as we share their stories and help keep these cases
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Speaker 1: in the public eye. Hello, thank you for joining, and
2:15
Speaker 1: welcome to all of the replay crew later. Sorry, I
2:19
Speaker 1: was not here on Wednesday. had a little bit of
2:22
Speaker 1: a medical emergency and was out for several days. So
2:25
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Speaker 1: more people discover Midday Missing, but most importantly, helps us
3:13
Speaker 1: reach more people with the name, face, and the story
3:17
Speaker 1: of the missing person. Thank you for doing that. It
3:26
Speaker 1: is a Monday, okay? It is a Monday. Now, Mara
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Speaker 1: Murray was born on May 4th, 1982 and grew up
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Speaker 1: in Hanson, Massachusetts as part of a large family.
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Speaker 2: She was intelligent, athletic.
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Speaker 1: And intensely competitive, particularly as a runner. After graduating from
3:47
Speaker 1: high school, Mara attended the United States Military Academy at
3:51
Speaker 1: West Point before eventually transferring to the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
3:58
Speaker 1: And guys, I have to tell you, the fact that
4:01
Speaker 1: she got in to West Point to me is extremely impressive.
4:06
Speaker 1: Extremely impressive. I have a friend whose son went to
4:09
Speaker 1: West Point and that's not easy to get into. So
4:13
Speaker 1: that says a lot about Mara. Now, Also, you're not
4:20
Speaker 1: a lost cause today. It's a Monday. It's fine. Hello,
4:24
Speaker 1: Pam in disguise. It is nice to see you here. Now,
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Speaker 1: at UMass, Mara entered the nursing program. And by February 2004,
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Speaker 1: Mara was a junior balancing her classes, work, relationships, and
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Speaker 1: the ordinary complications of being a 21-year-old college student. The
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Speaker 1: Mara shown in the missing person photographs. She was five
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Speaker 1: foot seven inches tall, weighed 120 to 125 pounds. She
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Speaker 1: had light brown hair, greenish blue eyes, and dimples on
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Speaker 1: both of her cheeks. Just look at her missing person poster.
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Speaker 1: I mean, that is some radiant skin. I mean, she
5:06
Speaker 1: is just, she's got that natural classic beauty. She also
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Speaker 1: had dental fillings and crowns that could assist with identification.
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Speaker 1: Mara was an avid runner who also enjoyed hiking in
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Speaker 1: New Hampshire's White Mountains, a place that she had recently
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Speaker 1: visited with her family before her disappearance. Now, before the road,
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Speaker 1: before the Saturn, and before the endless examination of phone
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Speaker 1: records and witness statements, there was a young woman whose
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Speaker 1: family knew her through a thousand ordinary moments. Mara's achievements
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Speaker 1: as a student and athlete did not make her immune
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Speaker 1: to uncertainty or mistakes. Her disappearance has sometimes been told
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Speaker 1: backwards and as though everything she did before February 9th
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Speaker 1: must have been a warning sign. But hindsight is a
6:02
Speaker 1: powerful distortion. A decision that seemed ordinary to Mara on
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Speaker 1: a Monday afternoon might appear ominous only because we know
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Speaker 1: she did not return. Her family has asked people to
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Speaker 1: remember that distinction and to recognize Mara as a whole person,
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Speaker 1: not merely the subject of a theory. Because Mara's family
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Speaker 1: knew the runner, the student, the daughter, and sister long
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Speaker 1: before the rest of the country knew the photograph on
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Speaker 1: a missing person poster. Her love of the mountains was
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Speaker 1: part of a life that had room for hard work
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Speaker 1: and adventure, and her decision to pursue nursing pointed toward
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Speaker 1: a future she was still building. It is easy knowing
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Speaker 1: what came later to turn every difficult moment in that
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Speaker 1: life into a clue. But the people closest to Mara
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Speaker 1: had every reason to expect there would be more conversations,
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Speaker 1: more visits, and more chances to see what the future
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Speaker 1: would hold. Understanding why Mara was driving through northern New
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Speaker 1: Hampshire that February evening requires going back several days because
7:24
Speaker 1: there were some signs that something was weighing heavily on her.
7:30
Speaker 1: On the night of Thursday, February 5th, Mara was working
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Speaker 1: a security job on the UMass campus when she received
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Speaker 1: a telephone call. Afterward, a supervisor found her visibly upset.
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Speaker 1: Exactly what caused Mara's emotional reaction has never been definitively
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Speaker 1: established publicly, despite years of attempts to reconstruct that conversation
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Speaker 1: and the events surrounding it. Guys, I'm going to go
8:00
Speaker 1: on a limb and say maybe law enforcement knows, and
8:03
Speaker 1: they're keeping that to themselves, okay? Sadly, they can't tell
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Speaker 1: us everything. Drives me crazy. Sure drives the family crazy.
8:12
Speaker 1: It drives everybody else crazy. Sorry, guys, you're going to
8:18
Speaker 1: see me drinking a lot of water. My throat is
8:21
Speaker 1: still scratchy from the tube in my throat. So it's
8:26
Speaker 1: all good, but I apologize. Two days later, on Saturday,
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Speaker 1: February 7th, Mara's father, Fred Murray, visited her in Amherst.
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Speaker 1: Fred has explained that one purpose of the visit was
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Speaker 1: to help Mara look for another vehicle because her black
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Speaker 1: Saturn was unreliable. They spent time together, had dinner, and
8:49
Speaker 1: later that evening Mara borrowed Fred's Toyota Corolla so she
8:53
Speaker 1: could attend a gathering with friends. That weekend also brought
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Speaker 1: another car accident. In the early hours of Sunday, February 8th,
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Speaker 1: Mara was driving Fred's Toyota back towards his motel when
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Speaker 1: she struck a guardrail. Police responded, and although the car
9:11
Speaker 1: was badly damaged, Mara was not seriously hurt. She was
9:16
Speaker 1: not cited with any infractions. Now, Fred later described trying
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Speaker 1: to reassure her that the damage could be handled through insurance.
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Speaker 2: He was like, it's not a big deal, okay?
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Speaker 1: We got insurance coverage. Now, whether Mara carried private worry
9:33
Speaker 1: or embarrassment about the accident is something unknown. No one
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Speaker 1: can know for certain. Let's all be honest. If you've
9:41
Speaker 1: wrecked your parents' car or your husband's car, I know that.
9:47
Speaker 1: Never wrecked my parents' car, but I did wreck my
9:50
Speaker 1: husband's Corvette. You feel guilty, okay? Whether you let people know,
9:56
Speaker 1: but still, I mean, you do. However, what her family
10:03
Speaker 1: did know was that she had survived and had returned
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Speaker 1: to campus. The following day, however, she would leave Amherst
10:12
Speaker 1: without telling them where she was headed. During the early
10:16
Speaker 1: morning hours of February 8th, Mara was driving Fred's Toyota
10:21
Speaker 1: back towards his motel when she had crashed into that guardrail, okay? Now,
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Speaker 1: like I told you, Fred told his daughter not to
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Speaker 1: worry about it, okay? Now, we do know that when
10:36
Speaker 1: Mara returned to campus, she had begun making those preparations
10:40
Speaker 1: to leave Amherst. She searched for information about destinations to
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Speaker 1: the north. and reportedly looked at directions to Burlington, Vermont.
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Speaker 1: She contacted Lodging and Stowe, Vermont, although she did not
10:55
Speaker 1: make a reservation. There was also a call that connected
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Speaker 1: to a condominium in Bartlett, New Hampshire, an area that
11:03
Speaker 1: was familiar to the Murray family from previous trips. Mara
11:08
Speaker 1: then contacted professors and her workplace and said there had
11:12
Speaker 1: been a death in her family and that she would
11:15
Speaker 1: be away for approximately a week. Guys, there had been
11:20
Speaker 1: no death in Mar's family, okay? The message therefore established
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Speaker 1: that Mar was intentionally creating several days away from her
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Speaker 1: responsibility at UMass, but it did not explain why she
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Speaker 1: wanted that time or what she planned to do, okay?
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Speaker 1: Her family has long believed she may simply have felt
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Speaker 1: overwhelmed and wanted to get away for a few days.
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Speaker 1: I mean, guys, who hasn't felt that way? Okay? I'll
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Speaker 1: be honest. A couple years ago, I was overwhelmed with
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Speaker 1: some things after an incident on Christmas with our younger son.
12:00
Speaker 1: I took off and checked into a hotel for three days.
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Speaker 1: Just needed some time and some space to myself. Okay? Now,
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Speaker 1: we know Mara's message about a death in the family
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Speaker 1: was not true. And we would learn that investigators would
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Speaker 1: later examine that lie very closely, okay? It showed that
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Speaker 1: she wanted time away from her normal commitment, but it
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Speaker 1: left the most personal part of her decision unanswered, okay?
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Speaker 1: Had she been trying to find a few days peace?
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Speaker 1: Was there something else she did not feel ready to explain?
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Speaker 1: Those questions remain open, okay? And you've got to remember,
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Speaker 1: adults have the right to go missing. Now, we will
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Speaker 1: say that false excuse alone cannot tell us whether she
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Speaker 1: ever intended to stay away permanently. During the afternoon on
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Speaker 1: February 9th, Mar withdrew $ 280 from her bank account. Surveillance
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Speaker 1: cameras at the ATM captured some of the last confirmed
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Speaker 1: images before she disappeared. She was wearing a dark jacket
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Speaker 1: and jeans. Mara also stopped at a liquor store and
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Speaker 1: purchased alcohol, including wine that would later be found inside
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Speaker 1: her Saturn. Now, we know sometime that afternoon, Mara left
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Speaker 1: the UMass Amherst campus in her black 1996 Saturn. She
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Speaker 1: hadn't told her family, friends, anyone about the trip, okay?
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Speaker 1: And the investigators have never been able to establish her
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Speaker 1: intended final destination. with absolute certainty. What they do know
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Speaker 1: is that Marr drove north from Massachusetts and eventually entered
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Speaker 1: New Hampshire. Now that drive would have taken several hours, okay?
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Speaker 1: By early evening, Marr was traveling east along Route 112
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Speaker 1: through Haverville, New Hampshire, a rural area surrounded by mountains, woods,
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Speaker 1: and scattered homes. It was February and snow covered the
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Speaker 1: ground and the darkness had already settled across the road.
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Speaker 1: For her father, Fred, this visit was part of a
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Speaker 1: practical family problem. His daughter's car was unreliable, and they
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Speaker 1: were looking for something better. And that mundane detail would
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Speaker 1: take on a painful significance when Mars-Saturn became the last
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Speaker 1: confirmed physical location associated with her. Family make these plans
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Speaker 1: all the time. They talk about repairs, budgets, what kind
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Speaker 1: of new car would be affordable, okay? And there was
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Speaker 1: no reason during that Saturday visit for Fred to know
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Speaker 1: or to suspect that he would soon be searching for
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Speaker 1: his daughter rather than shopping for her replacement vehicle. And
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Speaker 1: after Mar vanished, even those ordinary conversations become moments he
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Speaker 1: would often forget. At approximately 7.30 p.m., Mars-Saturn traveled off
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Speaker 1: Route 112 and became stuck near a curve in the road.
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Speaker 1: Residents in the area became aware of the accident and
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Speaker 1: calls began going to authorities. One of the people who
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Speaker 1: encountered the scene was local school bus driver Bruce, who
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Speaker 1: goes by Butch Atwood, who stopped to see whether the
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Speaker 1: young woman near the Saturn needed any help. Okay? Okay.
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Speaker 1: Somewhere between leaving Amherst and reaching that bend in Route 112,
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Speaker 1: Mar's trip became a mystery. She had taken those steps
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Speaker 1: to step away from campus, pack some belongings, and drove north.
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Speaker 1: Butch's conversation with Mar would become one of the more
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Speaker 1: important pieces of the case. He described a young woman
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Speaker 1: beside the Saturn, shaken but able to speak. And she
16:09
Speaker 1: appeared reluctant to accept help. I mean, guys, if I'm
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Speaker 1: on a dark road and a stranger pulls up, I'm
16:17
Speaker 1: going to be a little, you know, worried, okay? Doesn't
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Speaker 1: mean he's a bad guy, but I think that's okay
16:25
Speaker 1: to be that way, okay? Now, Butch could not know
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Speaker 1: what she would do once he drove away. In an
16:33
Speaker 1: ordinary evening, their brief encounter might have ended as nothing
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Speaker 1: more than a story about a driver who needed assistance. Instead,
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Speaker 1: it became one of the last widely documented interactions before
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Speaker 1: Marr vanished. Now, the accident has often been presented as
16:54
Speaker 1: an explanation for why Marr left campus. But the evidence
16:59
Speaker 1: does not permit that conclusion because guys, How do we
17:03
Speaker 1: know that, right? I don't think wrecking her dad's car
17:07
Speaker 1: would be a reason for her to run away, but
17:09
Speaker 1: we don't know because it certainly added another difficulty to
17:13
Speaker 1: her weekend. Like I said, she probably felt responsible and
17:19
Speaker 1: she might've been embarrassed, okay? Let's be honest. Even though
17:23
Speaker 1: dad assures you, you don't know what that person is
17:27
Speaker 1: going through, okay? Now, A person's reaction cannot be reconstructed
17:32
Speaker 1: simply by listing events around them. Even if the crash
17:37
Speaker 1: contributed to a desire for time away, it still does
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Speaker 1: not tell us what happened on Route 112 the following evening. Guys,
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Speaker 1: I've said this before. You can walk out your front
17:49
Speaker 1: door to go walk your dog and something nefarious can happen, okay?
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Speaker 1: People can see somebody wrecked on the side of the
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Speaker 1: road And if somebody's out looking for something bad to do,
18:01
Speaker 1: you don't know, okay? So why Murr said she had
18:06
Speaker 1: already called for assistance has never been established. I mean,
18:11
Speaker 1: she may have simply have wanted Butch to leave because
18:14
Speaker 1: she believed she could handle the situation herself. She may
18:17
Speaker 1: have been worried about police arriving because she had alcohol
18:20
Speaker 1: in the vehicle. Maybe she had drank some of that
18:23
Speaker 1: alcohol or because she had recently been involved in another accident.
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Speaker 1: Whatever the reason, we know that Butch returned to his
18:31
Speaker 1: nearby home and he contacted authorities anyway. Okay. The other
18:36
Speaker 1: residents who were also aware of the disabled Saturn and
18:39
Speaker 1: reported the accident. This meant Mara was not completely isolated
18:45
Speaker 1: on an unseen stretch of road. Okay. But no witnesses
18:49
Speaker 1: appear to have maintained an uninterrupted view of her from
18:53
Speaker 1: the moment Butch left until police arrived. And guys, That
18:59
Speaker 1: small gap became enormously important, okay? At approximately 7.46 p.m.,
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Speaker 1: an officer reached the Saturn. The vehicle was there, but
19:13
Speaker 1: Mara was not. So in a remarkably short period of time,
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Speaker 1: the 21-year-old woman who had been speaking beside the car
19:23
Speaker 1: had disappeared from the immediate area and no confirmed witnesses
19:29
Speaker 1: have publicly established where she went next. Guide, that is scary.
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Speaker 1: You're 21. For some reason, you've taken off. Maybe you
19:42
Speaker 1: just need some time. College is overwhelming, let's be honest. Plus,
19:46
Speaker 1: she was working. She had left West Point. You wrecked
19:49
Speaker 1: your dad's car. Then you wrecked your car.
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Speaker 2: I mean, we don't know what was going on.
19:54
Speaker 1: But I do know it probably had to be scary
19:57
Speaker 1: as shit to be standing on a dark road in
20:01
Speaker 1: the snow area. Okay? Now, the geography deserves attention. Okay? Okay?
20:10
Speaker 1: because Burlington and Stowe are in Vermont, while Bartlett lies
20:14
Speaker 1: in New Hampshire. These are not interchangeable destinations, and a
20:19
Speaker 1: search for directions is not the same as a confirmed reservation.
20:24
Speaker 1: Because Mara may have been considering more than one place,
20:28
Speaker 1: she may have been deciding as she traveled. I mean,
20:31
Speaker 1: she may have intended to reach a familiar area without
20:34
Speaker 1: arranging lodging in advance. And investigators can document certain calls
20:40
Speaker 1: and searches. They have no way of knowing what final
20:45
Speaker 1: decision she made. Let's be honest, if she had made
20:48
Speaker 1: one at all, okay? This is one reason the question
20:52
Speaker 1: of why she was on Route 112 remains separate from
20:56
Speaker 1: the question of where she intended to spend the night. Now,
21:02
Speaker 1: investigators examined the Saturn and the belongings associated with Mars' trip.
21:08
Speaker 1: She had her college textbook, clothing, toiletries, music, directions, and
21:13
Speaker 1: alcohol were some of the items connected to the vehicle.
21:17
Speaker 1: Wine had spilled inside the Saturn, and the stains found
21:22
Speaker 1: in the car were later examined. Okay, those stains were
21:25
Speaker 1: not determined to be blood. Now, some belongings Mara could
21:30
Speaker 1: reasonably have carried with her were not left behind, supporting
21:34
Speaker 1: the possibility that she had deliberately walked away from the
21:37
Speaker 1: Saturn after I mean, guys, maybe she grabbed her purse
21:42
Speaker 1: and decided, I'm going to walk somewhere for help. We
21:45
Speaker 1: don't know. Walking away from the car. However, like I said,
21:49
Speaker 1: doesn't explain what happens next. Searchers began examining the surrounding
21:55
Speaker 1: area around Route 112. A police dog was used in
22:00
Speaker 1: an attempt to follow Mara's scent. Authorities searched roadside and
22:05
Speaker 1: wooden terrain, and later searches involved helicopters, dogs, and search
22:10
Speaker 1: teams on the ground. Now, that claim about a death
22:16
Speaker 1: in the family we know was a lie, and that
22:21
Speaker 1: attracted the investigators' attention, okay? That made them very curious
22:26
Speaker 1: because there are several ways to interpret the decision without
22:29
Speaker 1: treating any of them as established, okay? A student might
22:34
Speaker 1: use a family emergency as an excuse to avoid explaining
22:38
Speaker 1: private difficulties. Someone planning a short, unannounced trip might want
22:44
Speaker 1: to prevent professors or employers from asking questions. Neither possibility
22:49
Speaker 1: means the person intended to vanish permanently. Because guys, if
22:53
Speaker 1: she wasn't planning on going back, why would you take
22:57
Speaker 1: your college textbooks to study? If you're not going back,
22:59
Speaker 1: you don't need those. That's just my thought, okay? Now,
23:04
Speaker 1: the snowy landscape offered both possible explanations and a whole.
23:09
Speaker 2: Lot of obstacles, okay?
23:11
Speaker 1: Because in February, the woods around Haverhill could be dangerous
23:14
Speaker 1: to anyone traveling without shelter, especially in the dark, okay? Now,
23:21
Speaker 1: those searchers paid close attention to the snow near the
23:24
Speaker 1: crash site, looking for tracks that might reveal a path
23:28
Speaker 1: into the trees. They did not find a clear trail
23:32
Speaker 1: leading directly into the woods from the Saturn, okay? That
23:36
Speaker 1: was a significant observation, but it could not rule out
23:40
Speaker 1: the possibility that Mara had walked along the roadside before
23:46
Speaker 1: leaving the roadside somewhere else, okay? The evidence that has
23:52
Speaker 1: been found has never allowed investigators to establish what exactly happened, okay?
23:59
Speaker 1: Like we said, they did not find a clear trail
24:02
Speaker 1: of footprints. And that tells them they don't know for
24:06
Speaker 1: sure she didn't go into the wilderness.
24:09
Speaker 2: Okay, we don't know.
24:11
Speaker 1: Now, we do know Mara was an experienced runner, and
24:14
Speaker 1: she was very familiar with the outdoors. She had hiked
24:17
Speaker 1: in the White Mountains and was physically capable of traveling
24:21
Speaker 1: a significant distance on foot. I mean, girl, if she
24:25
Speaker 1: can run, she got some stamina because... You will only
24:29
Speaker 1: catch me running if someone's chasing me, okay? Now, maybe
24:35
Speaker 1: Mara was worried about police arriving. It is possible she
24:39
Speaker 1: believed she could leave the immediate area temporarily and return
24:43
Speaker 1: after the situation and calm down. I mean, maybe she
24:46
Speaker 1: had taken a couple of drinks of that wine and
24:48
Speaker 1: she was scared to get in trouble. We don't know
24:51
Speaker 1: because there's no evidence establishing exactly what her plan was, okay? Now,
24:58
Speaker 1: that ATM footage shows Mara alive on the day she
25:03
Speaker 1: vanished before all of this uncertainty and the crash, okay?
25:08
Speaker 1: That camera sighting cannot tell us was she frightened, was
25:11
Speaker 1: she crying, was she relieved? All we know is that
25:15
Speaker 1: she got money, she went to a liquor store, and
25:18
Speaker 1: she purchased some liquor, okay? Now, another possibility has haunted
25:24
Speaker 1: the case from almost the beginning. Marr may have accepted
25:29
Speaker 1: a ride from someone passing along Route 12. It was
25:32
Speaker 1: a rural road, but it wasn't completely deserted. If someone
25:37
Speaker 1: stopped and offered to take a young woman away from
25:40
Speaker 1: a disabled vehicle on a cold Friday night, accepting that
25:44
Speaker 1: ride might have seemed safer than remaining alone on the road.
25:50
Speaker 1: But if Marr did enter another vehicle, investigators have never
25:55
Speaker 1: publicly identified the person or anything, okay?
26:01
Speaker 2: Now, hello, Mama Llama.
26:05
Speaker 1: Fred Murray has long believed his daughter encountered someone after
26:09
Speaker 1: the crash and became the victim of foul play. He
26:12
Speaker 1: has repeatedly returned to New Hampshire. He has participated in
26:17
Speaker 1: searches and urged anyone with information to speak up. For
26:22
Speaker 1: Fred and other members of Mar's family, The fact that
26:25
Speaker 1: extensive searches have failed to find her in the surrounding
26:28
Speaker 1: wilderness strengthens their belief that she left the immediate area
26:33
Speaker 1: in a vehicle. I mean, guys, let's be honest. I
26:38
Speaker 1: forget right off the top of my head who the
26:42
Speaker 1: couple killer was that a woman and man would go
26:47
Speaker 1: and offer people who were hitchhiking or people in trouble rides,
26:51
Speaker 1: and then they would kill them. I mean... Maybe she
26:53
Speaker 1: felt more comfortable getting into a vehicle with a male
26:57
Speaker 1: and a female.
26:58
Speaker 2: We don't know, okay?
27:01
Speaker 1: Now, the investigation has expanded far beyond that stretch of
27:05
Speaker 1: Route 112 where the Saturn was abandoned because authorities followed
27:11
Speaker 1: tips involving possible sightings, properties, vehicles, or individuals. Search teams
27:17
Speaker 1: have repeatedly returned to New Hampshire's woods and mountains, okay,
27:22
Speaker 1: and If you've never heard of Mara's case, that would
27:26
Speaker 1: surprise me because her disappearance has attracted national attention. And
27:31
Speaker 1: let's be honest, it has become one of the most
27:33
Speaker 1: widely discussed missing person cases of the internet era.
27:39
Speaker 2: Hello, Lainey.
27:41
Speaker 1: You're away on vacay in PA. The rhyming was unintentional.
27:46
Speaker 1: I'm a poet and didn't.
27:47
Speaker 2: Even know it.
27:48
Speaker 1: You are so adorable. You are a poet and an
27:51
Speaker 1: amazing singer. Thank you for joining us while you're on vacay. Now,
27:57
Speaker 1: a winter road after dark can look deceptively quiet. Snow
28:02
Speaker 1: along the shoulder changes the apparent width of the pavement,
28:06
Speaker 1: and a curve can arrive quickly when the driver is
28:09
Speaker 1: unfamiliar with the immediate stretch. The location of Mars' crash
28:14
Speaker 1: has been studied for years, but even a detailed reconstruction
28:19
Speaker 1: of the Saturn's damage cannot supply an account of what
28:24
Speaker 1: happened and what she did afterward, okay? Now, this attention
28:31
Speaker 1: has created two different realities for the Murray family. On
28:35
Speaker 1: one hand, Mara's name never faded from the public memory.
28:40
Speaker 1: People continued sharing her photograph, examining the case, submitting tips
28:45
Speaker 1: years after she disappeared. On the other hand, the enormous
28:49
Speaker 1: attention produced rumors and accusations that sometimes have traveled much
28:55
Speaker 1: faster than verified information. And guys, that's what is awful
29:03
Speaker 1: because when you don't know we're humans, we try to
29:06
Speaker 1: think what could have happened, right? Now, there's a lot
29:11
Speaker 1: of theories out there. You know, some people believe Mara
29:14
Speaker 1: intentionally disappeared and started another life. Others believe she became
29:19
Speaker 1: disoriented and died in the wilderness. Some think maybe she
29:23
Speaker 1: was struck by a vehicle. Some think she took a
29:27
Speaker 1: ride with somebody.
29:28
Speaker 2: We don't know.
29:30
Speaker 1: And for her family, the speculation could become painful, guys,
29:36
Speaker 1: because behind every theory was a real daughter and sister
29:39
Speaker 1: who remained missing. And her family has repeatedly tried to
29:43
Speaker 1: separate documented facts from rumors while continuing to encourage legitimate
29:48
Speaker 1: information that might help investigators. Guys, we need to remember,
29:55
Speaker 1: all we know is that she told her school and
30:00
Speaker 1: her job that she needed a week off. Okay. She
30:04
Speaker 1: took out $ 280. We know she bought alcohol and we
30:08
Speaker 1: know she called two different locations inquiring about possible lodging.
30:14
Speaker 1: And then we know that Butch saw her on the
30:17
Speaker 1: side of the road.
30:19
Speaker 2: That's all we know.
30:20
Speaker 1: Okay. Now Butch Atwood's role was both ordinary and extraordinary. Okay.
30:27
Speaker 1: He was a local driver who saw what appeared to
30:28
Speaker 1: be someone needing help. Now, his account places a woman
30:33
Speaker 1: by the Saturn shortly before the police response, okay? Now,
30:38
Speaker 1: a short roadside conversation can establish that someone was there
30:42
Speaker 1: able to speak, okay? And they could speak enough to
30:46
Speaker 1: decline assistance. But it cannot tell us what she intended
30:51
Speaker 1: to do next or what happened next, okay?
30:56
Speaker 2: We don't know.
30:58
Speaker 1: We do not know. Now, one of the most persistent
31:01
Speaker 1: areas of speculation involved a property near the crash site.
31:05
Speaker 1: Years of reports, private searches and claims involving search dogs
31:10
Speaker 1: and ground penetrating radar led to particular interest in the
31:14
Speaker 1: basement of a nearby house. Now, eventually authorities determined that
31:19
Speaker 1: that location should be examined. On April 3rd, 2019, New
31:25
Speaker 1: Hampshire State Police and FBI personnel searched the property. Investigators
31:30
Speaker 1: broke through concrete in the basement and examined the area
31:35
Speaker 1: for evidence connected to Mara. The search did not locate
31:42
Speaker 1: Mara or produce evidence that authorities have publicly identified as
31:46
Speaker 1: being connected to her disappearance. Now, another possible development surfaced
31:54
Speaker 1: in 2021 when bone fragments were discovered near the base
31:58
Speaker 1: of Loon Mountain. Because of the location and the continuing
32:02
Speaker 1: uncertain surrounding Mars disappearance, investigators considered whether the remains could
32:08
Speaker 1: belong to her. Testing did eventually determine that those bone
32:13
Speaker 1: fragments were not Mars. Guys, that has to be so
32:19
Speaker 1: hard for a family. to have to sit and wait
32:24
Speaker 1: for remains to be looked at. Now, in January of 2022,
32:31
Speaker 1: the FBI added Marr's case to its Violent Criminal Apprehension Program,
32:36
Speaker 1: commonly known as VICAP. The program allows information from cases
32:42
Speaker 1: involving missing persons and violent crimes to be compared and
32:46
Speaker 1: analyzed across jurisdictions. Now, Marr remains listed and VICAP as
32:52
Speaker 1: a missing person as of today. Now, hold on just
32:58
Speaker 1: a second. Wait, there was a man who saw her
33:00
Speaker 1: on the road and tried to help her and she
33:02
Speaker 1: declined his help. Maybe he's involved. We don't know, Lainey.
33:07
Speaker 1: We know that Butch was a bus driver, stopped and
33:09
Speaker 1: offered help. She said she had already called for roadside assistance,
33:14
Speaker 1: so he left. And as soon as he got home,
33:17
Speaker 1: he called the police. So we Never did I see
33:21
Speaker 1: that he was under suspicion for anything. Now, later in 2022,
33:26
Speaker 1: investigators again returned to the landscape surrounding the area where
33:30
Speaker 1: Mara disappeared. In July, law enforcement conducted a large ground
33:35
Speaker 1: search in Landoff in Easton, several miles from where the
33:39
Speaker 1: Saturn had been found. Search teams moved through wooded areas
33:44
Speaker 1: and used dogs while investigators attempted to examine terrain that
33:48
Speaker 1: had previously been searched with the benefit of additional resources
33:53
Speaker 1: and experience and improved technology, right? Now, they did release
34:02
Speaker 1: an age progression photo of what she might look like
34:07
Speaker 1: in 2024 because now she would be, at that time,
34:10
Speaker 1: 41 years old. Today, she would be 43 years old. Now,
34:18
Speaker 1: We all know an abandoned vehicle can contain a lot
34:22
Speaker 1: of information about its owner and still sadly reveal very
34:26
Speaker 1: little about a disappearance, okay? Because the textbook and the closing,
34:32
Speaker 1: all they tell us is that she was going somewhere.
34:36
Speaker 1: We don't know.
34:39
Speaker 2: None of these items can.
34:40
Speaker 1: Testify what happened to her.
34:42
Speaker 2: Let's be honest.
34:43
Speaker 1: We really wish it could, right? Now, At the 20th anniversary,
34:50
Speaker 1: it also brought renewed scrutiny to the Saturn itself. Court
34:54
Speaker 1: filings obtained by WMUR included analysis performed by collision experts
35:00
Speaker 1: who examined information about the vehicle. The experts could not
35:04
Speaker 1: definitively determine whether Marr was the only person inside the Saturn.
35:10
Speaker 1: They could not say yes or no. They also could
35:14
Speaker 1: not conclusively determine exactly what caused all of the damage
35:19
Speaker 1: associated with the crash. Okay. So guys, they don't know
35:24
Speaker 1: a whole lot. They really do not know. Now, the
35:28
Speaker 1: events before Mara left Massachusetts are equally just as hard
35:34
Speaker 1: to interpret. She had been visibly upset several days earlier
35:39
Speaker 1: after she got that phone call at work. Then she
35:41
Speaker 1: had a fender bender in her dad's vehicle and Then
35:44
Speaker 1: she told the professors there had been a death in
35:46
Speaker 1: her family, but there hadn't been one. And she told
35:50
Speaker 1: her job the same thing. Then she withdrew cash, bought alcohol,
35:55
Speaker 1: and left off in her car. Now, that is what
36:01
Speaker 1: makes the final known portion of Mars timeline so compelling
36:05
Speaker 1: and frustrating. Her Saturn crashed on Route 112. Butch Atwood
36:10
Speaker 1: stopped and spoke with her. Guys, I am going to
36:14
Speaker 1: have to pause for just a minute. I have an
36:16
Speaker 1: emergency call coming in. I will be right back. Hello? Hey.
36:28
Speaker 1: Of course.
36:32
Speaker 2: Okay.
36:33
Speaker 1: Well, you're set up for one. I paid the deposit
36:36
Speaker 1: and everything, so you're good to go. It was $ 75
36:42
Speaker 1: and they'll just apply it towards. They didn't tell me
36:47
Speaker 1: because it'll depend on what package you choose, I'm sure. Okay,
36:52
Speaker 1: but call me when you get there. I'm here for you. Okay,
36:57
Speaker 1: I love you. Okay, bye-bye. Hey guys, I hope you
37:07
Speaker 1: can hear me. Oh, I didn't mute. That's okay. So
37:11
Speaker 1: y'all probably heard my son, um, Jeffa, who lives in LA,
37:16
Speaker 1: he has an old Shiba Inu and he called me
37:20
Speaker 1: this morning as he was heading into the office. He
37:22
Speaker 1: had to meet a new manager and give them keys. Um,
37:26
Speaker 1: Haiku has to pass over the rainbow bridge today. Um,
37:31
Speaker 1: she was completely unable to stand and stuff and he
37:35
Speaker 1: is heartbroken. This is his first animal that he's ever
37:40
Speaker 1: gotten on his own. And I want to say she's
37:43
Speaker 1: 17 or 18. I don't remember off the top of
37:47
Speaker 1: my head. So he's heartbroken and mom is a really
37:51
Speaker 1: far away. So while he was handling his work obligations,
37:55
Speaker 1: I took care of getting him an appointment at a vet.
37:59
Speaker 1: And then he'll take her there and call me while
38:01
Speaker 1: he's there. So Mama's heart is broken. And especially since
38:07
Speaker 1: I'm flying out to LA and I will be in
38:09
Speaker 1: LA for a week because I was going to pet
38:13
Speaker 1: sit the dog and the cat. And now it'll just
38:15
Speaker 1: be the cat. So very heartbreaking. So sorry I didn't mute,
38:20
Speaker 1: but y'all got to hear what was going on. Okay. Now,
38:23
Speaker 1: like I was saying, Mars timeline, it's, you know, she
38:28
Speaker 1: had that wreck. Butch Atwood stopped and spoke with her.
38:32
Speaker 2: Okay.
38:34
Speaker 1: He went home and called the police. Other people called
38:36
Speaker 1: the police. Police arrived a very short time later. She
38:41
Speaker 1: wasn't there.
38:41
Speaker 2: Okay.
38:43
Speaker 1: And they could not see any footprints in the snow
38:48
Speaker 1: from where the car wreck was. So that's, like I said,
38:53
Speaker 1: maybe she walked down the road, but it was a very,
38:57
Speaker 1: very short amount of time. Okay. Now, In February of
39:03
Speaker 1: just this year, the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office announced
39:08
Speaker 1: that investigators were actively using advanced investigative techniques that were
39:13
Speaker 1: not available when she disappeared, okay? They didn't tell us
39:18
Speaker 1: what those were, just that they are trying to use them.
39:23
Speaker 1: The only thing that we know that they're using is
39:26
Speaker 1: they're trying to use facial recognition technology, but we don't
39:30
Speaker 1: know where they're using that. All we do know is
39:34
Speaker 1: whatever new technology they are using, as of what they've
39:38
Speaker 1: publicly said, nothing has come forward. They've not had anything
39:46
Speaker 1: come out about it. Now, as of today, Mara Murray
39:50
Speaker 1: remains missing. She would now be 44 years old. There
39:55
Speaker 1: has not been a confirmed sighting of her since February 9th, 2004.
40:00
Speaker 1: No remains have been identified as Mara's. No person has
40:04
Speaker 1: been charged. And there is nothing, okay? There is nothing
40:12
Speaker 1: that we know about this because it's just heartbreaking. Now,
40:18
Speaker 1: For Mar's relatives, each theory has consequences far beyond an
40:22
Speaker 1: online debate. A claim that she deliberately left might suggest
40:27
Speaker 1: she chose never to contact the GIM. A claim that
40:30
Speaker 1: she died in the wilderness raises questions about whether an
40:34
Speaker 1: overlooked area still holds evidence. A claim of foul play
40:38
Speaker 1: implies that another person may know what happened. None of
40:43
Speaker 1: these can be treated lightly. What is sad is her
40:47
Speaker 1: family has lived with the uncertainty through birthdays, holidays, and
40:52
Speaker 1: milestones that Mara should have been able to share. And
40:56
Speaker 1: the passage of time does not transform speculation into proof.
41:01
Speaker 1: And it does not reduce the family's needs or desire
41:06
Speaker 1: for an answer. So I'm asking anyone with information about
41:10
Speaker 1: Mara Murray's disappearance to contact the New Hampshire State Police
41:14
Speaker 1: Cold Case Unit at 603-271-2663. You can also send an
41:23
Speaker 1: anonymous tip through fbi.gov backslash tip tips because guys, her
41:30
Speaker 1: family has waited way, way too long for answers and
41:37
Speaker 1: they deserve to have some answers.
41:39
Speaker 2: Okay.
41:40
Speaker 1: So thank you. Um, It seems like she got picked
41:45
Speaker 1: up and took off with that person or abducted. One
41:49
Speaker 1: of my thoughts too, but can't really say, but that's
41:53
Speaker 1: kind of, guys, my earlobe must be too small because
41:56
Speaker 1: my thing keeps falling out of my ear. And I
41:59
Speaker 1: have the small one in. So that's kind of what
42:01
Speaker 1: I'm thinking too, but we don't know. And thank you. She,
42:06
Speaker 1: Haiku is, she is truly an amazing dog. Every time
42:12
Speaker 1: she sees me, she goes crazy. crazy because she loves
42:15
Speaker 1: her mama. Now, guys, tonight, Dearest Mother's Darkest Secrets returns.
42:22
Speaker 1: Two innocent children, a mother consumed by dangerous beliefs, and
42:27
Speaker 1: a trail of death, deception, and unimaginable betrayal. Oh, they
42:35
Speaker 1: found a rag in the tailpipe. Winter Mermaid, where did
42:40
Speaker 1: you see that?
42:41
Speaker 2: Because I will.
42:42
Speaker 1: Have to go check that out. I need to know more. Now,
42:46
Speaker 1: tonight on Dearest Mother's Darkest Secrets, guys, you're going to
42:50
Speaker 1: want to join me and it's going to be a
42:52
Speaker 1: wild ride because we are diving into the disturbing case
42:56
Speaker 1: of Lori Vallow, the so-called doomsday mom, or in my case,
43:02
Speaker 1: batshit bunny boiler woman. whose twisted world of religious extremism
43:07
Speaker 1: and deadly secrets ended in the murder of her own children,
43:12
Speaker 1: Tyler Ryan and JJ Ballo. And guys, how did a
43:16
Speaker 1: seemingly devoted mother become a convicted killer? And how many
43:20
Speaker 1: warning signs were missed along the way? So join me
43:24
Speaker 1: tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern for Dearest Mother's Darkest Secrets.
43:29
Speaker 1: And guys, we are getting into all of it about
43:32
Speaker 1: the children. We're not getting into all of her craziness.
43:34
Speaker 1: Just the craziness about the children. Your sister was hooked
43:40
Speaker 1: and she listened to podcasts.
43:41
Speaker 2: Got it.
43:42
Speaker 1: I will have to do that too. But thank you
43:45
Speaker 1: all for joining me. Until next time, stay safe, stay aware.
43:49
Speaker 1: And if you see something, say something and help these
43:53
Speaker 1: families bring their loved ones home. Bye, guys.