VIGIL: Organizers Adrienne McDougall, left, and Diane Ostranber take part in a candlelight vigil for Maura Murray in Hanson Saturday, Feb. 9, the 15th anniversary of her disappearance after a New Hampshire car crash. (Photo by Abram Neal/Express News)

HANSON — Maura Murray, then 21, a native of Hanson, vanished after she crashed her 1996 Saturn into a snowbank along a curve on Wild Ammonoosuc Road (Route 112) in Woodsville, New Hampshire, a village of Haverhill, 15 years ago. The UMass Amherst nursing student’s mysterious disappearance on Feb. 9, 2004 has sparked worldwide attention in the press, on the Internet and on social media over the course of the last decade and a half.

Family, friends and supporters of Maura Murray marked the somber anniversary Saturday in New Hampshire and here in Hanson by lighting candles in hopes that she will be found. Her father, Fred Murray, 76, had shared with the public new details of an investigation he has conducted into her disappearance with the hope that the public attention will put pressure on New Hampshire authorities to further look into the matter. Investigators, meanwhile, say the investigation is still active.

Fred Murray, who spoke to the Express Monday, Feb. 11, says that he is certain he has found a burial site in a house “astonishingly close” to the site of the accident. According to him, locals first tipped him off about suspicious activity at the house in the first year after his daughter’s disappearance, including rumors of new concrete being poured in the basement shortly after the accident, he says.

The Boston Globe reported last week what Murray said, based on those tips, “that a man who lived in the home at the time of the crash, as well as the man’s extended family members who lived nearby, were responsible for his daughter’s death.”

Although he told the Expressthat he is not positive that it’s his daughter who is buried in the house, he strongly believes that there are human remains in the house and that they are likely those of his daughter.

“I only need to be right once,” he pointed out.

The house, which he says police never searched, a point which officials don’t advertise unless pressed in statements, has come under new ownership since Maura Murray’s disappearance, and the new owners have been receptive to Fred Murray’s investigation. He says he is willing to pay to dig up their basement, although he’d rather New Hampshire authorities do it.

The New Hampshire Attorney’s General office said in a statement that they “searched the area with dogs at the time,” but never searched inside the house in question.

In November and December 2018, Fred Murray brought in two trained, accredited cadaver detecting dogs to the house, each one on separate occasions. They alerted, he says, by lying down in the same spot in the basement of the house. He says that video of the dogs alerting exists, and is available widely online from local television media outlets.

Later, ground-penetrating radar was used and indicated strong findings of an abnormality in the same spot in the concrete, he said. Much of Fred Murray’s investigation has been paid for by donations and through pro-bono work of those who support him, he says.

“It’s astounding that this [basement] wasn’t looked at before. I told the police about this in the first year … the State Police did an inadequate job when my daughter first went missing,” he added, adamantly.

Fred Murray said he has found the local police to have been less-than-helpful, and as for federal law enforcement, “The FBI has been dodging it [the case] for 15 years … they’re useless,” he said of the Boston office of the FBI.

He says that law enforcement’s response to his investigation, when he’s notified them of his findings, has been, “We looked at that, we looked at that, we looked at that.”

“Because of the institutional intransigence of the New Hampshire State Police the case is still alive 15 years later,” he said.

Fred Murray said that he thinks he’s been getting “the run around,” and that officials have been waiting for him to go away. “This time, the guy didn’t go away, and that guy was me.”

A representative for the New Hampshire Department of Safety, of which the New Hampshire State Police are a division, refused to comment because of the active nature of the investigation, but did refer the Express to the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General.

“The case is still open and active.  We do receive tips and information periodically, as well as generate new information from investigative efforts,” said Jeffrey Streizin, Associate Attorney General and Director of the Division of Public Protection with the New Hampshire Attorney’s General office in an emailed statement.

He continued, “We are aware of the allegations regarding a home’s basement in that area and have considered and are considering next steps. That area was searched by law enforcement in the past, including with dogs, and nothing of significance was discovered.”

When asked to clarify whether the home itself was ever searched, Streizin said, “The State Police conducted a canvas of that area in 2004 and searched the area where that house is located with dogs. They did not go into the house at that time.”

“I need help. I’m asking for help,” Fred Murray said. “The people of northern New Hampshire have been wonderful. They are salt of the earth people … The goodness of people has really come to the forefront. Maura’s only friends in this have been the Massachusetts press, her friends and the great people of the area.”

Exactly where Maura Murray was headed, and why, has remained a mystery over the years. Moments after the crash, a good Samaritan stopped to assist her, but she waved him off and told him not to call the police, according to original police reports from 2004. The passerby called local police anyway, although he did drive off. A Haverhill police cruiser arrived within minutes, but the Saturn was locked, and Maura Murray was gone.

According to a four-part series reported by Maribeth Conway in this paper’s predecessor, the Hanson Express in 2007, Fred Murray had dinner with his daughter in Amherst two days before her disappearance.

She caused damage to her father’s car that night in a minor accident near UMass in Hadley, Massachusetts, and later friends reported she had been drinking that night, although no charges were filed in that incident.

The following day, she performed Internet searches for driving directions to Vermont and the Berkshires. She also called for a condominium rental reservation in Bartlett, New Hampshire, which she did not end up reserving. Her family often vacationed in Bartlett, a town in the White Mountains near the Attitash ski resort.

Her belongings were neatly packed up in boxes in her UMass dorm room before she left, according to reports, leading to speculation that she may have been considering leaving school permanently. But she had good grades, and her college textbooks were found in her car by investigators after the accident.

Maura Murray withdrew $280 from her bank account, leaving the account almost empty, and emailed professors and her boss at a local art gallery that she would be away from school because she was needed in Hanson due to a death in the family. Relatives later confirmed there was no death in the family.

No one is sure exactly why the college student made up the story.

A friend later suggested that Maura Murray may have been under a lot of pressure and wanted to get away to think about something important.

She grabbed some toiletries, a favorite stuffed animal — a monkey given to her by her father– and a necklace her boyfriend had given her. She then departed. Police say she next stopped at a liquor store, bought about $40 worth of alcohol — which police reports say some of which was found in plain sight in her car after the crash– and never returned to Massachusetts.

Fred Murray says his next step will be to try to enlist the help of senior New Hampshire State Police officials but that he continues to wait and marvel at the lack of help. He added, “We’re still going to win.”

When asked to clarify what a win for him would be, he hesitated and said, “There is no win. There is no satisfaction. I have to find her, bring her home and give her a proper burial. Every father who ever drew a breath on the planet should know what happens next.”

Kingston Town Administrator and former State Representative Thomas Calter. (Image Courtesy PACTV)

HALIFAX — Assessors in Halifax met Wednesday, Feb. 6, and briefly discussed personal property tax, in the amount of $12,511.09 that includes delinquent interest, assessors say is owed by Jordan Health and Wellness Center, RKP Capital, LLC, of which Kingston Town Administrator and former State Representative Thomas Calter, of Kingston, is the principal.  The delinquent tax stems from equipment in a gym, the Jordan Fitness Center, that Calter, with his wife, operated at 430 Plymouth Street between 2010 and 2012.

Assessors met and decided not to abate any of the amount despite the fact that Calter said, in both a phone call with the Express and in a letter addressed to the Board of Assessors that he had never received the bills and did not own the gym for part of the assessed period.

“I don’t know of a single taxpayer who would pay taxes on property they didn’t own,” said Calter in the phone conversation. Even though he did not attend the meeting the issue was on the agenda at his request.

“Even if we wanted to do something, we couldn’t and I wouldn’t want to,” said assessor Tom Millias, noting that the board treats everyone the same way and that the abatement appeals period had passed.

The dispute with the Halifax board has been ongoing since May 2016 when, Calter says, he was hand-delivered a letter from Tax Collector Pamela Adduci with personal property tax bills.

He said that he is happy to pay the fair amount of what he owes and proposed an amount much lower – $1,151.20– than what the assessors say he owes, and if they can’t come to an agreement, he will appeal to the Appellate Tax Board.

The meeting, which took less than 15 minutes, was video recorded by Peter Boncek of Kingston, who challenged Calter in the race for State Representative in 2016. 

The calm serene ice on East Monponsett Pond looks deceptively slick – ready for a pair of sharpened blades to write their stories on the surface. Don’t do it! (Photo by Deb Anderson)

Despite the recent cold snaps, officials are warning that the conditions of the ice on many bodies of water across the Commonwealth are uncertain, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). MEMA is warning of an uptick in ice rescues of individuals and pets and is therefore issuing safety precautions to be taken on frozen lakes, rivers, bogs and ponds.

“Before we experience a tragedy that is unfortunately too common this time of year, it is important that we remind everyone, particularly children, of the dangers of unsafe ice,” said MEMA Director Kurt Schwartz. “People may be a bit impatient and venture out on the ice for skating, hockey, ice fishing and other winter sports before understanding the conditions. We highly recommend the use of recreational skating areas provided by the Commonwealth and … local communities. It is very important to exercise precaution and common sense.”

MEMA says you can check with local officials to ensure that safe ice conditions exist. But, due to the uncertainty and constant changing of ice conditions and the dangers presented, they say many officials choose not to endorse the safety of lakes, ponds, streams, bogs or rivers. The strength and thickness of ice should be known before any activity takes place.

Plympton Fire Captain John Sjostedt said, echoing state fire officials, “The only safe ice is at a skating rink. Ice on moving water in rivers, streams and brooks is never safe. The thickness of ice on ponds and lakes depends upon water currents or springs, depth and natural objects. Changes in temperature cause ice to expand and contract, which affects its strength. Because of these factors, ice cannot be called safe.”

Sjostedt added, “Our members are trained to conduct ice rescue if the need arises. The Plympton Firefighters Association recently purchased a new cold weather suit for the department. When we [educate] the public, we fill a five-gallon pail with ice water and put 100 pennies in the bottom of the bucket. We ask the participants to take one penny out of the bucket at a time. This shows them what can happen and how [the] body constricts if they were to fall through the ice.”

The following tips from MEMA could save your life:

•  Never go onto the ice alone. A friend may be able to recue you or go for help if you fall through the ice.

•  Always keep your pets on a leash. If a pet falls through the ice do not attempt to rescue your pet; call 911 or go for help.

•  New ice is usually stronger than old ice. As ice ages, the bond between the crystals decays, making it weaker, even if melting has not occurred.

•  Beware of ice covered with snow. Snow can insulate ice and keep it strong but can also insulate it to keep it from freezing. Snow can also hide cracks, weak and open ice.

•  Slush is a danger sign, indicating that ice is no longer freezing from the bottom and can be weak or deteriorating.

•  Ice formed over flowing water (rivers and lakes containing a large number of springs) is generally 15 percent weaker.

•  Ice seldom freezes or thaws at a uniform rate. It can be one foot thick in one spot and be only a few inches thick 10 feet away.

•  Reach-Throw-Go. If a companion falls through the ice and you are unable to reach that person from shore, throw them something (a rope, jumper cables, tree branch, etc.). If this does not work, go for help or call 911, before you also become a victim. Get medical assistance for the victim immediately.

•  If you fall in, try not to panic. Turn toward the direction from which you came. Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface, working forward by kicking your feet. Once out, remain lying on the ice (do not stand) and roll away from the hole. Crawl back to your tracks, keeping your weight distributed until you return to solid ice.