CONCORD, N.H. (WHDH) - New Hampshire State Police will be conducting a ground search of an area located off Route 112 in the towns of Landaff and Easton, New Hampshire, in connection with the investigation of a missing person, Maura Murray.
Attorney General John Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Nathan Noyes announced Wednesday morning in a statement that they will be conducting the search with the assistance of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.
The search is not the result of new information in the case of Murray, who went missing in February 2004, but rather a more intensive search of an area previously investigated.
Murray, who was 21 at the time of her disappearance, had been a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and left the college on February 9, 2004. At 7:30 that night, officials said Murray’s car was involved in what appeared to be a single-car accident on Route 112 (also known as Wild Ammonoosuc Road) in Haverhill, New Hampshire.
A private citizen saw and spoke to a female, believed to be Murray, at the accident scene shortly after. When police arrived, however, Murray was not there.
Numerous searches of the area at and around the accident scene have been conducted by law enforcement and private citizens, with no positive results.
7NEWS spoke with her sister, Julie Murray, about the search.
“I am extremely encouraged by the fact that they’re doing an active ground search for Maura 18 years later. My biggest fear was that Maura’s case would become cold and she would become a file in a cabinet,” she said. “That is not the case.”
She said the police are conducting a search of an area about 5 miles from where Murray’s car was found.
No further information has been released as officials said this is an ongoing investigation.
Officials ask the public to respect the privacy of residents in the area and stay off their property during the search and as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information about Maura Murray is asked to call the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit at 603-223-3648 or email them at Coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov.
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