Maura Murray

Michael Salamone wrote:

Me again. I decided to check back, so I might as well clear a few more things up:
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As far as I know, I was the only Michael Salamone at UMass when I was there. I suppose I could be wrong. Also, I do go by Mike.
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I was a Resident Assistant in the UMass dorms, and I definitely know that no one else with my name was also. The security desk people and the RAs didn't work closely together -- there was some communication but not that much. I don't remember ever meeting a Maura there, but again, the RA staff and the security staff weren't close, so it's possible I did meet her briefly and forgot.
Not sure if this helps your search at all or not, but I figure I'd contribute the information I have.

Maura had stayed at the Salamone's condo resort in the past and, if I'm not mistaken, also knew their daughter.

I don't have immediate access to it on this computer, but, the Track Coach actually assisted with the transfer from WP to UMass. When I figured out the time frame, it appeared that she took a semester to transfer

Snowy wrote:

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it would. still doesn't make sense to me, horse, donkey or otherwise, that her transfer from West Point to UMASS was an academically smooth transition, major to major, and credit to credit.

Several of her friends from High School have told me they were not surprised that she up and left without telling anyone, apparently it wasn't an unusual action for her.

whiston wrote:

hi all,Maura's friends, from Amherst said 'they did not want to get her into trouble'take care philip

Tonight's news at 11, on Manchester WMUR-TV is a segment of one of the NH Cold Cases. Bethany and
Tina Sinclair. Also, it is in the Union Leader.

This is the 3rd case, from the Cold Cast Unit list (that I have seen recently) the other two were Hina and Segall.

Looking4AMoose wrote:

I don't have immediate access to it on this computer, but, the Track Coach actually assisted with the transfer from WP to UMass. When I figured out the time frame, it appeared that she took a semester to transfer
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this has been mentioned before; as hearsay?
anyway, if her academic record at WP was unblemished/intact, there would be no need for anyone to influence her being accepted to UMASS. that said, a track coach would have no ability to influence the transfer of academic credits and/or requirements to be met for her change from chem eng to a nursing major. i don't suppose you were suggesting that possibility, L4M.
however, a track coach might have been able to influence her being accepted to a team....and submit a reference for an athletic scholarship.
still, there is always the issue of having to sit out a move from one D1 team to another when changing institutions.
this, of course, is all basic info known to family....to include the reason(s) for her transfer, the academic and financial logistics, and her class standing at the time of her disappearance. it's none of anyone's business if they don't want to share....but the fact that this is a half-assed discussion without clarification from the parent or a sib proves the public's interest is limited, and is discouraged.

Flies Shoo Em wrote:

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God you're stupid.

"God?" THIS tells me all that I would ever want or need to know about you.

WTH-the-original wrote:

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I was just a dumb engineering student and MOST of us left our books, when we weren't using them in our cars.
Bill

Bill,
You are not "dumb." You may have considered yourself "dumb" because you had not been exposed to some of the material in your books.....maybe one of those people who keep their books nearby hoping that through some process of osmosis they might absorb the content of the books?

WTH-the-original wrote:

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I love hearing this. Always makes me laugh. It also always makes me wonder what would have happened if Maura had told someone where she was going. When she was leaving, when she would be back, where she was staying. And what if she had stayed at her car instead of running away? I wonder if we would be having this conversation at all if she had just stayed at the car after her accident? I have said before and have warned my children throughout their childhood. There are some people who are put on this earth only to be a warning to others of what not to do. Unfortunately, Maura, who had so much potential, may have been one of those people. I wish she had just stayed at her car and taken whatever lumps she might have had coming. While her possible penalty might have vastly outweighed her offense, it should serve as a warning to others, life isn’t always reciprocal, be aware. If she had just waited at the car, I am sure I wouldn’t still be here, all these years later discussing it with people, a couple of which I seriously doubt, I would ever be caught dead talking to in polite society.
Bill

Bill,
Knowing that you are such a lover of "facts" and detest hearsay....I find it interesting that you periodically infer that Maura was intoxicated. There is no evidence that she was intoxicated. In fact, there is no evidence that she had been drinking. The closed containers had been recently purchased. Anything else in the car may have been left over from the party she'd attended a few nights before. We are not even sure if someone else had left unopened containers in her car. Evidentally, the police officer who appeared at the scene did not consider her as intoxicated or it would seem he would have launched an intensive search that evening. Had he seriously considered she was intoxicated he would not have wanted her staggering around somewhere on the highway or dying hypothermia. He evidentally assessed the accident scene, saw all of the alcohol and yet did not launch a serious search for her that night? Everything I've read indicates no intensive search was launched for a few days....
So you shouldn't be laughing but need to redirect yourself back to your love of the "facts."

WTH-the-original wrote:

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I love hearing this. Always makes me laugh. It also always makes me wonder what would have happened if Maura had told someone where she was going. When she was leaving, when she would be back, where she was staying. And what if she had stayed at her car instead of running away? I wonder if we would be having this conversation at all if she had just stayed at the car after her accident? I have said before and have warned my children throughout their childhood. There are some people who are put on this earth only to be a warning to others of what not to do. Unfortunately, Maura, who had so much potential, may have been one of those people. I wish she had just stayed at her car and taken whatever lumps she might have had coming. While her possible penalty might have vastly outweighed her offense, it should serve as a warning to others, life isn’t always reciprocal, be aware. If she had just waited at the car, I am sure I wouldn’t still be here, all these years later discussing it with people, a couple of which I seriously doubt, I would ever be caught dead talking to in polite society.
Bill

WTF (Bill),
My response to your, "... have warned my children throughout their childhood. There are some people who are put on this earth only to be a warning to others of what not to do." Maura was fiercely independent, spontaneous and a nonconformist. People who possess these characteristics learn early in life that the less they tell people the less possibility for hassle, delay, etc. They are fully aware of the risk involved, and yet are willing to take this risk repeatedly. Unfortunately, the consequence is sometimes painful. Also, Maura may have told at least one person of her plans.

rozShoem wrote:

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"God?" THIS tells me all that I would ever want or need to know about you.

You are incapable of reading or relaying facts correctly. This you have demonstrated multiple times.

Thanks for the endorsement, but, no thanks.

Euroobserver wrote:

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I do agree that this is the most likely explanation.
My hunch would be that the mysterious red pick-up truck as observed by witness RO in Swiftwater village could well be the vehicle in question here.
Whether friend or foe is another matter altogether.

Euroobserver,
You're so correct in terms of your perspective about friend or foe. I've visited, explored a lot of theories about MM. Consistently I return to the initial theory that someone with police and/or military training abducted Maura. There would have been no way Maura could have determined that the fellow in the vehicle who cruised onto the scene that night was friend or foe. She had not accepted assistance from SBD or had not approached local residents for help. Why then enter the vehicle of a complete stranger? Whether he had a vehicle resembling a police vehicle, I'm uncertain. What I'm fairly certain of is that he was in uniform and Maura had assumed him to be an officer or trooper. She felt safe. Pamela W. put up a struggle in broad daylight on the Maine turnpike and yet passerbys did not come to her aid. Why? In my opinion no one wanted to interfere with what appeared to be an officer making an arrest. Louise C., she didn't die in the same way as Pamela W. but it is reasonable to believe she was the victim of the same fellow (for an entirely different reason). He seems to prefer strangulation, manual or otherwise over use of knife (stabbing) although there may have been at least two exceptions (Louise was one) and in another case in 1991 at Plymouth ( he did not leave this victim in the woods; she was left in her apartment). In my opinion, Maura entered his vehicle because she saw the uniform and believed she was safe. Something almost immediately prompted Pamela to believe this guy was not acting in true capacity of an officer or a trooper and she fought for her life. True, these are theories, not "facts" but make sense based on existing information.

This last issue of NorthCountry News has an article
about remembering Maura Murray Missing 7 years ago.
I don't know if any of the other local newspapers
up there have any of the same.

rozShoem wrote:

<quoted text>Also, Maura may have told at least one person of her plans.

I do and act as I wish while knowing the actions, for both me and those around me. I wonder if Maura had given consideration to her mom, dad and fiancee if we would be having this conversation?

Who is this person you CLAIM knew about her plans? Why are you the only person who knows who this is?

Bill

rozShoem wrote:

<quoted text>
Bill,
Knowing that you are such a lover of "facts" and detest hearsay....I find it interesting that you periodically infer that Maura was intoxicated. There is no evidence that she was intoxicated. In fact, there is no evidence that she had been drinking.

You mean other than the police report? And that red stuff splashed around the inside of the car. Or the red liquid in the container that smelled like alcohol, etc.

We should put a FAQ up so I don't need to keep repeating the same common sense items for new people to read.

Bill

WTF-the-original/Bill:

Are you a Scientologist?

credits are quite easily transferred between accreditted coleges--I'm not sure what the issue is. Would nursing requirements me different than chem eng? well of course. There are at least three psychology courses she would've had to take, anatomy, physiology,....she probably already had chemistry math and stats under her belt from WP as well as the Gen Eds. All that would be left are the clinical courses with the psych's and sciences.. I don't think the family was correct on the projected graduation date though---and the track coach was involved in trying to get her a scholarship--that info came directly from a friend of hers to me in a telephone call--not sure if that's what you consider hearsay.

Snowy wrote:

<quoted text>
this has been mentioned before; as hearsay?
anyway, if her academic record at WP was unblemished/intact, there would be no need for anyone to influence her being accepted to UMASS. that said, a track coach would have no ability to influence the transfer of academic credits and/or requirements to be met for her change from chem eng to a nursing major. i don't suppose you were suggesting that possibility, L4M.
however, a track coach might have been able to influence her being accepted to a team....and submit a reference for an athletic scholarship.
still, there is always the issue of having to sit out a move from one D1 team to another when changing institutions.
this, of course, is all basic info known to family....to include the reason(s) for her transfer, the academic and financial logistics, and her class standing at the time of her disappearance. it's none of anyone's business if they don't want to share....but the fact that this is a half-assed discussion without clarification from the parent or a sib proves the public's interest is limited, and is discouraged.

Beagle wrote:

<quoted text>Quite true. A student has to either plan well ahead for a seamless transfer or take a semester off between the two schools. As I've said before, you can't just decide in, say, late fall semester to attend another school starting the following spring semester. I'm not saying it's absolutely impossible, but between WP and UMass, the chance is pretty slim. Applications, as everyone knows, take time to process. But I'm not sure how her transition from WP to UMass would bear on her disappearance. Certainly could. It just seems that she was settled into UMass for about a year or so before she vanished.
When she left - if she left - she may have not made up her mind whether to stay or leave UMass. She may have been playing for time to think it all over. She may have been very confused or she may have known exactly what she was doing. Hard to say.

She didn't transfer directly into the nursing program. She originally just tranferred schools and then the following semester she applied to the nursing program.

Looking4AMoose wrote:

credits are quite easily transferred between accreditted coleges--I'm not sure what the issue is. Would nursing requirements me different than chem eng? well of course. There are at least three psychology courses she would've had to take, anatomy, physiology,....she probably already had chemistry math and stats under her belt from WP as well as the Gen Eds. All that would be left are the clinical courses with the psych's and sciences.. I don't think the family was correct on the projected graduation date though---and the track coach was involved in trying to get her a scholarship--that info came directly from a friend of hers to me in a telephone call--not sure if that's what you consider hearsay.
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given the two schools are substantially different, and unless you have assessed her transcript, it is careless to make assumptions about her meeting required courses and the number of credits transferred.
glad to see you've cited a source of your information, however.

rozShoem wrote:

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Well, I have an idea that MM may have been one of the few people who actually read her books...did not just leave them around in her car. Textbooks are expensive...they are not something that most people leave in their cars. A secret? In this day and age? Next you'll be insisting that she had Elvis with her in her car that evening.

personally I've been to nursing school, bought the books and had to keep many in my car because they were needed each day AT CLINICAL for reference.....Nursing Care Plan books, Diagnostic and lab reference books, Nursing Drug Handbook and nursing procedure manuals. Perhaps they are the reason I still have lower back discomfort related to scoliosis? Maura was pre-PDA's being required for nursing school so she too would need the books with her--even her cell phone was basic and not set to use as a PDA.

Looking4AMoose wrote:

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She didn't transfer directly into the nursing program. She originally just tranferred schools and then the following semester she applied to the nursing program.

hardly enough time, if one includes a semester off, to have satisfied requirements for the nursing program and remain on track for graduation on time.