Murray’s car was found abandoned on February 9, 2004 in Haverhill, New Hampshire by State Police responding to a call by a concerned bus driver. The bus driver came upon the crash, and a seemingly uninjured Murray told him she had called AAA (even though she hadn’t) and didn’t need his help. The driver left the accident and alerted police when he got home.

It was a February day in 2004 when UMass Amherst student Maura Murray took a spontaneous trip toward the White Mountains. She told no one where she was going when she emptied her bank account, packed up her things, and hit the road. Just as quickly as her road trip started, it abruptly came to an end that evening when Murray crashed her car on a rural New Hampshire street. She has never been seen again.

When police arrived to the scene minutes later, they found the wrecked vehicle—but no sign of the driver. The car’s windshield was cracked, the airbags were deployed, the doors were locked, and a box of wine was spilled across the car seat. All of Murray’s belongings—except for her debit cards and cell phone—were in the vehicle, and a rag was stuffed inside of the tailpipe.