Family continues search for UMass student Maura Murray 19 years after disappearance

(WGGB/WSHM) - Nineteen years ago, a UMass Amherst student went missing after getting into a car crash in New Hampshire. Since then, her family has received little to no answers, but now, they hope highway billboards will help encourage someone to come forward.

Murray’s car was found stuck in a ditch and appeared to have been in an crash in Haverhill, NH. However, she was nowhere in sight.

“It’s been a marathon that we didn’t sign up for or train for. It’s been a long journey, but at the same time, it feels just like yesterday it happened,” said Maura’s sister, Julie Murray.

It’s been a long 19 years for Murray’s family, including Julie. However, she told Western Mass News that she hopes this is the year her family gets answers.

“You can never lose sight of that and you can never lose hope because that’s the only thing that fuels us and allowed us to continue for almost two decades now,” Julie Murray noted.

She hopes her new campaign will help. Highway billboards are now up in Massachusetts with Maura’s photo and information on who to contact with clues.

“The first is to hopefully jog someone’s memory. The second is to reinvigorate people. The most important goal of the campaign is to continue to raise awareness that Maura Murray is still missing,” Julie Murray added.

On the night of the nineteenth anniversary of Maura’s disappearance, the Murray family is holding a candlelight vigil, both in-person and virtually.

“We’re also encouraging people who can’t make it up here to do a virtual vigil by lighting a candle at 7:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time,” Julie Murray explained.

If you’d like to participate in the vigil, post a photo of you lighting a candle at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and caption the photo with #mauramurray and #engagewithempathy.

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