BRIANNA MAITLAND AND MAURA MURRAY - STILL MISSING FOR NINE YEARS, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN !!! PART THREE

I could write a book - based on my experiences with Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray and maybe I will. But first, for those of you out there intrigued by "missing persons" I can tell you at the heart of the story it's darkness you'll find.

Brianna Maitland woke up 9 years ago still hurting from injuries sustained in a fight three weeks previous, with a girlfriend of hers and the girlfriend's cousin. The cause of the fight was jealousy. Brianna had spent the week decorating Easter eggs with another friend, working at a restaurant, and shopping that day with her mother and anticipating her receiving her GED which she had completed at a local community college.

Already I've gotten ahead of myself... need to take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Brianna's story is HERE - Slam Dunk's Blog. Slam Dunk is an ex law enforcement officer, whom I met around late 2005 when Brianna's family had a website up and running. I started blogging after being a guest writer for Slam Dunks in late 2009 around Chapter 14. There are at least 27 posts on his blog that he began and I completed. If you're interested in the whole story I encourage you to visit his site. My purpose here, now, is simply to summarize events and to get you up to speed on progress made, if any, in both cases. This is also a memorial to both persons... missing, but hardly forgotten.

Yeah, I had a desire to make a difference nine years ago. And I was naive. Perhaps others will learn from my mistakes, one, know shorthand when you ask questions over a phone; and two, relax.

I didn't act right away upon new information regarding Maura Murray, when I discovered she'd vanished just an hour north of where I lived at the time. I had been researching other cases farther removed, as a hobby interest of sorts, and I guess now it was inevitable I would get involved in a real case, but it wasn't something I actually thought would happen.

Not until I read about the story revolving around Brianna Maitland's disappearance.

I don't know if many of you know about metal detecting - it's a hobby and occasionally you might recall reading stories about persons finding valuable treasure - old coins, caches and such. I was that sort of person... had been metal detecting for around twenty years when I read about Brianna Maitland - she'd vanished, her car was found backed/crashed into an old, uninhabited farmhouse in Montgomery VT.

Her car keys were missing. Eight months had passed since the "accident" and it was presumed the keys were lost near her car.

There was another caveat to the story, which piqued my interest. VSP had written off her disappearance according to news sources due to the fact she was "a drug user", marijuana in particular. It was assumed she's fallen on hard times, had owed money to drug dealers and couldn't pay up. She'd run away.

To say the least, I was quite skeptical of that assessment. I read every article I could find, and each one of them said the same thing - Brianna Maitland had an illegal drug problem, was "of questionable character" and her disappearance came as no surprise. I for one didn't buy it.

I researched the Maitland family online, found a phone number and called. Bruce Maitland answered the phone. I said, "Hi, I'd like to help... I'd like to try and locate her missing car keys... I'm experienced with metal detecting."

His response shouldn't have surprised me. He asked if I was a "voyeur?" I'd never even seen Brianna's picture... just pictures of her car. Yet I had this idea in my head she was a wild woman... and why not? Based on news articles one could rightly have such a picture. But I calmly as I could I answered, "no, I'm not a voyeur, I just want to help".

There was a pause and finally Bruce said, "okay, I'd appreciate your help". We agreed to meet the following Saturday, at the farmhouse.

It was a cold, miserable, drizzling rain day. I drove three hours to get there, at this god forsaken place that was boarded up in the middle of nowhere. A small blue car kept driving past... a guy by the name of Davey I would learn. When Bruce finally showed up around 1 PM he came with two other people and a little dog. I didn't even know it was Bruce Maitland when he arrived as he didn't hardly acknowledge me being there. It was one of the other guys who arrived that said "Hi".

It turned out the two people with Bruce were part of a missing person's association from Indiana. They were good people, though not what I'd call like the CIA. But every weekend for more than the next year they showed up, as I did as much as I could. But again, I get ahead of myself.

It was obvious from the start that Bruce was a grieving parent. He finally introduced himself after coming to grips with the locale where his daughter went missing. My impression was that Bruce was a powerful guy consumed by grief. I spent three hours detecting the area, as as always I will not reveal whether I found her car-keys... I will admit I found a few coins where her driver's door would have been, in sync with the story she had been wearing her work-apron that contained tips from her job as a waitress - that she'd been hoisted and the change had fallen out of the apron onto the ground.

After the hunt Bruce bought me dinner at a local pub. I had chicken fingers and a beer while he had just a beer. We talked. About Brianna and I have to say, I expected my part in all of it was done, but that was hardly the case.

I guess it should be noted I'm an old hippie from the 1970's... I've smoked my share of cannabis, worked as a custodian at colleges and know people. I am able to be open-minded enough to blend in with a persons of any age, any mindset and Bruce saw that in me. He asked for my help. He asked if I could talk with her friends. He asked if I could do something about the "fact" that his daughter was being ignored because of "drugs" and a reputation she'd gained being of "questionable character"? She was everything but that, he told me.

I couldn't have agreed more and the more I learned about her the more convinced I became.

The idea that she ran away, for example, was most ludicrous. At age 17, just that year she had moved out on her own and acquired legal status as an emancipated adult. That's the term for a person under the age of 18 who lives as an adult, independent of her parents. If only I'd have been as smart when I was 17. Or even when I was 24. Alas, I wasn't.

When the police found her car and inspected it they saw this:

Continued in Part Four... 

Part 1: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

Part 2: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

Part 4: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

Part 5: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

BRIANNA MAITLAND AND MAURA MURRAY - STILL MISSING FOR NINE YEARS, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN !!! PART TWO

Maura Murray vanished February 9, 2004 - on my sister's birthday as it turned out. Within a few days as I said I would read a small news article about a young woman who had a car accident, left the scene and was never seen again. This happened in Haverhill, which I mistakenly took to be MA, rather than NH. That's a big difference as it wasn't a large city where she disappeared, but rather a small village, on an isolated stretch of road in the White Mountains.

Red Barn - Approaching the Crash Site going East

The Crash site; Note Yellow School Bus

A few hundred yards past the school bus

Entering White Mountains National Forest - A mile past

It was about 7:30 that cold night... no one knows if Maura was there as part of a plan, or if she took a wrong turn somewhere earlier. No one even knows what she was doing away from campus where she was a nursing student, 100 miles north of the U-Mass campus in Amherst. All that is known is that she was on break. She had wrecked her father's car a few days earlier and was stressed out. She was engaged to be married, and everyone agrees her and her fiancee were happy together. All her stuff was pack at her college dorm as she was moving out. She had withdrawn money on her way out of Amherst and had stopped in NH to purchase a good quantity of alcohol - wine, Kahlua, etc... She had also done computer searches of areas west in Vermont, but had called several locations for weekend lodging in the direction she was traveling.

People home that night just north of the one car crash reported hearing the sound of the crash as she hit a snowbank. Other observers reported a red truck in the area. The people who heard the crash called 911, but didn't go outside to investigate. But the driver of the school bus was returning home after dropping off students on a ski trip, stopped beside her car and the driver spoke to who he believes was Maura. He says she was okay, and offered to call the police, but she said she was fine and requested he not do so. He drove home, parked and called 911.

Woodsville police arrived shortly later, footsteps led east to around the bus drivers house and disappeared. A quantity of alcohol was seen investigating her car, and what appeared to be spilled wine. The driver's side airbag was deployed. It was freezing cold, yet no search east of the crash-site was conducted that night, although by then other law enforcement was on the scene including Fish and Game.

Many theories were devised, including deep suspicion of the bus driver who lived with his mother, as well as a man who was questioned living just south of the crash-site. Law enforcement however concluded she'd devised an elaborate plan to run away, that she was seriously intoxicated and committed suicide. An unusual side-note occurred when the fiancee received a strange phone call while waiting in line at an airport terminal, a call he didn't answer. A voice-mail was left from someone sounding frightened. It was traced as having been sent from a local area Red-Cross.

Her father, Fred Murray, spend every weekend for many years searching for her. I got involved as the family got in touch with Brianna Maitland's family after she disappeared. That was nearly a year later however, as I didn't get involved helping Brianna's family until late fall of 2004.

Fred Murray appealed to the State of NH many times for assistance and access to Maura's things and her computer which they had seized as evidence. They had temporarily returned everything once concluding nothing criminal in nature had happened, being as they concluded she committed suicide. But then in a strange twist they re-assumed possession of her things while the family was grieving, and refused to offer access to the stuff. Then Attorney General of NH, Kelly Ayotte refused every attempt Fred Murray asked for to assist him with finding his daughter. She refused to admit anything criminal had taken place, and wrapped the case up tight for reasons she would not disclose. Kelly Ayotte is now a NH Senator, someone I will not and did not vote for.

After she left office, the case was included by the new Attorney General in a newly formed Cold Case Unit. Searches were conducted on numerous occasions  and blood believed to be hers was found in a dilapidated house down the road from where she vanished. I went with Fred Murray on a one day search in the summer of 2005. I found him to be most sincere, professional, rational, and dedicated. We were investigating a tip to Maura's website to me, that her body could be found on private land in a well. We looked, with the help of a  volunteer with state of the art underwater video equipment and found nothing.

Her disappearance remain unsolved...

Pictures of her car:

Brianna Maitland in Part Three...

Part 1: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

Part 3: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

Part 4: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

Part 5: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

BRIANNA MAITLAND AND MAURA MURRAY - STILL MISSING FOR NINE YEARS, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN !!! PART ONE

It has been nine years now since 17 year old Brianna Maitland vanished on the night of March 19, 2004. She has not been forgotten!

Her disappearance is still unsolved. She's still missing. There still seems to be a lack of leads and no one has been charged with a crime in connection with her disappearance. However, from the day she vanished, until now, much has changed. It's enough change to expect a break in her case any day. Though I won't hold my breath!

Typically, I don't post about missing person's cases. But then, typically I don't post about gun control measures or the 2nd Amendment either... but I have.

My trademark is "To Stop The Hurt". And truth be told, the disappearance of Brianna Maitland was an epiphany for me... the catalyst for my blog. Here's how that came to be, how Brianna Maitland inspired me and how this blog came to be.

I am also going to include a fairly concise and accurate update on her case, though until you know more about how I know what I know, that will be something of a mystery to many of you, not knowing how I know what I know.

I am 58 with a BA degree in English. I work in computer/software support. I grew up in a small town in NY addicted to books and knowledge... I loved Sci-Fi and Mysteries.

In 1982 I moved to Boston MA. I lived there almost 7 years. I wrote everyday during that time; I learned that 9 out of 10 Bostonian's are mugged at some point in their life there, and that many stay for life, but many leave almost as soon as they come. It's a fast paced environment... and everyday I miss it, now that I've lived in a very rural part of NH going on 20+ years.

I don't remember when I actually became interested in real life missing persons, or justice for victims of murder. I think in the late 1990's. One of the first cases I got heavily into were the Butts family murders, But that was in Texas and a long way from where I live. A great deal of information is, or was available in that case, and so it was a good case to begin with. As it turned out, Brianna Maitland's case had a connection of sorts to the Butts family... in that one of the lead investigators was asked to assist in Brianna's disappearance and I was asked by the Maitland's (Brianna's parents) to work with him. His name was Orville, but I jump ahead here.

In February 2004 a young college woman disappeared in Haverhill NH. Her name is Maura Murray.

I read about her disappearance while at work, and thought initially it was Haverhill , MA. Big difference as the former is a village, and the latter a large city. When the difference became known/obvious to me, that Maura disappeared in Haverhill NH, it was a shock. But before I had a chance to consider it, a month later Brianna Maitland disappeared in the small town of Montgomery VT.

I was 50 years old, and I wanted to make a difference, get involved, and help - to Stop The Hurt! Which is all well and good, but at the time I was simply itching to help people and solve mysteries. Today I don't feel the same. I was able to help, but solve the mystery? Much harder than you might imagine, even when putting everything you've got into the effort. It turned out to be not only scary, but also very discouraging. Real life doesn't happen like it does in novels.

More In Part Two...

Part 2: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."
Part 3: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."
Part 4: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."
Part 5: "Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray - Missing Nine Years..."

MARIJUANA - THE OTHER N-WORD - PART TWO

How, you might ask, could "marijuana" be the other N-Word? It doesn't start with an N, nor does it insult a particular race of humanity; or does it?

In previous posts I've covered the topic of how cannabis became known as marijuana. I've clarified how cannabis has been used by humans for thousands of years, for religious, medical and recreational purposes. How it was omitted from two of the most influential Congressional legal actions of the 20th century - The pure Food and drug Act and the Harrison Narcotic's Act in 1903 and 1914, respectively. How in the  early 1930's as alcohol prohibition ended, and the nation was struggling to recover from the Great Depression, illegal immigrants from Mexico were flowing into the US. There seemed to be no stopping of the immigrants and southern states especially urged Congress to do something about it.

I've described how yellow journalism provided not only the key to stopping Mexican's from illegally crossing the border, but also how they were able to impose prejudice and discrimination upon Black Americans freed after the Civil War by implicating Blacks in the molestation and rapes of White women under the influence of what Mexican's called marijuana. I've explained that from the time of our first President, George Washington, we Americans grew hemp and used cannabis in medicine, and imbibed in the use of ganja for relaxation and recreation. We didn't call cannabis marijuana until the Marihuana Tax Act was passed in 1937 - and ironically, please note, our government was so inclined as to mis-spell marijuana as "marihuana", when the act was passed, and does so to this day. All laws still use the official spelling of cannabis as marihuana. But the term goes back just the same to insult both Mexicans, and Black Americans. It is, still today, the other N-Word.

GOP Senator Mitch McConnell supports a bill to legalize hemp production, especially in Kentucky, but can't help but be concerned that hemp, cannabis sativa, contains "the drug marijuana", though in much lower a dose as does the cannabis strains grown for recreation and medicine, such as the cannabis now legal in CO and WA, and some 18 other states. Hemp which is used to make rope and fabrics, that won WWII and was used exclusively in all tall ships prior to modern day battleships, is a federally controlled product listed as a Schedule One drug along with heroin, and cocaine. The 4-H club grew hemp in the early 1940's under a special program that exempted it from federal reefer Madness laws to provide hemp for use in WWII. The 4-H club consisted of children and adults. The concern in the federal government is that legalizing hemp will lead to legalization of marijuana.

Reefer Madness is still alive and well in government. The fear surrounding cannabis is vague and unsubstantiated, as the federal government has long denied research into the benefits or dangers of cannabis. The job of the Drug Czar of the US established by President Nixon is to discourage and lie about, if need be, any legitimate use for anything listed as a substance included as a Schedule One drug. That includes hemp fibers. That includes cannabis as medicine, or cannabis for recreational use. An analogy might be if alcohol and tobacco were considered drugs, which they're not, even if the FDA is currently burdened with regulating tobacco, it's not that it's considered a drug, but rather as a food substance. Imagine if alcohol and tobacco were listed as Schedule One drugs, which technically they should be? Any research into the use of either would be prohibited under law. Much as gun violence is also a prohibited subject to research.

Unfortunately it's not just research into cannabis that stymied, it's human evolution.What's that I said? How does human evolution become an issue here? We live in a "Free Country", one of the most Democratic Countries in the world. We produce some of the most violent films in the world, we prohibit discrimination of any kind among our population, and our Constitution ensures freedom of speech and religion, and the right to bear arms.

Yet we are prohibited from conducting research into some of the most basic issues that affect our society. And our society is encouraged to accept biased attitudes, such as the research conducted by the federal government in the 1970's as "proof" to support the "fact" that cannabis use caused brain damage in humans.

The Hype: Brain Damage in Dead Monkeys

In 1974, California Governor Ronald Reagan was asked about decriminalizing marijuana. After producing the Heath/Tulane University study, the so-called "Great Communicator" told the national press, "The most reliable scientific sources say permanent brain damage is one of the inevitable results of the use of marijuana." (L.A. Times.)


Not true!

Additional references:

UKCIA: "Three Things Marijuana Doesn't Do" .

As well as this link:

The Vaults of Erowid:

The original basis of this claim (that marijuana causes brain damage) was a report that, upon postmortem examinations, structural changes in several brain regions were found in two rhesus monkeys exposed to THC. 

Because these changes primarily involved the hippocampus, a cortical brain region known to play an important role in learning and memory, this finding suggested possible negative consequences for human marijuana users. Additional studies, employing rodents, reported similar brain changes. However, to achieve these results, massive doses of THC - up to 200 times the psychoactive dose in humans - had to be given . (But) In fact, studies employing 100 times the human dose have failed to reveal any damage.

We've all heard I'm sure where one marijuana cigarette, or "joint" is equal to 20 tobacco cigarettes as far as dangerous to humans. How odd, as tobacco smoke is nothing like cannabis smoke, in so far as the chemicals in each plants are uniquely different. Tobacco smoke for example constricts the blood vessels in the lungs, and cannabis dilates them. Thus studies into cannabis use support the fact that cannabis smoke actually benefits those with asthma, links here:

CannabisMD.net - "Clinical research shows that THC acts as a bronchial dilator, clearing blocked air passageways and allowing free breathing."

and here:

DrugLibrary.org, "Effects of Smoked Marijuana in Experimentally Induced Asthma."

And recent research has linked cannabis/marijuana use to a higher risk of stroke. Link to FOXNEWS - "Smoking marijuana linked with higher risk of stroke in young adults, study finds."

Yet similar studies found Southern Fried Foods to be Just as Dangerous! Again, FOXNEWS link.

Yet if you read the bias carefully in each study, the former supports prohibition of cannabis, yet the latter doesn't encourage prohibition of Southern Fried Food, but rather encourages the responsible consumption of Southern Fried foods.

So why the bias? Why can't WE, the Citizens of the World's Most Free Society the world has ever known have objective research and understanding of the most basic elements in our society? Why all the Smoke and Mirrors? The answer; Ignorance; Propaganda; Politics.

I mentioned that the NH House currently is set to vote on HB 492 to legalize possession of an ounce or less of cannabis for those 21 or older, to permit the personal cultivation of the cannabis plant for personal use and the sale and taxation of cannabis in NH Liquor Stores.

As many point out, it would have seemed logical that the state with the motto - Live Free or Die that NH might have been first, prior to CO and WA to legalize cannabis use by adults, given that the majority of research regarding cannabis shows it is safer than alcohol or tobacco use. That cannabis prohibition targets minorities, and 8 of 10 of those incarcerated for drugs are Blacks or Hispanics. That rates of incarcerations in this country of those racial groups as increased ten-fold since the 1980's. That such incarcerations not only affect individuals and their families, but place a huge burden on us who pay taxes that support such arrests and incarcerations.

My pot-pipe conviction is nothing compared to the suffering of millions of minority individuals and their families. Patricia Spotted-Crow of Oklahoma for example, given a 10 year + sentence for selling one joint to a undercover cop. As a Native American she is behind bars while her mother raises her two children. Oklahoma is among the worst states when it comes to violation of our Constitutional Rights to the "Punishment Must Fit the Crime." That her one joint brings a harsher sentence than murder is an abomination!

Her one joint is equivalent to me giving my "pot-pipe" to an under-cover officer for which I paid a $100 fine in NY with the threat of One Year in Jail, for something that unknown to me was a civil violation, as the pipe I had, was not in public view, and thus was not a criminal violation. Despite the laws in NY, countless hundreds of minority persons are illegally searched everyday in NY City and found to possess cannabis... it has become a violation of human rights on an epic level in NYC targeting minorities, and has brought the full attention of the ACLU and NAACP in full focus against such discriminatory/prejudicial actions.

So what can WE as Americans do to amend this situation that has caused a blight on our society since the 1930's?

Write our elected officials, of course!

That is exactly what a friend of mine did in NH when told of HB 492. She wrote her elected State Representative, The Honorable Senator David Boutin, District 16, encouraging his support of HB 492.

She wrote:

January 31, 2013
The Honorable David Boutin
New Hampshire Senate
107 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301

Dear Senator Boutin:

RE: HB 492-FN-LOCAL �" AS INTRODUCED
2013 SESSION
13-0443
04/03
HOUSE BILL 492-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to the legalization and regulation of marijuana.
SPONSORS: Rep. Vaillancourt, Hills 15; Rep. Warden, Hills 39; Rep.
Winters, Hills 18; Rep. Lambert, Hills 44; Rep. Robertson, Ches 6
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

[This bill: Legalizes the personal use of up to one ounce of marijuana by persons 21
years of age or older. II. Authorizes the licensing of marijuana
wholesale, retail, cultivation, and testing facilities.  III. Imposes a
tax on the sale of marijuana.]

"Please stop the hurt and legalize cannabis for personal and medicinal use.
 We should be able to grow and use herbs.  Tobacco and Alcohol kill and
they are legal!  I know because I lost a father and husband to those legal
substances.  No one has ever died from using cannabis.  People don't get
violent as they do when using alcohol or other drugs.  Legalize it.  The
money could be used to pay off the national debt. Stop the prohibition- we
have wasted too many police man hours trying to stop people from using an
herb.  The police would be better used to catch murderers and thieves and
abusers."

And Senator Boutin's reply was:

"Dear *****,"

"I respect your viewpoint, but unfortunately I do not share it. I could not support HB 492."

Did he send his reply on official state letterhead? No. Did he sign it? No. Did he offer a brief explanation or reason for his stance? No.

In effect, his response was the equivalent of saying, "Marijuana is the other N-Word - don't bother me!"

And in effect, given that recent polls have found 56% of NH citizens support legalization of cannabis, his reelection as a representative of the people of his district is bound to fail. When our elected officials put their own personal preferences ahead of their constituents  they fail as being responsible elected officials. Needless to say my friend was devastated by Senator Boutin's response  She felt he was not only very rude, but quite out of touch which her feelings, and what she had to say.

Senator Boutin's response to my friend is to us, who are educated and experienced in life, the cry of a dinosaur about to go extinct. He typifies political ignorance. He is a relic of the past, out of touch with modern day reality. He is the sort of elected official that relies on his own personal preferences when making political decisions. He does not consider scientific fact nor the rights granted American citizens.

Cannabis has been legal for recreational use in CO and WA State for over a month and a half, and the zombie apocalypse has still not happened in those states. People aren't jumping out of buildings, Black men aren't taking advantage of White women anymore than may have been prior to legalization and those states haven't seen an increase in crime. And why would they? Cannabis has been used for thousands of years and there has never been a problem associated with it's use. Reefer Madness is and always was a pathological myth... something politicians like Senator Boutin take at face value. The Bible says the "Meek Shall Inherit the Earth", it says nothing about the ignorant.

It's time our country gets real. It's time to Stop the Hurt and Stop the Ignorance of politicians like Senator Boutin. If he does not share the opinion of my friend, then why? Tell us why and provide facts to support your position. Because you see, your personal opinion means absolutely nothing, Senator. In my opinion, and the opinion of my friend you are an idiot! You likely did not even read what she wrote to you. Did you?

It's the Year 2013, and it's time politicians take people and science seriously. It's time to get real and to Stop the Hurt! It's time to end Reefer Madness and bashing people who hurt no one just because they are unconventional.

In 1972 President Nixon assembled a Blue Ribbon committee to study marijuana and drug abuse. It was called the Shaffer Committee  The findings of this committee were completely ignored by the President. A Civil War was declared against American citizens instead. The findings of the committee were in part this:

"The Commission recommended decriminalization of simple possession, finding:[T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use. It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only 'with the greatest reluctance."

Additional Link:

Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding Commissioned by President Richard M. Nixon, March, 1972