CONCORD, N.H. (WCAX) – There are more than 130 missing persons and cold cases in New Hampshire, but a coalition of families aims to change that one case at a time.
Julie Murray addressed dozens of people Tuesday in front of New Hampshire’s Statehouse. Along with her brother and father, she was surrounded by families holding similar pain.
“It’s great to be supported by other family members that get it,” Murray said.
Maura Murray went missing in February 2004. Her car was found on the side of the road in North Haverhill, New Hampshire. There have been leads over the past 20 years but the case has gone cold. Julie Murray last year helped create the New Hampshire Coalition of Families of the Missing and Murdered to make sure victims are not forgotten. “You have to walk in our shoes to really understand what it is like to go so long with the unknown and that is the most difficult part,” Murray said.
Joe Robert knows the feeling all too well. His sister Denise was shot to death in Manchester in 2015. He says the coalition is a support system. “Talking with other people, what they have done, what’s a success, what’s not so successful. It’s also opened our eyes to how dropping the ball is happening,” he said.
Another goal of the group is to pressure law enforcement to keep working on the unsolved cases. Jane Boroski was the victim of a violent assault when she was 22 years old. “There’s forensics today, there’s DNA today. There’s so many more avenues that they can go down to do more investigative work,” Boroski said.
It’s work this group says could provide closure or help bring their loved ones home. “It does wonders for our mental health and our hope that one day, we will get resolution,” Murray said.
The coalition’s motto is to be a voice for the voiceless. And they encourage anyone who knows something, to say something.