Missing Coral Springs woman, Maria Murphy ~ as of 03/22/12, her car has been found but no Maria! Update: 07/06/12: Maria's body has been found!

CORAL SPRINGS—
On Tuesday, the fourth day after Maria Claudia Murphy's disappearance, about a dozen of her relatives met with police and made an emotional plea for her safe return.

"Please let us know you're OK," Murphy's niece, Catalina Rojas, 26, said in front of several news cameras.

Rojas, tears streaming down her face, said she hoped her 45-year-old aunt would hear that her family has been searching for her.

Murphy's black 2005 BMW two-door convertible —Florida tag LZS159 — was found around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in a parking lot near the Holiday Springs shopping center at 7932 Sample Road in Pompano Beach. An anonymous tipster reported the Mercedes' location to police. It was towed to the police department to process for evidence, police said.

Murphy and her husband were about to move to Tennessee, and two of Maria Murphy's friends told police that she was excited about the move, according to police.

About 1 p.m. Friday, Murphy deposited $5,000 at an ATM outside Bank of America at 1401 N. University Drive, police said. The deposit was done on her husband's behalf and associated with moving expenses, police said.

Sometime between 2 and 2:15 p.m. Friday, Murphy was possibly seen by a friend crossing U.S. 441 at Copans Road in Margate, police said.

Her husband of nine years, Frank Murphy, said he reported his wife missing Friday evening after he had returned from work, saw it was getting late and she still hadn't come home.

"She never has been seen or heard from since," said Coral Springs Police Detective Chris Collins. "To this point, we're still aggressively looking for her, tracking down all leads."

The search includes trying to recover any surveillance video showing where else she may have been before she vanished, police said.

Police are investigating Murphy's disappearance as a missing-person case. Officials said they haven't determined whether foul play is involved. Murphy is considered endangered, given there is no explanation for her disappearance.

She didn't have her cellphone when she went missing; she did have her wallet or purse, police said. After Friday's bank transaction, her credit and debit cards have gone unused, police said.

She and her husband enjoy breeding exotic reptiles, such as bearded dragons, her husband said. The couple had recently arranged the sale of reptiles to a Broward man, but the transaction apparently didn't happen, police said.

Her relatives have phoned hospitals, distributed fliers and asked for assistance on websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Authorities urge anyone with information about her or her BMW to call Collins at 954-346-1262, Coral Springs police at 954-344-1800, or Broward Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 954-493-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information leading to her recovery.

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Maria Murphy case: What happened to her?
Posted on March 20, 2012 by Valhall
45-year-old Maria Murphy disappeared last Friday. So did her 2005 black BMW 330ci convertible. Neither Maria nor the car has been seen since. This story is strange, mainly because of what little is known about that last day Maria was seen, but also because of the 2 weeks prior to it.

The oddness of the day she disappeared is this:

At 1 pm Maria deposited money (not withdrew!) at a Bank of America branch in Coral Springs, Florida. The time of the next sighting has varied (some reports state 2 pm, others state 4 pm), but later that afternoon she was seen by a family friend (who did not know that Maria would eventually be reported missing) walking across Route 441 at Copans Road in Margate, Florida. The witness who saw her walking stated she was headed in the direction of a car dealership. Since there is a large Volvo dealer on the northeast corner of this intersection, that would indicate she was crossing Route 441 in an easterly direction. However, the missing poster for Maria states that she was seen crossing Copans Road, apparently near 441, which would mean she was walking across Copans in a northerly direction. Frank Murphy, Maria’s husband, said that’s downright odd for Maria to be walking anywhere. He can’t understand why she would have been out of her car.

Now, what is equally concerning is the 2 weeks prior to Maria’s disappearance. Her family has stated that she was suffering from a “stomach bug” for 2 weeks. Apparently someone (don’t know who) even described her as going into periods of “amnesia”. Her husband denies that claim, but did say she would go into spells of being disoriented. He also described that she would get better, and then all of a sudden get sick again.

Okay, so…barring something nefarious happening to Maria (like being intentionally poisoned), I have to say that 2 weeks of a randomly striking stomach bug is a long damned time to suffer with an intestinal virus. A long time!

So let’s talk about 2 scenarios that concern me:

The possibility that Maria was being poisoned. I want to be clear that I’m not saying I think this was happening, okay? I just have to put it out there. Frank states they were about to move to Nashville. He states: “We were packing. We went up. We have a house rented.” I would want to know when they went up, if they actually went up together, and if both their signatures are on the rental agreement. In other words, I’d want to verify that Maria actually knows about the rental home in Nashville.
The possibility that Maria had something neurological going on. The symptoms described – long-term periodic and random strikes of a “stomach bug” (which to me would indicate vomiting), and periods of being so disoriented that some folks described it as like amnesia, are indicative of something severe happening in her head – primarily a brain tumor. I would want to know if she also had random spikes of fever and whether, when the vomiting started, was there any nausea beforehand. In other words, did she all of a sudden just projectile vomit, or was there building nausea prior to the vomiting? Also, was there any indication of a change in facial expression? gate? balance?
This picture of Maria:


could be indicating an asymmetric behavior in her facial expression. While the right corner of her mouth is turned up in her smile, the left corner is not. Also, her left eye appears to be “dropped” slightly to the way her right eye is rising with her smile.

However, the middle picture in this flyer for Maria…

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does not show the same asymmetry. So my question is to those who know Maria – can you think back and recall if Maria’s face started changing? Did you start seeing a crooked smile? a staggered gate? loss of balance?

At this time I do not suspect that anyone in Maria’s family did something to her. I fear that she has something severely wrong and it has caused her to walk off. It is curious that her car has not been found, but then again, if she just walked away leaving the keys in the ignition, the car may have been stolen shortly after she abandoned it and the inability to find it may have nothing to do with the inability to find Maria.

Maria is described as 5 ft 10 inches tall weighing about 170 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. I think she is very ill. Hopefully she is still alive and can be brought back to her family where she can have a thorough examination and address whatever is going wrong. Please help bring Maria home. If you have any information call Detective Chris Collins at 954-346-1262.

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Valhall.

Thanks lisette for posting this story. Is it just me or is there an increase in missing girls and women?

Maria Murphy case: What happened to her?

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Valhall

45-year-old Maria Murphy disappeared last Friday. So did her 2005 black BMW 330ci convertible. Neither Maria nor the car has been seen since. This story is strange, mainly because of what little is known about that last day Maria was seen, but also because of the 2 weeks prior to it.

The oddness of the day she disappeared is this:

At 1 pm Maria deposited money (not withdrew!) at a Bank of America branch in Coral Springs, Florida. The time of the next sighting has varied (some reports state 2 pm, others state 4 pm), but later that afternoon she was seen by a family friend (who did not know that Maria would eventually be reported missing) walking across Route 441 at Copans Road in Margate, Florida. The witness who saw her walking stated she was headed in the direction of a car dealership. Since there is a large Volvo dealer on the northeast corner of this intersection, that would indicate she was crossing Route 441 in an easterly direction. However, the missing poster for Maria states that she was seen crossing Copans Road, apparently near 441, which would mean she was walking across Copans in a northerly direction. Frank Murphy, Maria’s husband, said that’s downright odd for Maria to be walking anywhere. He can’t understand why she would have been out of her car.

Now, what is equally concerning is the 2 weeks prior to Maria’s disappearance. Her family has stated that she was suffering from a “stomach bug” for 2 weeks. Apparently someone (don’t know who) even described her as going into periods of “amnesia”. Her husband denies that claim, but did say she would go into spells of being disoriented. He also described that she would get better, and then all of a sudden get sick again.

Okay, so…barring something nefarious happening to Maria (like being intentionally poisoned), I have to say that 2 weeks of a randomly striking stomach bug is a long damned time to suffer with an intestinal virus. A long time!

So let’s talk about 2 scenarios that concern me:

The possibility that Maria was being poisoned. I want to be clear that I’m not saying I think this was happening, okay? I just have to put it out there. Frank states they were about to move to Nashville. He states: “We were packing. We went up. We have a house rented.” I would want to know when they went up, if they actually went up together, and if both their signatures are on the rental agreement. In other words, I’d want to verify that Maria actually knows about the rental home in Nashville.
The possibility that Maria had something neurological going on. The symptoms described – long-term periodic and random strikes of a “stomach bug” (which to me would indicate vomiting), and periods of being so disoriented that some folks described it as like amnesia, are indicative of something severe happening in her head – primarily a brain tumor. I would want to know if she also had random spikes of fever and whether, when the vomiting started, was there any nausea beforehand. In other words, did she all of a sudden just projectile vomit, or was there building nausea prior to the vomiting? Also, was there any indication of a change in facial expression? gate? balance?
This picture of Maria:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
could be indicating an asymmetric behavior in her facial expression. While the right corner of her mouth is turned up in her smile, the left corner is not. Also, her left eye appears to be “dropped” slightly to the way her right eye is rising with her smile.

However, the middle picture in this flyer for Maria…

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
does not show the same asymmetry. So my question is to those who know Maria – can you think back and recall if Maria’s face started changing? Did you start seeing a crooked smile? a staggered gate? loss of balance?

At this time I do not suspect that anyone in Maria’s family did something to her. I fear that she has something severely wrong and it has caused her to walk off. It is curious that her car has not been found, but then again, if she just walked away leaving the keys in the ignition, the car may have been stolen shortly after she abandoned it and the inability to find it may have nothing to do with the inability to find Maria.

Maria is described as 5 ft 10 inches tall weighing about 170 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. I think she is very ill. Hopefully she is still alive and can be brought back to her family where she can have a thorough examination and address whatever is going wrong. Please help bring Maria home. If you have any information call Detective Chris Collins at 954-346-1262.

Valhall.

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Coral Springs police say they have located the car of a missing Coral Springs woman.

The 2005 black BMW 330 CI was found in a parking lot on the 7900 block of Sample Road Tuesday night. The car was towed to police headquarters for processing.

They told CBS4 that this is the first major break in the disappearance of Maria Murphy.

Murphy, 45, has been missing since Friday.

The last time anyone saw Murphy was around 1 p.m. She conducted a bank transaction at the Bank of America, 1401 University Dr. in Coral Springs. About an hour later, Murphy was spotted walking eastbound across U.S. 441 at Copans Road in Margate.

Police believe Murphy may be in danger.

Murphy is about 5-10, has brown eyes, black hair and weighs 170 pounds. She has pierced ears and was last seen wearing a light-colored T-shirt and a neck strap to hold her sunglasses.

Her husband, Frank, friends, and neighbors have been passing out fliers in the hope someone might recognize her or know what happened to her.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Murphy is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS or 866-493-TIPS.

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I wonder: If the husband admitted they were concerned she might have any neurological problems, was she ever seen by a neurologist? Did she ever have a brain MRI???

Note: this video w/keep playing unless you pause it.

Several cameras videotape Coral Springs woman on day of disappearance

CORAL SPRINGS— She vanished just as her plan of moving from South Florida to Tennessee was taking shape.

Maria Claudia Murphy, 45, told friends she was excited about relocating next month to Nashville, where her husband, a project manager for a commercial kitchen contractor, accepted an opening from his employer.

A big incentive for the move was Nashville's proximity to the couple's cabin near Blue Ridge, Ga., known for its scenic mountain views. She relished being outdoors.

The pair's new start turned into a nightmare Friday, when she disappeared after depositing $5,000 at an ATM outside a Bank of America at 1401 N. University Drive in Coral Springs.

Tuesday afternoon, a few miles northeast of the bank, police recovered her black 2005 BMW two-door convertible parked outside El Balcon De Las Americas, a Colombian restaurant she frequented on the 7900 block of West Sample Road, near Coral Springs.

Before she vanished that afternoon, the restaurant's surveillance cameras filmed Murphy parking her car, then walking "normally" away from the restaurant, as if nothing was wrong, said Alvaro Tobar, the restaurant's owner. "We hope she's OK," Tobar said.

Read more at:
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You can see the surveillance videos showing her walking away from her car here. She is carrying some type of bag even though they said that her purse was left in her car. Something very fishy about all of this.
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Maria Claudia Murphy: Police Discover Car Belonging To Missing Coral Springs Woman

Coral Springs police working off a tip discovered the car of missing woman Maria Claudia Murphy, according to a release from the department.

An anonymous caller notified the police Tuesday evening that they saw the black BMW convertible in a parking lot of a restaurant in the 7900 block of Sample Road.

Surveillance video from the restaurant where Murphy's car was found shows her getting out of her car and walking toward Sample Road around 1 p.m. Friday, reports Local 10.

Police say Murphy then went missing after depositing $5,000 at an ATM for her and her husband’s impending move to Tennessee.

According to WPTV, she did not have her cell phone with her when she went out, and her credit and debit cards show no activity since the deposit on Friday.

Family told police that she had been sick the week prior. But Coral Springs Police Lt. Joe McHugh told WSVN "there is nothing to indicate that she has a diminished state of mind. However, we don't know really what has happened. That is why we're here. We're asking for help."

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Press Conference:

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SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012
Missing South Florida Woman Notice - Maria Claudia Murphy - UPDATE
As of the end of the day, Monday, April 16, 2012 there is no news to report.

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This case is baffling...She parked her car and just walked away. Wonder where she is and what happened to her.

Still checking for news on this missing woman, but can't find anything. Wonder what happened to her?

I don't know, Lisette. I have a "google alert" on her and nothing comes up. Thanks for checking on her!

By Juan Ortega, Sun Sentinel
9:43 p.m. EDT, July 6, 2012

One mystery was solved Friday when a fully clothed skeleton recovered from a thickly wooded area was identified as a Coral Springs woman who vanished nearly four months ago under strange circumstances.

But questions remain in the story of Maria Claudia Murphy, 45, who disappeared just as she planned to move to Tennessee with her husband.

On a Friday afternoon in March, she parked her car outside a restaurant near Coral Springs and inexplicably began walking east across Broward County in the midday sun. Nearly two hours later and about four miles away in Coconut Creek, she was spotted standing on a street corner. That was the last time she was seen.

Why did she leave her car behind? Was she meeting someone? Did the stomach virus she had for weeks worsen to the point that it left her disoriented?

Murphy's mourning sister on Friday called all such questions speculation. "It's a mystery that may remain unsolved — because no one knows why she did it," said Martha Valderrama, 55, of Boca Raton.

Still, a police investigation is under way to determine how Murphy died.

Confirmation of her death was the latest development in what has been a prolonged "torture" for her family, Valderrama said.

"Not one day went by without her family thinking of her," Valderrama said. "We didn't know if she was kidnapped or if something terrible happened to her."

As her relatives tried to find her, the case drew an outpouring of community support. There were news conferences, neighborhood searches and flier-distribution rallies.

Thursday, two hikers found the skeleton along a remote nature trail deep inside Tradewinds Park South in Coconut Creek.

Murphy's remains were deep in the woods, out of sight from the disc golfers, bicyclists and picnickers who frequent the sprawling park, Murphy's sister said. The hikers reached the area only because they were involved in athletic training, she said.

"Nobody would have found her there," Valderrama said. "They found her personal belongings around her. Indubitably, she was there this whole time."

Dental records were used Friday to confirm Murphy's identity. Her cause of death, including whether foul play was involved, will be determined by the Broward Medical Examiner's Office, police said. Coconut Creek police also will investigate.

"We're disappointed that she was found deceased," said Lt. Joe McHugh, spokesman for Coral Springs police. "Ultimately, we always held out hope that she would be found in good health."

Maria Murphy moved from Bogota, Colombia, her homeland, to the United States when she was about 18, her family said. She has a 24-year-old son from a prior relationship; he lives in California.

Murphy and her husband of nine years, Frank Murphy, enjoyed breeding exotic reptiles, such as bearded dragons, and taking their two dogs, Nikita and Duke, to the dog park, her husband said.

Murphy told friends she was excited about relocating in April to Nashville, where her husband, a project manager for a commercial kitchen contractor, had accepted a position.

A big incentive for the move was Nashville's proximity to the couple's cabin near Blue Ridge, Ga., known for its scenic mountain views. She relished being outdoors, almost as much as she loved being around animals, her relatives said.

Murphy's relatives said Murphy had a good relationship with her husband, son and family. With no signs of foul play, police were left calling Murphy's disappearance unusual: There was no apparent explanation for it, even though clues suggested something was amiss.

Murphy has no significant medical history, officials said. She had been sick with a stomach virus for weeks in March, but was recovering after taking antibiotics, her husband said.

The mystery began March 16, when Murphy traveled from her home to a Coral Springs bank to deposit money. She left her dogs at home, even though she usually went everywhere with them, relatives said.

At an ATM outside the bank, she deposited $5,000, which was associated with moving expenses. A few minutes past 1 p.m., she parked her black 2005 BMW convertible in a parking lot outside a Colombian restaurant she frequented off West Sample Road near Coral Springs.

Instead of going into the restaurant, Murphy got out and started walking. She was seen on surveillance video eastbound on Sample Road with a black bag slung over her left shoulder. Along the way she was sweaty and red-faced, police said. About 2:45 p.m., she was seen standing on the northeast corner of Copans and Lyons roads in Coconut Creek, her last known location. She was seen there on video recorded by a passing Broward County Transit bus.

Her remains were discovered less than a mile northeast of that intersection, where her relatives had held rallies to help find her.

Many people who had worried about Murphy's welfare still were baffled Friday.

"It's frightening," said Murphy's neighbor, Sandra Frank, 57, who sometimes joined Murphy to walk their dogs. "This is a very close-knit neighborhood. We're all in shock. That doesn't happen here."

Frank Murphy, who became an outspoken figure in his wife's disappearance, couldn't be reached for comment Friday. He reportedly had been out of town. Neighbors wanted to do something nice for him, so they delivered pastries to his home, Sandra Frank said.

"My heart goes out to the family," she said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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COCONUT CREEK (CBS4) - She’s been missing for more than three and half months and had been the subject of an exhaustive search in Northwest Broward.

On Friday afternoon, the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that a decomposing body discovered by hikers at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek is that of the missing woman: Maria Claudia Murphy.

“Claudia was a very special, loving, caring person,” said her husband, Frank. “She didn’t deserve to die alone in the words.”


Frank Murphy has been on an emotional roller coaster since his wife vanished in mid-March. Surveillance video showed Maria Claudia parking her car and walking away. She kept walking and walking. She was last seen in the area of Lyons Road and Copans Road — about 300 yards from where he body was discovered.

“(I) wake up with a broken heart every day,” he said. “I wouldn’t want anyone to have to go through what I’ve gone through the last 3 and a half months.”

Outside the Murphy home — the black, 2-door convertible BMW that Murphy was last seen driving sits in the driveway. It is a reminder of the faith the family kept during the past several months.

Investigators say it appears Murphy’s body had been in the woods for several months.

“Dental records,” said Coral Springs Police Lt. Joe McHugh. “That’s how we confirmed that it was her. There were also items found on or near her body that lead us to believe originally that this was Maria Claudia Murphy.”

“It’s not known how she died,” McHugh told CBS4′s Peter D’Oench. “As of now we don’t know. An autopsy should determine that.”

The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office said results of most autopsies are not released for three to four weeks. McHugh said Coconut Creek Police were taking over the investigation since Murphy’s body was discovered in their city.

“That’s why I can’t say what items were found on or near her as it is their case now,” said McHugh.


Police initially said Murphy had no wallet, purse or cell phone with her. And while she was away, there was no activity on any of her credit cards or debit card.

“This is still a mystery,” said McHugh. “Detectives had worked this case diligently with the family and with their leads. They worked very hard and had hoped to bring her home safe to her family.”

The body was found by hikers at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek. The body was decomposing when it was discovered and was discovered in a heavily wooded area full of mangroves and nature trails. Investigators said the body has likely been in the woods for several months.

McHugh said Murphy’s remains were discovered some 300 yards from Copans and Lyons Roads.

“She was found very deep in the woods” at Tradewinds Park just west of the Florida Turnpike and south of Sample Road and not far from the tourist attraction, “Butterfly World.”

McHugh said it did not look like there was an attempt to conceal the body.

Neighbors found the news disturbing.

“I knew her from walking dogs like me,” said Sandra Frank. Frank told D’Oench, “We were dog lovers. It’s really sad. I don’t know what to say. It’s very said. We were neighbors and we are very close as neighbors.”

Coral Springs Police, family and friends have been looking for Murphy since she disappeared in Marsh shortly after making a $5 thousand bank deposit. Her car was found undamaged in the area, and a painstaking search by police found a number of surveillance videos showing her after the car was abandoned, simply walking. She was last seen on surveillance camera walking in an area not far from Tradewinds Park on March 16.

Murphy and her husband had been planning a move to Tennessee, something her family said she was looking forward to.

Nobody could explain why she apparently simply wandered away, but the search had cooled as leads and sightings dried up.

Her broken hearted husband is left with many questions about his wife’s final moments.

“Trying to decipher this information — figure out why this happened, what’s the cause, what’s the reasoning behind it,” Frank Murphy said. “I want this case to come to a close so we can lay Claudia to rest properly.”

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August 24, 2012 10:46 PM

MIAMI (CBS4) – The family of a Coral Springs woman whose body was found at a Coconut Creek park in July may never know how Maria Claudia Murphy died.

The Broward County Medical Examiner released the autopsy report Friday in which it listed the official cause of death as “undetermined”.

“The severity of the decomposition process precludes definitive determination of cause of death to a reasonable degree of medical certainty,” Broward County Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Darin P. Trelka wrote in the report.

Murphy disappeared in March. Her body wasn’t found until three and a half months later in early July in a wooded area at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek.

The M.E.’s report indicated the remains were so decomposed, they only weighed about 54 lbs.

“There was no evidence of perimortem trauma appreciated,” Dr. Trelka wrote. “There were no specimens suitable for toxicology testing.”

Murphy’s husband Frank told CBS 4 News he knew there was a good chance the results would be inconclusive.

Frank Murphy said he just recently returned from Colombia, where he spread his wife’s ashes over a lake where she spent time growing up.

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Reminds me of little Caylee.