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(NewsNation) — For more than two decades, Maura Murray’s family has not stopped thinking about the road in New Hampshire where she disappeared.

Route 11 in North Haverhill, New Hampshire, is where the family’s life changed forever on Feb. 9, 2004.

Maura Murray disappears

Murray was 21 at the time, a college student pursuing a career in nursing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

That morning she emailed her professors saying there had been a death in the family and she would be gone for a week.

But her family says that wasn’t true. Her sister, Julie Murray, thinks it was an excuse.

“I think it was an excuse to buy her some time. I think she used it as an excuse to get her out of school, she was a nursing student, she had clinical,” Julie Murray said. “I think she wanted to get away and clear her head and that was a reasonable excuse where no one would ask her any further questions.”

Later that day, Maura Murray stopped at an ATM, a liquor store and then drove toward New Hampshire.

Julie Murray says her sister didn’t tell anyone why.

“I talked to Maura the Saturday before she disappeared and everything seemed fine,” she said. “She was car shopping with my dad, her car was not running well. But when we spoke that Saturday, she didn’t mention anything, she seemed fine, we were just making fun of my dad mostly.”

Searching for Maura Murray

That night, a Haverhill resident called the police and said there had been an accident and a car was stuck in a ditch.

A bus driver passing by said he spoke to Maura Murray and offered to help her.

She said she had already called AAA.

But by the time the first officer arrived at the scene, she was gone.

Was Maura Murray the victim of foul play?

Julie Murray believes her sister was met with foul play.

“It was out of character for Maura to take off and leave everything,” she told NewsNation. “Also, the things she took with her. She took textbooks, she took running gear, she took birth control, she took accident forms and to me, it indicated that she planned to return.”

The New Hampshire Department of Justice says Maura Murray’s disappearance is being treated as suspicious.

Because Murray vanished just days after the launch of Facebook, her case has been labeled the “first crime mystery of the social media age.”

It’s been featured in major news outlets across the country and by true crime content creators.

But now, her sister is taking control of her story.

Taking control of Maura Murray’s story

Julie Murray has launched a podcast, “The Untold Story of Maura Murray,” that features exclusive interviews with the people who know Maura Murray best and how her disappearance has affected those left behind.

She’s also been spreading the word on TikTok. With more than 287,000 followers, Julie Murray answers questions and gives updates, bringing attention to a case that a new generation may not have heard of.

One such question: Did Maura Murray knock on any doors?

“No, not that we know of officially,” Julie Murray responded.

Murray challenges true crime creators and consumers to handle cases with care, to be victim-focused and to remember that there are real families with real pain at the center of these tragedies.

All of them, like the Murray family, are holding out hope that someday they’ll get the answers they want.