But if it didn't happen in the parking lot, then the person would have to know his way around. It's not like the car could just follow closely behind the girls. He would have to know which roads linked to which roads, and he would have to know where the girls were headed. If one simply observed them coming through a cross walk there would be no clear indication which direction they came from. For a car to leave the parking lot and end up on the streets they were walking, I think the car would have to drive out onto University Blvd. and then in a circle to the residential streets. And those streets, at least University Blvd., is heavily travelled at all times of the day.
Admittedly the actual plaza has changed drastically. The parking lots for the most part remain as they were. I would think there would be a big change in trees, shrubbery, and paths since 1975. When did you see this area? In 1975, or sometime later? I understand your thoughts about the parking area being the same, but maybe trees have been cleared, or landscapes redone so the view in 1975 may not have been so clear.
Just some thoughts.
I have a 1975 Map and also a much more detailed 1981 Map of the area, which clearly depicts all of the neighborhood streets, including all those I mentioned in my earlier post about the route. Those street locations have not changed at all. Only the wooded section through which the path went (between McComas and Jennings) is different. There are now some houses built in there, some fences have been put up, etc.
I walked the route only a few weeks ago; from the old Wards parking lot, down the short foot path (now black topped) west on Faulkner, west on Drumm, across McComas (still on Drumm) to Plyers Mill Road, Left on Plyers Mill for one block, and across Jennings. While this route left out the foot path through the woods, it was aproximately the same distance overall. Total time at a brisk walk was 15 minutes each way.
Your points about an abductor needing to know the residential roads is somewhat true. It would certainly be easier for him if he had a detailed map, or if he had previously traveled the roads to know which ones connected with University Blvd and/or Georgia Ave. - Those being the best/ fastest escape routes from the area. But he would not necessarily need that information.
The big problem would be that IF he were to sit and wait in the residential area, someone might notice him. And if he tried to intercept the girls on one of those streets AFTER seeing them leave the Plaza parking lot, then he would be running the risk of getting lost in the maze of streets, or having to make it all a very complicated "controlled time of arrival" problem. Again, it COULD be done, but with much more risk of his being seen or of the girls running away to one of the many houses on the route.
You are also correct about the view (of the residential area) that an abductor would have had from the parking lot. Even today, you have to look through trees to see Faulkner, and then you do not see much of it. If the abductor DID NOT know the girls, then he wouldn't know where they lived or what their destination was after leaving the Plaza. He might drive some how to the intersection of Drumm and McComas, and the girls could have gone into any of 41 houses before that intersection.
So, unless he in some way had learned where they lived, or at least how much of the route they walked, then his best place to abduct would be in the parking lot itself.
.I do have it listed on the similar cases thread.What is the deal with the sister and the polygraph?
