Wow, thank you so much for sharing this very informative, detailed and insightful podcast. I also found the transcript very helpful.
It's obvious LE dropped the ball on this one. Even with the misguided thinking of the 90s, that you had to wait 24 hours before filing a missing persons report, they clearly didn't give the case its due diligence even after the official report.
So it's known from the podcast that the twins reported being followed earlier that morning by a man in a white van. After 3pm, they visited:
1) their godfather,
2) then their cousin,
3) then their older sister, and lastly
4) a convenience store where they knew a clerk.
Four people in four hours (since they were expected at home for dinner by 7pm).
Honestly, I get the feeling that these visits were the twins' way of trying to wait out whoever they thought was following them. Maybe they saw the white van again, but didn't say anything because they were second-guessing themselves, thinking they were being paranoid, etc. and didn't want to alarm anyone. Maybe they figured that lengthy visits with relatives would tire and deter their stalkers, especially since each visit provides yet another witness.
MLK Jr. Blvd and 12th looks pretty isolated and run down even as late as
Google's Street View image of June 2016. I can't imagine what it could've looked like 26 years prior. And I can't imagine having to
walk two miles alone in that kind of neighborhood.
I don't think the fight with that other girl, related to the principal of Lucy Laney High School, is connected. There were no reported issues afterwards, and the twins were leaving that school anyway in just a couple of months.
The best clue to me is still that white van. They reported seeing one man, though there could've been more. Even if it was just one person, he could've easily subdued them by pointing a weapon at one of them, knowing the twins wouldn't abandon each other. The element of surprise alone can often be enough to incapacitate a person's ability to think rationally.
My heart goes out to the family, and I pray that more info comes from the re-opening of this case.
