Or she thought she'd be back within the hour.
I have thought about that thedoormouse, but I am of the mind that she had no intentions of meeting him. I think for whatever reason, she needed to bring the kids back to him, but did not want to be face to face with him.
I believe she knew what time he would be there and she intentionally made sure that she missed him.
Almost immediately after going missing the neighbors used words like upset, bothered ,very scared,hiding, doesn't know what to do, nervous and anxious. This was, imo, part of the reason they were assuming the worst when she did not contact anyone.
Considering they had called the police the day before to settle a domestic squabble, I think it is reasonable to assume she was scared of her husband.
She took a lot of steps before she left, documenting divorce information, passing out valuables "in case something happened to her" and perhaps changing PINs. That is another reason I believe the person she was scared of was her dh, otherwise he could protect her and her valuables for her.
I also think if we can figure out what the hold he had on her was that compelled her to bring those kids back we will unlock the answer to some of these questions.
Now, I do not know if her fear was justified or reasonable, so this is not to say Matt has done anything wrong at all. I have heard many times that Matt is a super guy. but I do believe she was scared. I don't think she was delusional but I do think she was distraught and things were taking their toll on her. I would not be at all surprised to find out that she had every intention of taking off to get some space. But that is where everything goes wonky for me. She had the ability to take off, she could tell friends that she was leaving and she seemed pretty vocal about telling her friends that things were upside down.
So, why stop talking to friends now? None of them would give up her location.
As I have said several times, I am holding out hope that she is just hiding somewhere and very unsure or too mentally rundown to make a move.
But as each day passes, it makes less and less sense.