Its been a while since I have posted on here about this case. As someone who has searched the mountain 3 to 4 times a week until the heat made it impossible to safely search at this rate, I feel that I am starting to lean toward a certain opinion I would like to share with the forum.
I have spend this downtime educating myself on search and rescue, obtained my part 107 drone license, training locally for the rugged terrain, and studying the case.
I have always had a open mind as far as the evidence and facts. His car was found on the mountain, his last texts were localized to the area, his hat and key was found close to the car but no Matthew. When I spent time looking at other known facts and talking to the family members. I started to doubt that he was the one who drove his car from the girls house and I will explain why.
The first reason, explained in IMMORTAL INVESTIGATIONS YouTube video series (FINDING MATTHEW WEAVER). Based on his family and friends, he loved his car and wouldn't have drove it down that road. Everyone that has gone down this trail thinks "its amazing his car made it." From the video you can see how dangerous and unlevel it is. Ultimately, the car did make it and was left in a very suspicious circumstance on the edge of a cliff. The path that it was left on, never sat right with me because there was no where for it to be driven forward. If we are to assume that he drove it up there, right before that area where the car was found is a big clearing. From what I have been told from numerous sources, Matthew has frequented Rosa's Overlook numerous times and would know that it was a one way path that ended. So its strange that someone that knew the area so well would continue past the clearing.
I have personally found 4 cars in the vicinity of the cliff that his car was found at. They look like they have been there for decades due to the condition of the rust and makes/models. So if you look at things this way, if the car was on driven on purpose down that path, and rolled down the cliff. How would we have known that Matthew was even at Rosa's Overlook? There wouldn't have been a 911 call for a car on the path which ultimately sparked the search in this location. The only thing we would have is the Snap-chat timeline which shows that his phones GPS was still on and linked to this area.
The second reason, the snap-chat timeline.
If we are to accept it as accurate based on the times reported and locations. It does not make sense. He was know for going up to this area to race up and down the mountain at high speeds. On the surface, it looks like that is what he was doing between the times of 5:15-6:24 AM. But if you drive the same path that he did, the timeline doesn't add up for someone that knows the area and drives fast or even the speed limit. According to GPS,(verified by the many times I have driven it going the posted speed limit) it takes 14 minutes from the corner of mulholland and old topanga rd to corner of stunt rd and Schueren Rd.
The timeline starts at mulholland and old topanga rd at 5:15 am. He missed the turn for stunt rd. and u turns at 5:34 am. That is 19 minutes on Mulholland. Then drove on Stunt rd. for 10 minutes. For a total driving time of 29 minutes according to the timeline. 29 minutes to drive 8 miles, which only takes 14 minutes. I rounded it to 8 miles due to the u turn.
The first time I realized this, I used
www.timecalculator.net to figure out the speed he had to be going. It produced that he would have been driving a average of 16.5 miles per hour.
The minimum speed limit posted for this route is 35mph on turns. So... if the timeline is a accurate representation of where his phone was at those times, then this now becomes a fact that it took him 29 minutes to drive a route that should have only took him 14 minutes. Which does not add up to someone that drove 15 minutes across the valley from the girls house, then decides to drive extremely slow (less than half the speed limit) on a route that he is known to drive fast on frequently. Then to assume that when he was at the top, he started racing around until he decided to drive down a dangerous and reckless path. I am sure whoever is reading this post, must see what I am starting to believe. That he wasn't driving!
Of course this is only a theory he wasn't driving, not a fact, like the drive time from the timeline, but things don't line up with his driving habits, speed, location the car was found and lack of finding Matthew after 2 years of searching extensively in the area. If you were to look at it from the prospective that his car driven by someone who didn't know the area,then it makes a lot of sense for why someone would miss the turn to stunt rd going slow. I have never missed the turn onto stunt rd because there are a lot of landmarks that you cannot forget if you have been there before. No matter what time of day. If your light are on you will see where you have to turn if you have been there before.
The third reason, what happened between the times of 12pm and 5am. According to the girl he was with, they were sitting in his car during that time in a mobile home park. According to her, he DID NOT tell her he was going to stunt road. She has stated that he was going home. Which is very unlikely since he went straight there after allegedly confiding with her about his feelings. He not once asked her if she wanted to go with him? Odd to say the least. I have been to this mobile home park and I am assuming that at one point or another everyone has been to one at some point in there life. The homes are close together and parking is very limited. According to the girl they were smoking in the car for 5 hours talking. Okay very possible scenario but unlikely since there was so many other safer places to do that other than in front of a mobile home with so many neighbors in a quiet neighborhood. Right behind her house, a short hop over a wall is a area that is a known hangout spot next to the freeway.
The girls whole situation in regards to Matthew missing is highly suspicious. Without going into details, she has not been very truthful or forthcoming with information regarding the disappearance of Matthew. Not once did she act like a person concerned with finding him. I am not going to go into details of everything I have discovered about her actions and lack thereof. I will say that law enforcement did not do their due diligence in ruling her out as a suspect. Which is a theme for law enforcement involvement in finding Matthew. The results of why we are here still looking for him on our own.
So... if the theory is that Matthew wasn't driving his car. The question is who was and the focus should be on the last verified location he was at. Which is her house and the surrounding area. There is a lot of places they could have gone during those 5 hours on foot that are viable locations that someone could hide a body. Law enforcement ( to my knowledge) has never searched the area. Nor have I been informed that anyone has been out there with cadaver dogs.
I have searched this location multiple times but have not ever felt like I searched everything to rule out the site. This morning, I pulled up google earth photos from the past to compare it to see if there is any significant change in the environment. I found something that I didn't see before. A large white object was moved to a different location. I have not looked under this.
Until I completely search the whole Rosa's Overlook of something new comes to light, I cant completely rule out the possibility that he still could be up there regardless if the evidence points to the likelihood of him not driving. I plan to resume my searching when weather permits. At the same time, I feel that focus also needs to be on the area surrounding the girls house and with dogs that are trained for searching . Until he is found, I will continue to search everywhere that has potential. Anyone willing to accompany me or has access to a cadaver dog to search around Topanga canyon and the 118 freeway, please private message me so we can coordinate.
