Hello all. I've actually been reading this forum for quite awhile regarding this and other high profile cases. This is my first shot at sleuthing myself. Would like to offer my own hypothesis to the mix.
My honest opinion is she was taken by someone who knew her and/or her routine. I think the phone was tossed immediately after she was taken. Then whatever crime occurred wherever it occurred. Most likely, and sadly, she was completely naked, deceased and discarded when the bag was placed. The reason the perp folded the clothes was to make it seem as though she was a runaway. The perp probably assumed no one knew what she was wearing that day, since he most likely knew no one saw her after 6AM. He was also well aware that she probably wouldn't even be "missing" until the end of the day, so if he went to that location and dumped the bag later in the day on March 16, there was no hint of anything amiss in Morgan Hill at that time. The pattern of the location of both items suggests they were travelling north, and he may have been trying to make that location appear to be a crime scene. Most likely she was taken south, so leading LE north makes perfect sense to a simple criminal mind.
Regarding the car, I think it's entirely possible LE was aware of this car more than 4 days ago, when they first went public. Maybe they were aware of it, say, a week or two ago, and located it and surveiled it for awhile. When that didn't pan out, they went public, albeit vaguely, in the hopes that maybe the driver would go back to check on it, and they'd nab him, and when that didn't happen, they pounced on the car and are now looking for tips.
I've been "observing" cases like this for a long time, as I'm sure most of you have. Different jurisdictions handle case info differently, for their own reasons. I think most would agree, the agencies that choose to go public with as much as they can, early on, have more successful outcomes.
So that's my ice breaker. My honest opinion. Thank you for reading.
