Attention? People do crazy stuff like that, even confessing to crimes they didn't commit.
Whoever it was, they were ruled out. I suspect they don't live in CA or anywhere nearby, maybe not even in this country.
I understand he or she was ruled out as a kidnapper, which is what he or she was being investigated for. I also understand that certain idiots like to insert themselves into cases for attention. However, this particular cat inserted him or herself
almost immediately into this case, and before much time or attention was devoted to it by LE or the media. Additionally, these types of attention seekers generally only do so in high profile cases, which Aly's is and was not. So, with that said, it is plausible that it was a red herring. While LE clearly found out that there was no kidnapping and that this person is unrelated to her disappearance, they did not state that he or she was unrelated to someone potentially related to her disappearance.
It also could've been an attempt by some random prick to extort ransom, which is just as likely in this day and age of moral bankruptcy.
JMO, of course.