I am new to this thread and decided that I would read all of it before posting.
I wanted to let you all know what an amazing job you have done getting so much information together in so little time. I really believe that you will find what happened to Rose, and I pray the news will be good.
I just had a thought that I wanted to share-
According to Roses letters, she walked for 3 days to get to a bus station. Keep in mind, a lot could have been happening in those three days she could have been distracted. She would have had to find somewhere to eat, sleep, get water (etc.) during her trek, so when youre zeroing in on locations, keep that in mind. She also could have gotten lost.
It also might have been that she was looking for a bus station similar to a Greyhound. In that case, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) wouldnt have really helped her. The closest bus depot that I know of that may have been within walking distance of Oakland was in San Fransisco.
Heres the website where I got that info:
http://www.strayhound.com/depots/
I was also reading part of her letter where she stated that she planned on getting everyone something for Christmas, which leads me to believe that she had money or access to money. She would need money to buy a bus ticket. I would assume that she would plan to take the bus back home, but after all her things were stolen, she probably couldnt. The only other way to get home for her (if all her money was stolen) would have been hitchhike. Considering she didnt do that in the first place, makes me draw the conclusion that she was wary of that kind of activity and was trying to stay out of trouble. Franklin Floyd (on the Sharon Marshall thread) used a traveler aid service agency to get a bus ticket after he kidnapped Sharons son from school. Maybe the people who she said were taking care of her in her letter were part of a similar charity/agency. She probably lied about her age to get them to help her. If she told them she was a minor, they probably would have called her parents, who might send her back to Synanon.
I ponder these things, and you may already have thought of this, but I just thought I would throw it out there.