There's one obvious unusual thing here -- the knife; and that makes it the signifier.
Solve the knife and solve the crime.
Completely agree with this. As I posted before, my questions are:
1) What exactly made them think it’s a Ka-Bar. Are they just using that as a general for “long, relatively thin knife,” or was there more specific evidence, like a sheath, something specific in the patterns of the wounds indicating the shape of a quillion/guard, etc.
2) Then, Ka-Bar is a brand, not a model. Assuming they do literally mean a Ka-Bar brand knife, is it necessarily the USMC Fighting Knife most associate with the brand, or perhaps some of the many other knives that company produces, largely for outdoor uses.
3) Finally, if they do in fact mean the classic USMC as most seem to be presuming, why did the individual own it? I read a lot of comments from people thinking it indicates someone with military training, or just a generally violent intention in owning it. But, as an Idahoan and lifelong outdoorsman, I see that knife differently. It’s a very common sort of camping/outdoor knife that people are drawn to before moving on to tools better-suited to camp activities (such as a Ka-Bar Becker I suppose). I personally have two of them for exactly those uses.
Given where this occurred, which is close to my own home town, to me that knife just says someone into the outdoors and likely some backcountry camping. And depending on the age, may even be into what they now call "bushcraft," which is pretty much wilderness survival skills-building. People are into that here.
Just my opinion, but realized I do have a different perspective on what owning a Ka-Bar in Idaho likely implies and thought it worth sharing!
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