FWIW, my recollection of the PM case was residing in nearby Emeryville, California between 1994 and 1998 for a startup venture. I can tell you that there was a lot of pressure to not only locate the teen but theorize a criminal reason for his disappearance, which never came to be (to date). Keep in mind that Berkeley Police Department has more resources than us folk on WebSleuths, not to mention the power to arrest, question, issue a search warrant, etc. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't (at least) report that a person(s) of interest was ruled out.
I was reading an earlier theory about PM taking an off-course trip on BART. There's no evidence that this happened (or that he met his fate off the GG Bridge) but the Bay Area's subway system would have been a blind spot around the time of day the lad disappeared. People have already gone to work and anyone remaining on the trains (back then) would be sleeping transients or groups of young fare-dodgers, especially during Summer Recess. PM would have blended in like the skies of a Monet painting and the other riders wouldn't see any incentive to report a sighting to law enforcement, even for a publicized missing persons case.
There was a similar (albeit unconnected) Missing Endangered case more recently in Texas: Alexandria Lowitzer. She had also just turned 16, also lied to her family about where she was going, and also left items of personal value behind (which casts doubt on the runaway theory, whether it was a secret significant other or wayward friend). The ultimate difference with PM of course is that she's female, 5'2, and would've been easier to overpower versus a fit 6'0 male with martial arts abilities.
If there's any other missing persons cases involving 16 year olds - and lacking evidence of foul play - I would be interested in reading, just to compare the backgrounds (like above).
I was reading an earlier theory about PM taking an off-course trip on BART. There's no evidence that this happened (or that he met his fate off the GG Bridge) but the Bay Area's subway system would have been a blind spot around the time of day the lad disappeared. People have already gone to work and anyone remaining on the trains (back then) would be sleeping transients or groups of young fare-dodgers, especially during Summer Recess. PM would have blended in like the skies of a Monet painting and the other riders wouldn't see any incentive to report a sighting to law enforcement, even for a publicized missing persons case.
There was a similar (albeit unconnected) Missing Endangered case more recently in Texas: Alexandria Lowitzer. She had also just turned 16, also lied to her family about where she was going, and also left items of personal value behind (which casts doubt on the runaway theory, whether it was a secret significant other or wayward friend). The ultimate difference with PM of course is that she's female, 5'2, and would've been easier to overpower versus a fit 6'0 male with martial arts abilities.
If there's any other missing persons cases involving 16 year olds - and lacking evidence of foul play - I would be interested in reading, just to compare the backgrounds (like above).