I took a trip to WA in October of 2020 and while driving back thru Ellensberg being the true crime junkie I am, I decided to stop by Ellensberg and see how much I could track of where she was found. I dont claim this info to be official or accurate, I am just giving my two cents as a person who decided to drive into the area of where Lindsay could have been possibly found. After following this among many other cases for years and having the unique opportunity to go to the area considering im from Texas was something that I was not going to pass up on.
Ellensberg is surprisingly a very nice college town, it was full of college students when I was there, it just reminded me of University of Texas Austin area when I was there. Locals were very nice and seemed to be very helpful. Surprisingly the case is not that alive in Ellensberg, the younger generation knows little of it or hasnt heard of it at all and the older generation has it in the bygone news folder. But Ellensberg is lively! It was antiques, amazing produce right off their backyard! and a college town feel...if you just looked at it driving on Interstate 90 you would think its just a small town..but once you actually drive in, its a party!
So from the pressers that were done by LE, the area where Lindsay was found was around a forest road that leads up to Quartz Mountain. Now keep in mind..there are many forest roads in that area. But the main road to get into any of that forest roads is Manastash Road..once you have left town..it takes a while to get up to Manastash Road...this road is lined with farms and nothing else..and its isolating..eventually the last stop on Manastash Road is the Lazy F Camp & Retreat center...after which this road turns into NF-31 leading up to more and more forest roads.
I was already nervous once I had left Manastash Road and started going up NF-31..believe me its not for the faint of heart. Please dont attempt to drive on this road in later afternoon or especially around sunset, unless you know what you are doing, there is no road...there is nothing but loose jagged rocks and im talking very loose jagged sharp rocks and just major cliff on the gravel road. Also hope that noone is coming from the other side because there is not enough room for two vehicles to pass. The ONLY WAY this road can be accessed if 4wheel drive with offroad tires or ATVs or walking...which I would strongly suggest not to do. Everything LE said was accruate in the pressers...this NF-31 leads to more isolated forest roads with no phone signal and only prayers if you get lose. Its a very dangerous landscape. Looking up youtube videos of Manastash Ridge will give you a better idea of the area...actually Manastash Ridge is quite calm compared to what it takes to go up there. On my way I encountered nothing but one or two hunters. With the sun going down fast and me not having offroad tires I decided to go back down..going up into deeper and denser forest roads (google maps will give you an idea) would have not been a good decision considering I was alone. The area is actually quite eerie and calm.
If you are able to make it all the way down NF-31 it then turns into NF-3100, from what I found the scene was somewhere between NF-3100 and NF-3104. It was quite surreal to try to get up as far as I could. But being a female and alone with a regular SUV..I decided to turn around..yes I know I should not have gone alone..but curiosity got the best of me. This is what I feel convinced about after visiting this area.
1) its a guy
2) He is a HUNTER NO DOUBT!
3) Owns an offroad vehicle and knows the area very very very well
4) Could be an Ellensberg local
5) He HAS ABSOLUTELY BEEN IN AND AROUND ELLENSBERG BEFORE especially the Manastash Ridge area and knows exactly how to get up there
you cannot transport anything up there by just renting a car or driving a stock car, if you guys look up videos of getting to Manastash Ridge you will know what im talking about. This guy knew EXACTLY where to go after doing what he did. No one other than avid hunters in and around Ellensberg area will know these roads..you have to have BEEN THERE BEFORE to get there and know where to go..This is not a place anyone would give a second look to if you were driving down the highway and even if you did go into town...you would NOT KNOW how to get up to Forest road NF-31 or know it exists unless you had been there before.
Going there really changed my perspective on the case. I am not going to say whether the latest arrest is valid or not....i dont think it is honestly...the guy is a hunter and he knows where to go and very very VERY VERY familiar with Ellensberg. No one would have even noticed him go in and out..if he encountered any other hunters on the way they wouldn't have given him a second look. RIP