Being born and raised here in Montana I can say that western montana and North Idaho are like a tight knit community, much like us from western montana don't claim anything east of the rockies mountains continental devide as being montana, it's west dakota because eastern montana is nothing but flatland and if it weren't for signage you'd never be able to tell where eastern montana ends and north dakota begins.
now that being said, I strongly believe the reason the indirect route was taken is because the sensible direct route would have taken them directly through 4 out of the top 5 most populated cities In the state, Billings (109,550), Missoula (74,400), Great Falls (58,700), Bozeman (48,500), Butte (34,300) and montanas top colleges and universities are where they would have to go through at a time that not only college students were on edge in search of the white elantra but everybody was.
We as montanians are a very rural nothing major happens kind of place and love it. In 1983 my grandparents were in the labor union and worked road construction as flaggers and pilot car drivers. My grandparents became friends with a man who had just moved from Iowa with his family to Naples Idaho where my grandparents were working at the time chip sealing the highway between Naples and Bonners ferry Idaho. Even after the job was finished my grandparents remained friends with the man and his family and in 1992 I was 7 at the time and I rember my grandmother getting a call and crying hysterically, their friends randy and Vicki's son Sammy was killed and the seige at ruby ridge had begun. Our families are still very close but not in touch as often since randy past last may but Sara has always been a private person. Ever since then anything significant in Idaho had a ripple effect us in Montana, we look out for one another and had BK & his dad traveled the most direct route to Philadelphia they most certainly had eyes on what was happening and developing. Our amber alerts are very successful. being extra diligent and aware to our surroundings is something I've been pro active in practice but when news of that white elantra hit I scoured every Craigslist of an elantra being sold white in color or calling sellers to see if the Vin # had a matching paint code.
