Other than the mention of a possible, unconfirmed trip to Brawley, what is there to indicate that either JDR or AM did anything that was out of the ordinary?
Correlation does not imply causation. Just because two things are mentioned in correlation to one another, does not mean that there is, in fact, any relationship. Just because something bad happens to someone, and there is uncertainty as to where they were just prior, does not mean that where they were just prior to going missing, has any direct causation to that disappearance. Maybe it does. But until we know more, we are out of luck really making any kind of valuable determination.
And by the way, Brawley is actually not that well known for drugs or gang activity (according to a number of Google searches), El Centro (and actually Coachella, as well) get that glory. Brawley has a sugar plant and a couple of medical facilities--and a very small population. Maybe JDR had a friend who went there for a check-up. Maybe JDR was being respectful of his friend's privacy, and kept it quiet because the friend didn't want anyone to know about it for some reason.
You can speculate ad nauseam on this stuff, which is why it is so important to attach any theory to some degree of known, reliable and verified information. Otherwise, we are simply just making stuff up. And I don't see how this helps anyone.
Point to one fact known on this case, that in any manner indicates the JDR and AM were doing anything other than simply getting together, and I'll follow you there. Otherwise, we just have to wait until real information becomes available.
And in a case like this, where we know that family and friends are scouring social media to find answers, lets keep them in mind as well. I think we need to be mindful that there are people for whom this case is a source of great pain. It's one thing if you know for a fact that something nefarious occurred. It's an entirely other thing to make something like that up, based on nothing but unfounded speculation.
