Some of his statements almost strike me as things you might hear someone in a TV show or movie say. "No questions asked," for example. I agree with someone up thread who said he's gone a bit rogue. I'm leaning towards him being innocent and struggling to figure out what to say and do. I think his focus on her being in a bikini is that he finds her attractive and figures some creep driving down the road saw her and thought the same. We know that that's not a super likely scenario (not that she's not attractive, just that stuff like that doesn't happen as often as some people tend to think). I just think he gets a lot of his current thinking from crime dramas.
I am by no means condemning him or defending him. However, I agree with all you said.
I have seen some folks talk to the media when their loved ones are missing, and they
appear to be guilty because of some of the comments they have said.
Then I have seen some very vague, almost no interviews done- to which also seemed suspicious, yet the truly had nothing to do with the disappearance.
I've also seen some very level headed, emotional spouses/family/friends, etc put on some pretty good acts in front of the camera, and they were guilty as sin.
I will also admit to at least three times, being wrong in terms of guilt on here. Possibly more. Sometimes, it's so obvious it can bite you right in the nose, they're guilty. Yet, sometimes, things aren't always what they seem. SP's abductor, who some of us (including yours truly), thought he was a good guy, a savior from her monster step father. The mother-daughter who took off for several days and were found safe somehow by police and came home eventually- the husband was laughing, hugging his daughter's friend and making an inappropriate comment about her hair. Maddox Ritch- I admit, I went back and forth, back and forth. I just couldn't get a good read, but the Mom in me understood how fast kids can take off- one split second is all it takes, and they're gone.
So, for the time being, I am on the fence about this. We don't know the relationship between her husband and her son. Maybe they are estranged, maybe not. Or maybe the husband thought that she would be found by LE and not have to worry her son- he truly may have believed that she just got lost.
Experienced hikers? Look on this page this past year- unbelievable, how many times I have seen this in either the title or the first post. As a matter of fact, I have shown or discussed this with my own family and friends- I tell them, visit here, you'll see, all these people who have gone missing, that were "experienced".
I have never hiked alone, except for paths that I know by heart- the ones that usually loop around a lake or a straight path on the river or ocean. When I was younger, I basically lived in the woods by our campground that we summered at and the woods behind our house, but thankfully, what I thought to be my overly neurotic mother at that time, turns out that she sincerely taught me the truth- just because you think you are experienced- you are not above accidents, medical issues unexpectedly come up such as a heart attack, heat stroke, sprained ankles, dehydration, and some very sick criminals on rare occasions, just waiting for someone to turn that corner. No such thing as experienced, when it comes to total safety- best thing- go with someone, keep your phone completely charged and turn off to save the battery, make sure a few other people at home or your friends also know you're going, with who, where, and what time you should be back. Should you change your mind and go elsewhere for whatever reason (park too crowded, park closed, etc), send out a text to loved ones and friends where your next destination will be.
No such thing as being overly safe- my mother's words- truest words ever spoken. While that may not guarantee your safety at all times or prevent medical issues or accidents from happening, at least loved ones and friends have a last known area to search.