Yes here is some insight.
First there are many places that could be turned down and reach a dead end, but most of them are not cliffs or areas that you would fall into. Valley Center is pretty flat. It's not until you head out of town that you have to use a grade to get down.
Now to dismiss one place right now. In the YouTube video "sand crab news" or whatever it was called. They were suggesting The Turner Lake area where that gate is to access Cougar Pass. Yes that road is a curvy hill, but there is no way they could get in there at all.
It is a locked gate, that is locked at all times by the owner. It used to be an open road short cut to Hidden Meadows, but people kept using it for dumping so the owner shut it down, only he can open it and he make sure it's always locked. So the YouTube video, out the window.
Next unlikely place. The main grade out of Valley Center, into Escondido. It would be Valley Center Road to Escondido on the Map. That road has Guard rails all the way down, not to mention a barrier wall that runs down the middle to divide the up n down lanes. Very hard to go over on that road unless it was at the bottom where the wall ends, but then it's not so steep there anymore. So I'd discount that.
So I've been trying to analyze this all out. Since the Cell Ping came from Deer Springs 15 mins after they left, but they were seen at a gift shop in Rincon after they left
so this part does not add up, since there is no way to get from Rincon to Deer Springs in 15 mins. So my theory on the Ping is it ping long distance. Like maybe they were near the tower.
This places it as Old Castle Road grade as a possibility. It's very steep and Deer Springs is straight shot over the mountain. Cell service is also spotty there so it may have drawn off the ping.
Next possible route. Lake Wholford itself. We would have to ignore the ping. But Lake Wholford into Escondido it a very treacherous road. Very deep drops. A Few bodies have been dropped off the side over the years. Gang related and other crazy stuff. Cell service is spotty in this area.
Next possible is totally ignoring the Ping but making more sense in the direction they were in. It's possible they pinged off deer springs from the casino area itself if there were no other towers of their phone service.
They were last seen in Rincon at a gift shop. From there is 2 more routes of interest.
If they took 76 to the left and decided to take to local short cut, which is a fast run to Temecula which would get them farther north and onto the freeway or onto 79 to go the back way. This would be Pala Temecula road. Windy, curvy it's a grade with lots of trees in the middle of it. If something went down there. It would be tough to see. This is the road Amber Dubois was found off.
Final Route. Eat on 76 from Rincon. This is "the other back way".
Most people go to Temecula and take 79 to the Coachella area. But most people in Valley Center take 76 out past lake henshaw. It's a shortcut into the desert valley towns and on this route, there is a lot of bad cell service.
Between the La Jolla Indian Reservation and Lake Henshaw, there is no Cell Phone service at all, totally dead. Maybe for 20 minutes of driving.
There is then another area like that once you get out of Anza and start going down the grade of stone mountains by Berrego Springs.
Hope this gives people a better idea.
