Has anyone been to this exact campground before? Is cell service nonexistent? I was thinking - perhaps she went off walking somewhere, came back and found her car vandalized but it was late at night and she decided just to sleep in her car because she had no cell service. Decided to drive out the next day to get help/get cell service and the car got stuck/broke down.
If that happened, she could have been picked up by anybody on that road and something nefarious could have taken place. This is all just supposition on my part but trying to connect the dots.
Which campground do you mean by exact? I have seen Indian Cove mentioned and also Jumbo Rocks. I am still not sure where her car was seen because it has been reported a few different ways. Like many others are saying, the details are confusing. I am very familiar with JTNP. In fact, I was just there a few days ago.
Indian Cove campground is part of JTNP but to access it you stay outside of the park, meaning you do not go through the main entrance. It is not a large campground. There might or might not be cell service there. It's spotty, but if she wanted service she wouldn't need to go far as this campground isn't too far from town.
Jumbo Rocks campground is deeper in the park. Cell service in the park is spotty at best. I always turn my phone off so the battery doesn't drain. It takes roughly half an hour to get back to the main entrance of the park (on the Joshua Tree side) from Jumbo Rocks campground. I spent time in this area of the park a few days ago and had no cell service.
Just a couple of interesting facts about JTNP, it is larger than the state of Rhode Island and you can drive the road that goes north-south through the park, put your radio on scan, and not pick up a single station for about an hour.
The area outside of the park has developed a lot over the past few years, but it still has a bit of a sketchy reputation. People usually think of it as an area for hippies, drugs, and poverty as well as crime. I have a good friend who lives right outside the park and hikes there nearly every day. She might be a bit of a hippie at heart, but I assure you she does not use drugs or live in poverty. Just like many other places, it's a mixed bag and often the negatives are voiced more than the positives. It's a unique area, for sure. Desert living isn't for everyone and JTNP is definitely desert living.
