This looks very much like a suicide, unfortunately.
She was driving around on her own, to places and for reasons unknown.
She told the tire changers that she was headed to a certain place, but she wasn't.
Why did the tire go flat? Yes, it sometimes happens, but it could have been due to some inattentive driving. Mind is elsewhere.
Then she ran out of gas. Again, it shows her mind was elsewhere, or, if the key was indeed in the on position, she possibly simply abandoned the vehicle. Either way, leaving the key in the ignition is not normal.
I recall in the early going reading that she had come to this area before with her daughter. People often go to some favorite or familiar place under such circumstances.
I would like to know two things: where, precisely, was her car was found? She is probably not too far from that location.
Secondly, where, precisely, did she go when she went camping with her daughter?
I've been trying to determine where her car was found, precisely. Unfortunately, reports are all over the place. The most reliable looking report I have so far is this one:
"Her 2010 black Ford Mustang had been found abandoned just before midnight Dec. 11 in a remote area of Trinity County south of Highway 36 on the Forest Service 30 Road by a California Fish and Wildlife warden." (
source)
(Forest Service 30 Road is also called Wild Mad Road, and it was right at the start of this road where the tire was changed, I believe.)
I note that FS 30 Road south of Highway 36 will take you to Pine Root Spring campground. It is 6 miles as the crow flies, maybe a 9-10 mile drive. Lots of mountains in the area, too.