Breaking this down a bit further, as it's one of very few verifiable facts we have so far.
FACT: LE states that at 12:33 PM, Kiely's phone "went dead," with the last ping near the campsite (LINK)
In reading about how phone pings work (LINK), a phone will ping when it enters the range of a new tower or when a call or text is placed or data used. On average, a cell phone tower has a range of about 45 miles, so from my understanding (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong), KR could have driven all the way home without her phone pinging again, assuming that it was all on the same tower and she wasn't texting/phoning/using data.
REASONABLE POSSIBILITIES:
1)
The battery died. (Keeping in mind that going to the car to charge it at 11pm is only one witness's statement, and even if it had been charged then, it may not have been
fully charged. If she was inebriated or not checking it frequently, she may not have realized immediately that it was dying/dead. She may have even dropped it or lost it at the party, with or without realizing it.)
2)
The phone was turned off (or onto airplane mode)
2A) ... by KR (not wanting to be traced? accidentally hit the wrong button? trying to conserve battery?)
2B) ... by someone else (not wanting to be traced?)
3)
The phone was damaged
3A) ... accidentally (dropped, run over, crushed in a crash, etc)
3Ai) ... ... by KR
3Aii) ... ... by someone else
3B) ... on purpose (dropped in water, run over, etc)
3Bi) ... ... by KR (seems very unlikely; I can't come up with a possible motive)
3Bii) ... ... by someone else (not wanting to be traced?)
4)
OTHER?
Other notes:
- LE has not located the phone at the campground.
- SS's statement about receiving a call from KR at 12:36 AM (
LINK) is in conflict with this. Possible explanations:
1) SS had the time wrong.
2) SS fabricated the story.
3) KR had multiple phones (possibly that her parents or LE didn't know about) or was signed into an app on someone else's phone