I still think these abductors live locally...........within a few miles or so from where she was abducted.
They knew her patterns, knew the neighborhood, knew the best place to nab her without being seen, not to mention knowing it was her jogging along the road. This wasn't mistaken identity by a long shot.
UNLESS......it was a totally random act pulled off by a couple of thrill seekers that got extremely lucky. I really doubt that though. Holding her for three weeks and then simply letting her go doesn't point to a random, spontaneous crime.
She could have been held in any house in Redding for the entire 3 week period. Whether it be dead smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood or out in the country. Only she would be able to tell LE what she may have heard over the TV, the radio, or spoken words during that 3 weeks that might help to guide them to a location.
Dropping her off 150 miles away from Redding was an attempt to distance themselves and create a diversion to try and draw attention away from the place she was being held. She was apparently found around 4:30 a.m., which means her abductors could have easily made a 2- 2 1/2 hour drive in the middle of the night in order to find an isolated place to drop her off. She would be the only one that could tell LE approx. how long they drove that night prior to her being ejected from the car. That driving time could easily be off by an hour or more though, depending on her state of mind at the time. I also can't help but wonder if the person doing the driving wasn't supposed to take her off and dispose of her once and for all, but chickened out once she was away from the other partner.
Letting her go at an isolated location in the middle of the night seems like a move that was made by someone who was losing their nerve and basically trying to wash their hands of the whole thing, not to mention focus the investigation 150 miles away.