OLO COUNTY — The steady hum of Interstate 5, a quiet church and a few scattered homes among empty fields. This is where investigators say a nightmare that dragged on for three weeks ended, when a passing driver found Sherri Papini alive. Dispatch audio of the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department reveals the young mother was found battered and chained to something along Northbound I-5 near County Road 17 in Yolo County.
A few points on the location of her abduction and release:
1 - The lack of any surveillance indicates premeditation. It's definitely possible in a rural area to avoid cameras during the initial abduction, and possible to avoid cameras as you speed away. But you need to think it through, know your route. So again, this does not strike me as, "Hey, look at that blonde gringa, let's snatch her!' But more: "Ok, we know SP typically jogs from her home, let's pretend to be broken down in this spot, then we grab her and go out on this street, avoiding this part of town, etc., etc."
2 - Regarding her drop off, I agree they needed to avoid cameras, too. But again, I cannot imagine this wasn't planned at least a day in advance. It wasn't, "You know what, let's just get rid of her today. Put her in the car and go find a spot while you're driving, then push her out of the car." Why risk that, especially after three weeks (!) of captivity??! More likely is that they scouted the drop spot a day or so in advance. It was a long way from where they held her (at least 20 minutes by car, and probably much further). It needed to happen around 3-4 am to avoid attention (which seems to fit with this case). But it should also have been in a spot where SP would need a long time to reach any person, not near homes or churches or businesses. Why risk it when you have 24 hours or so to find a good spot?
3 - I would have chosen a very remote area where there is nothing but a road, no homes, no businesses, etc. It would have been an area with lots of roads connecting, to avoid having only one way to get in and get out. I would need to be able to see around me far enough to ensure no car would come for the 2-3 minutes (max - probably more like 30 seconds) I needed to get her out of the car. And I would want it to be a place where few cars would be driving at that time of night. Perhaps even a side dirt road. I want her to have to walk for at least 30 minutes, and ideally longer, before she meets someone, to make sure I'm long gone. I also want her to be a bit disoriented so it's harder for her to remember where I dropped her.
There is no need to be anywhere near civilization if I had 24 hours or so in advance to select my spot. Driving a few hours the day before to do a bit of research is worth it when the alternative is 8 years in prison!