At the first press conference held last Thursday, a reporter asked Lt. Mitch Mihalko if it was true that there was a search taking place at a local landfill (the exchange starts at around 8:30). Lt. Mihalko stated, “So at this point in time, what I can tell you is that we have been in contact as part of our normal protocol with local trash companies in the Lorson Ranch area, as well as other areas, and I can tell you that we are not conducting, as an agency, we are not conducting any searches at landfills at this time.”
The press conference took place at 5 PM on Thursday, January 30th. By then, LE knew very well what they were dealing with, IMO. I also remember wondering at the time if they were maybe having another agency, the FBI in particular, search the landfills. It’s a possibility, IMO.