I've spent quite a bit of time in Colorado Springs over the last couple of years.
Looked at a house in one area of town. The realtor informed us that there's an entire area over there with old precarious mines. Just FYI that that's a real thing, not that I think it's altogether relevant here.
Also, and I think the locals will agree, Colorado Springs has a rather unique master zoning plan. In my experience, there's the older parts of town including downtown but all the developments are very similar, little communities unto themselves, many with signature schools, many of them with community features like pools, gyms and the like. Within those developments are small curving roads that then spill out onto main thoroughfares, and those in turn spill into one of only a few major arteries (like 1-25). Think 20mph, 45mph and 70mph speeds. It's a very efficient system but it still takes a good 25 minutes usually to get to anywhere. In my experience.
I share this because I don't for a second think someone drove 2 hours away and 2 hours back from anywhere. Just doesn't strike me as realistic. The time it takes just to get around IN TOWN narrows the four hour gap considerably IMO. Today's LE update seems to bear that out. Someone didn't go very far. And also LE doesn't appear to think there was help or a hand off or anything that would remove our dear boy from the general area.
There are lots of wide open spaces, lots of culverts, lots of natural topography alongside developments, much new construction. Mountains, ravines, the Black Forest. An impossible search grid but in the end, I think they'll nail this down by good, old fashioned investigative diligence.
Between traffic cameras and vehicle system software, I think LE is going to have all the data they need and Dan May will see to it that justice is served. Traffic cameras don't lie. Me, I vote for LWOP plus a couple hundred years. It still won't be long enough, but it's a start.
JMO
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