You’re talking as a lawyer, as that’s the advice you would give.
I’m talking about how people in similar situations respond in real life. They aren’t thinking of legal consequences, and if they are, they put them aside to do the one thing they can do:
Speak up, get the word out, and help find your loved one. I’ve never seen an innocent person behave this way.
There’s a reason the CBI and FBI were called in right away, and why this was never, not for a second, handled as a potential abduction.
Someone screwed up. Royally.