BBM
We really don't know what the ping data is on this case. It would appear that the family hasn't received full disclosure on this either, or if they have they are keeping this information close to the vest.
And actually ping data is not an absolute science. There are a number of court cases overturned in the last decade, due to misinterpretation of this data.
There are a lot of reasons why we might ping off of a tower, reasons that are not directly related to geographical proximity. Our phones might bypass the nearest tower to us because of ---subscriber overload; a damaged tower; there could be something in the phone itself or the service provider's lease arrangements that dictate where our individual phone might ping. Also, back in 2006 you had to agree to pay roaming charges if you were out of reach of your server's leased towers. And cell phones have been known to ping towers as far as 30 miles away from the caller.
And I don't agree that if there was a damaged tower near to her, Jennifer would have hit the same tower each time. Jennifer lived near a shopping mall and a busy intersection with freeways close by, depending on the number of subscribers in use at any given time, her calls could bounce around.
In regard to the theory that phones can still be traced, even when off, but only if the battery is in place--there's some controversy around this. I for one, have never known of a case where the battery was removed, and LE knew about the removal
before they located the phone. And we don't even know what kind of phone Jennifer had. And though I am by no means an expert, I just completed a fairly extensive research project looking for this very event. Couldn't find any examples of this occurring. I may have missed it, though.
There are so many unknowns for us in the public.
But I'm not sure it matters whether she was abducted at night or in the morning. She never got far, according to both where her car was found and the amount of gas used. These two little facts, seem to be the only evidence we have at this point that has been unwavering and never contradicted publicly.
Maybe this info isn't accurate, but it seems the most reasonable place to focus. But you are right, there is just so much we don't know for certain.
This article gives a rough overview of how and why cell phones ping where they do:
http://www.diligentiagroup.com/lega...g-cell-phone-location-cell-tower-information/